Masks
March 15 — April 23, 2022
New York: 64th Street
Gladstone is pleased to announce an exhibition of new works by Damián Ortega. Known for his uncanny ability to transcend ordinary objects into entities with complex narratives, the artist presents a series of sculptural masks that explore the significant social, economic, and personal narratives embedded in the ephemera of the everyday. Throughout history, masks have played a crucial role in how human nature, identity, and culture are studied and understood. For this exhibition, Ortega has created a body of new works over the past year in a cathartic response to the pandemic, questioning what faces, characters, and personalities can build and become. Made with found materials that are staples of Mexican life, including guaje, yute, and maize tortillas, the masks on view are expressive and eloquent examples of both a socio-political critique and an intimate self-reflection.
Installation
Work
About
Photo by Belén Benito.
Damián Ortega (b. 1967, Mexico City) lives and works between Mexico City and Berlin. He has been the subject of solo exhibitions at institutions including: Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City; Museum Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich, Switzerland; Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey, Mexico; Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, Florida; ICA Miami Garden, Florida; Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow; Museo Reina-Sofia, Madrid; Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; HangarBicocca, Milan; Museo Jumex, Mexico City; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio; the Barbican, London; the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; Tate Modern, London; Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland; Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia; and Centre Pompidou, Paris. Ortega participated in the 55th Venice Biennale (2013); the 27th São Paulo Biennial (2006); the 4th Berlin Biennial (2006); and the 50th Venice Biennale (2003).
