Plurality of Isolations: San Antonio

"I have, over the course of this pandemic, felt an emptying out. Streets emptied, calendars emptied, but so did these allegories I painted. They felt so distant, so intangible, that it almost made no sense to continue painting them. Confronting the world with what it is becomes more important than showing what it is not. These works represent a sampling of that sea-change, how a pandemic affects a studio practice. I’ve moved away from allegory, turned the lens onto the room I dream in rather than the dream itself. What dreams I do paint are distant now, faded, almost coming undone the longer time passes..."

 

- RF Alvarez

"What is art’s function? What does it do for a person? Aristotle told us the function of art is catharsis. When experiencing art you laugh, you cry. You feel pity, fear. You see other’s lives as a reflection of your own. Consequentially the catharsis comes. A cleansing clarity, a feeling of relief and understanding that you carry away with you. Art is an instrument that addresses one’s psychic and social health. Presently, the world requires a catharsis. Certainly, I require it. The work that has emerged reflects an examination of the universal trauma that befalls humanity. Compounded by the political nightmare assault on democracy and civil disintegration confronting us all."

 

- Jesse Amado

"My work has always dealt with identity, with the sense of being in-between, an imposter, neither fully Chinese nor Caucasian. I have learned to live with the constant question about my appearance: ‘What are you?’ I change my response depending on my hair, make-up, clothes, what I am doing, where I am at, or what I am eating – who I am at the moment. I find people are rarely satisfied with my answer. I explore this conflict through my chosen media – porcelain, which nods to my Chinese heritage but also represents “pure” white – the white desire I find in both cultures. Bound by these conditions, I stitch together my individual nature, unravel the pressures of conformity, and forever experience pain in search of perfection.”

 

- Jennifer Ling Datchuk

"I’m less stressed about time. Less stressed of the time it takes to do something or be somewhere. 

I’m hopeful not for things to go back to normal, but for things to get moving again in a new way."

 

- Jenelle Esparza

 

"Working during COVID-19 was a lot at first. The first few months were paralyzing and I did not get much done in my studio. However, during that time I wrote a lot. I wrote phrases and words that stood out to me. From the news, songs, books and even social media. These words gave me a sense of belonging to even empowerment. In recent months, I have slowly come back to my studio to bring some of these words and phrases to life in my artworks. My work during this time has gotten smaller in size and more intimate, I think this is reflective of my time at home."

 

- Bárbara Miñarro

"The front door of my studio is separated from the ER entrance of the University of Pennsylvania Hospital by an open-air car park. 

This allows me to see and hear again and again, ambulances and helicopters arriving. A constant reminder of the cruel truth of covid-19. 

During this time, l have worked on four tapestries and some engravings and one sculpture. I am starting a sculpture in glass right now, fragility is in my mind.

These works are all under a series title called The Swan Song series. A title that has reference to the unavoidable reminder of the presence of death during the pandemic."

 

- Cecilia Paredes

"A residue of the pandemic happening in New York City has been that commercial rents plummeted, which meant that I was able to move into a studio for rent that wouldn't have been possible previously. Immediately I was able to get a studio and keep working, and that's what has kept me grounded throughout this time. However, the pandemic has affected my community in New York really deeply. It’s put people out of work, and it’s made it harder for working class artists to work in order to survive. So many artist-run spaces have closed here, which are some of my favorite places in the city. But artists are such creative people—we figure things out. We know how to adapt and improvise. Just like always, we have to get creative."

 

- Carlos Rosales-Silva

"During COVID-19 we’ve all learned to live with less. Less contact, less connection, many people with less food, less money, and sadly many with less family and friends in their lives...I am optimistic that the world can change for the better, I keep thinking that Life is never what you can see."

 

- Ethel Shipton