Using natural materials and focusing on the moments that occur in the studio, my work aims to slow time and engage viewers with the beauty of the everyday. I’m passionate about the in-between: the moments that occur just after my hand activates the material and the transformation to its end result. The ingredients are natural and oftentimes meaningful to the region. The process is the feature of my work.
Copper scraps become sculptural elements and are then activated to create bright blue ink. The subsequent waste produced is also featured as texture, paint, and crystal sculptures. The paintings made in the production of these sculptures are traditionally viewed as finished pieces, but here become journalistic “notes” in the process of creating. Altogether these become curated arrangements of the studio process. Unfiltered clay lays next to emulsified pieces inside a molcajete and its iteration as paint sits close by. Bright inks and natural earth tones are paired with puffed-up textures or are infused into isomalt to create organic sculptures. My hand and fluid-like motions of the material are often at odds and present abstractly. The details are meant to be viewed slowly, critically, and inspire an appreciation for our resources.
I’m concerned by the fast-paced nature of our current world and simultaneously excited by the slowing down of recent life. I think often about how we can create space for art that is engaging and brief. I push back on the urgency and let each piece’s degradation create space for the viewer to contemplate what it means to consume. As our present stage of capitalism renders our production of goods and content consumption unsustainable, I aim to question these systems on a personal level as an object maker.
GARCIA