Grimanesa Amorós

Grimanesa Amorós

Grimanesa Amorós with Uros House at the Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Birth name Grimanesa Amorós
Born 1962
Lima, Peru
Nationality Peruvian-born American
Field Contemporary art

Grimanesa Amorós (born in Lima, lives and works in New York City and Peru) is an interdisciplinary artist with diverse interests in the fields of social history, scientific research and critical theory. She is most known for her public art, particularly her light sculptures, and has exhibited internationally in the United States, Europe, and Latin America.

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Early life and career

Her artistic ambitions began when she was obsessed with drawing maps at a very young age. Her mother saw talent in her and enrolled Amorós in art classes at the age of eleven. When she was in her teens, she studied Psychology and Art simultaneously. She attended the Miguel Gayo Art Atelier in Lima, Peru.[1] When she was eighteen, she exhibted a sold-out show featuring her paintings.[2]

Concerned about her early success, Amorós moved to New York City to try to make it on her own as an artist. Once there, she won a scholarship to study painting and printmaking at the Art Students League of New York. She started mainly as a painter, but - thinking about paint in sculptural terms - eventually moved on to creating three-dimensional artworks.[3]

Artwork

Amorós' interests in three-dimensional artworks lead to her exploration of paper-making processes. She brought this sensibility into her work with pieces such as La Incubadora at the Roger Smith Lab Gallery.[1]

Public Work

After years of showing in gallery spaces, public art had an accessibility and openness that always intrigued her. Amorós' earliest public pieces were Frente Feroz in Harlem, New York City, an installation that incorporated silhouettes made from paper and light, and La Incubadora, at the Roger Smith Lab Gallery in New York City, an installation incorporating paper-made sculpture and atmospheric lighting. These lighting installations led her to the bubble sculptures she would later be known for.[4]

Light Sculptures

Racimo

Amorós had been gradually incorporating light into her sculptures, but her first major lighting sculpture was when she was commissioned by ICART for Royal Caribbean International to create a lighting sculpture for Allure of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world.

Inspired by the lighting of the natural world in her travels, Amorós sought to find a way to incorporate technology to express her own interpretation of how nature impacts her.[5] She created Racimo based on her experiences growing up in Peru spending long afternoons in the vineyards. She became fascinated by the color and shapes of the grapes. The shapes also mirrored her fascination with the shapes and colors of ocean foam.[6]

Uros body of work

In her lighting sculptures, Amorós has continuously returned to the theme of the "Uros Islands," which are a series of floating islands in Lake Titicaca bordering Peru and Bolivia. The islands are hand-made from dried totora reads by the pre-Incan Uros people.[7] When Amorós first visited the Uros Islands, she was struck by "the sense of weightlessness and spiritual connectivity" she experienced by walking on these floating islands.[8]

The reeds are also used as a structural material to build everything from houses to boats in the Uros culture. Amorós has incorporated the shapes and patterns of these reeds into her lighting sculptures. Recent works include: [9]

Uros House in Times Square, NY

Part of The Times Square Alliance Public Arts Program in collaboration with The Armory Show (art fair) [10]

Uros Island at the 2011 Venice Biennale

54th International Art Exhibition in Venice, Italy. Part of the Collateral Event FUTURE PASS [12]

Golden Uros as part of the 2011 APART Festival

At the Chapelle de la Persévérance in Tarascon, France [13]

Collaborations

She collaborated with Afro-Peruvian singer and Peru's Minister of Culture, Susana Baca, in her video Between Heaven and Earth. Baca produced an original score for the video, titled "Nacimiento de Voces" ("Birth Voices"). She also produced an interview documentary titled, La Conexion Perfecta de Susana Baca, which was used in Baca's concerts.[14] Amorós' latest collaboration with Baca is with the latter's latest album, Afrodiaspora, where Amorós designed and used images of her artwork with photos of Susana in the CD packaging.[15]

In Rootless Algas, she worked with Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson who produced an original score.[15]

In Reflexion Obscura she worked with José Luis Pardo - multiple-Grammy nominated and Latin Grammy Winning Los Amigos Invisibles on the score.[16]

In La Incubadora she worked with multiple Grammy-nominated Meshell Ndegeocello.[1]

In 2011, she did a special collaboration with fashion designer Manuel Fernandez in his "Fashion Art" show, creating a dress titled Precious Nipples.[17]

Exhibitions

Amorós has exhibited in the United States, Europe, and Latin America.

Public Work

Solo Exhibitions

Awards and Grants

References

  1. ^ a b c Grimanesa Amorós Interview by Wynwood Magazine, Wynwood, http://grimanesaamoros.com/press/articles/Amoros-Wynwood-Jun08.pdf, retrieved August 24, 2011 
  2. ^ Grimanesa Amorós Interview by Aisasur, Aisasu, http://www.asiasur.com/secgaleriatexto.php?edicion=94&idhojaact=2900&idpagina=1889, retrieved August 24, 2011 
  3. ^ Grimanesa Amorós Interview by Aisasur, Aisasur, http://www.asiasur.com/secgaleriatexto.php?edicion=94&idhojaact=2900&idpagina=1889, retrieved August 24, 2011 
  4. ^ Jungle Fever Time Out New York, Time Out New York, http://grimanesaamoros.com/press/articles/Amoros-TimeOut_NY.pdf, retrieved August 24, 2011 
  5. ^ Grimanesa Amorós Interview by Dr. Lee A. Gray, http://grimanesaamoros.com/press/interviews/grimanesa-amoros-uros-house-lee-gray-interview.html, retrieved August 24, 2011 
  6. ^ Grimanesa Amoros Racimo Interview Grimanesa Amorós Interview, http://grimanesaamoros.com/press/interviews/interviews.php, retrieved August 24, 2011 
  7. ^ Provence Ventoux: Le Blog, http://provenceventouxblog.com/2011/the-curious-gravitational-pull-of-grimanesa-amoros-mystical-creation-golden-uros-in-tarascon/, retrieved August 24, 2011 
  8. ^ GrimanesaAmoros.com - Golden Uros, http://www.grimanesaamoros.com/public/golden-uros/, retrieved August 24, 2011 
  9. ^ Golden Uros article by Provence Ventoux: Le Blog, http://provenceventouxblog.com/2011/the-curious-gravitational-pull-of-grimanesa-amoros-mystical-creation-golden-uros-in-tarascon/, retrieved August 24, 2011 
  10. ^ Grimanesa Amorós Website Uros House, http://grimanesaamoros.com/public/uros_house/, retrieved August 24, 2011 
  11. ^ Grimanesa Amorós Website Uros House, http://grimanesaamoros.com/installations/uros-house/, retrieved August 24, 2011 
  12. ^ Grimanesa Amorós Website Uros Island, Wynwood, http://grimanesaamoros.com/installations/urosisland_biennale/, retrieved August 24, 2011 
  13. ^ Grimanesa Amorós Website Golden Uros, http://www.grimanesaamoros.com/public/golden-uros/, retrieved August 24, 2011 
  14. ^ Grimanesa Amorós, Between Heaven Heaven and Earth and La Conexion Perfecta de Susana Baca video Grimanesa Amorós website video page
  15. ^ a b Grimanesa Amorós, Between Heaven Heaven and Earth and Afrodiaspora CD album Grimanesa Amorós Afrodiaspora page
  16. ^ Grimanesa Amorós Website Golden Uros, http://grimanesaamoros.com/video/reflexion.html, retrieved August 24, 2011 
  17. ^ Valrie Gladstone, NY Times In Transit Outside Madrid, Celebrating a Fashion Designer Who Embraces Art

External links