CAROLINA MAYORGA CREATES A PINK UNIVERSE
Today opens at the Organization of American States (OAS) AMA | Art Museum of the Americas, PINK Ranchos and Other Ephemeral Zip Codes, an exhibition by the Colombian-American artist Carolina Mayorga in dialogue with the permanent collection of AMA. Mayorga invites the viewer to enter a completely pink reality and experience their bi-cultural interpretations with respect to those who live inside ranches, cambuches, shelters and other ephemeral zip codes.
The project that starts today (February 14th) and takes place until May 1st consists of a site-specific production, the result of an artistic research on topics related to the home, the lack of housing and the artist's obsession with pink: the pigments are applied to women and children (characters typically associated with the home). Mayorga's work is also a recovery of her past in Colombia after 14 years of residence in Washington DC. In this way, the project establishes a dialogue with those who must go into exile or relocate throughout their lives.
The Colombian artist's project will be accompanied by artworks from artists such as Ignacio Iturria, Eduardo Giusiano, Ricardo Supisiche, Rubens Gerchman, Amelia Peláez, Consuelo Gotay, Dora Ramírez, Roser Muntañola and Roberto Matta -all of them members of the AMA collection-; all of them, artists that enhance the concept of Mayorga. Inside the exhibition room, an audio track juxtaposes testimonies recorded by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights with visual gestures and dance movements. Mayorga's study of the AMA collection stems from an interest in exploring the works of artists who share their cultural backgrounds; establishes historical and social connections with the works based on their conceptual and aesthetic concerns. The result is Mayorga's appropriation and reexamination of these works, juxtaposing her "PINK-ified" perspective on life within ranches and huts as dictated by deprivation and abandonment.
Finally, it should be noted that within the period that the exhibition remains, Mayorga has prepared a program of public activities. Cambuche Party: A Pink Musical, which will take place today at the opening, is a musical performance inspired by the types of houses represented by the artist. It involved Juan Felipe Mayorga (piano), Daniela Zuluaga (performer), Carolina Mayorga (performer) and Alberto Gaitán (piano). Choza Artist Party, on March 21st, with the participation of artists Maribeth Egan, Heloisa Escudero and Jessica Kallista; a conference with curator Laura Roulet, on April 17th; and an activity for and by the community: Square Foot Give Away, on May 11th.
