Upcoming Exhibition at Soho20

I Would Rather Go Like This, 2009, mixed media on drafter’s vellum, 58 x 36 inches

For Immediate Release:

CARLA HERNANDEZ

Exploding Heart

SOHO20 Gallery Chelsea

547 West 27^th Street, Suite 301

New York, NY 10001

March 30 – April 24, 2010

Opening Reception: Thursday, April 1st, 6-8pm

SOHO2O Gallery Chelsea is pleased to announce the exhibition of new work by artist Carla Hernandez.  The exhibit features large-scale drawings and paintings on translucent vellum as well as small drawings on wood.

Exploding Heart is a visual colloquy traversing both heartache and happiness.

Central to Hernandez’s work is the dichotomy that the heart is an organ that circulates blood through the body yet also serves as an emotional metaphor.  Visceral reality combines with intuitive compulsion in her work as she seeks a sort of reconciliation. 

In the works Somewhere In There I Am and I Would Rather Go Like This, carefully rendered lines gather concentrically around bursts and folds of color.  In others works, a union of both plant and human anatomy can be seen as a metaphor for the physical and intellectual conundrum Hernandez dissects as problematic to human existence. 

Carla Hernandez was born in Newark, New Jersey and currently lives and works in New York.  She received her BA in Visual Art from Rutgers University in 1999.  A painter and performance artist, Hernandez has exhibited and performed in group shows at galleries and alternative spaces in New York and New Jersey, including Mason Gross School of the Arts Galleries, Kenkeleba Gallery and ABC No Rio.  She has been a member of Soho20 Gallery Chelsea since spring 2009.  This is her first exhibit at SOHO20 Gallery Chelsea.

For more information please contact gallery director Jenn Dierdorf at 212.367.8994 or soho20@verizon.net     

       

Home base

I have a website!  http://www.carlahernandezart.com/

So busy, so soon...

Photo: Fantasy of second self to help share the load

Things to come: a website showcasing my work and my exhibition at Soho20 (March 30 - April 24).  Details will be posted in the next few weeks...maybe even days (oh, daze).

Work in progress.

Sashi presents an exhibition preview.

Old Paintings

These are paintings that I had done during my final year at Rutgers in 1998. I finally photographed them last night - I had slides made of these long ago but they currently live in a registry in New Jersey. They are all untitled, small works, oil on canvas. I'm very attached to them. I like to look at them every now and again to see how my work has evolved. I think much of what I do is based on these - although recent work may look very different, the colors and intuitiveness carry on.  Actually, come to think of it, I've been watching a lot of The Outer Limits lately (science fiction series from the early 60's) and looking at these images suddenly reminded me of the show...

Our City Dreams

On Sunday I started to feel ill (seems it was an allergic reaction to wall paint!?!) so I stopped working and watched the latest dvd I had from Netflix: Our City Dreams, a documentary by Chiara Clemente. It features five artists - Swoon, Ghada Amer, Kiki Smith, Marina Abramovic and Nancy Spero - discussing their work as well as when, how and why they came to NYC. It was fascinating and inspiring to see the artists in their studios and hear them talk about what inspires them, their challenges and triumphs. Some highlights for me: Swoon installing her show while discussing the pros and cons of having her work become more widely accepted; Amer's parents sharing their pride on their daughter's success as an artist despite not really understanding her work; observing Smith's calm haste to finish her museum installation and still find time to get ready for the opening; watching Abramovic's footage of early performances; and sharing Spero's intimate 80th birthday celebration with her family. I very much enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

A Colorful Season

December was to be the month when I would buckle down.  Instead it's been so full of social engagements that I haven't been able to isolate myself and concentrate as much as I would have liked. But I'm happier for the merry distractions. I did finally finish painting a portrait commission that I had been working on and off of since September. And I've been finalizing details on my most recent body of work, a series of mixed media works on drafter's vellum that I started last spring. Big challenges lay ahead in the next few months as I prepare for my first exhibition at SOHO20 this spring - part of me wants to linger in December and have a few more cocktails.