Where can I see her art?
Instagram: @karianamayaozaeta
Webpage: https://karianamaya.com/
Karian Amaya is a sculptor based in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Her Story
Karian Amaya is from Chihuahua, located in the North of Mexico where she started her studies in graphic design. She then went to the University of Guadalajara to pursue a degree in Visual Arts. What started as a specialty in photography translated into a specialty in sculpture after taking some classes in experimental art. Karian mentions, "I have always had interest in other practices". She participated in a mentoring program for immigrant artists for seven months by the New York Arts Foundation. And studied Mixed Media at The Art Students league of New York. She says, "I ended up living in New York for three years where I focused on sculpture and assembling of materials. In 2018, I came back to Guadalajara to complete my degree and I continue to work more on sculpture and assembly with materials like copper and marble".
Her Work
"In 2018, I did an exhibit named Rupturas. It was one of my first times using marble waste which are those fragments that broke and are not used anymore. My intention was to give the material a new meaning. The exhibit alluded to La Mujer Rota by Simone de Beauvoir. How she picks up piece by piece until she cannot take no more." My favorite piece from this exhibit is Marble over book page. The duality between the marble as a thick strong material over the fragility of the piece of paper which has a different kind of strength rooted in knowledge enchanted me. Karian tells me that, "Marble over book page is a marble plate which holds a piece of paper from a book. One of the pages was an excerpt from Kandinsky about how art should be delicate and another page was an excerpt about the void."
Reflejos de la Tierra exhibit in Guatemala City at La Galeria Rebelde show an abstraction of open sky mines. Karian explains, "Open sky mining is a method to extract minerals from the earth. They use dynamite in a mountain and form a crater on the earth and use industrial machinery to excavate steps." Tierra Desnuda is a remarkable piece of this exhibit. Karian says, "I used a green marble from Guatemala for this piece and it speaks on the relationship between women and nature. The silhouette in the center is traced from an actual open sky mine. And it has a circular form, which is in a lot of my work, as it represents how materials go back to their natural state, how we go back to our origins."
Por todo lo que es construido, algo es destruido exhibit in Mexico.
"Its title came from an opera I went to while doing a residency in Phoenix, Arizona. The opera was on Frank Lurray's life and this is where I heard that phrase for the first time. The exhibit makes a reference to architecture which is one of my interests." Karian also adopts her interest in relationship art and performance with her artwork Candelero. "It is a fine dining experience. Everything that you eat and drink is related to the materials I use or the processes I do. I invite a chef and share my concept for them to create a menu. For example, transvestite marble is usually found near the ocean so the menu would be related to seafood. Or volcanic marble is found in volcanos, made under extreme pressure and has a different crystallization so the menu would be related to fire, ashes, ember and cooked in hot coal. It is also focused on wine. The wine offered has grapes sowed on volcanic ground or near a marble deposit. I open the dinner with a reading from a book called Piedras. It speaks about how some stones were not born with qualities to impress."
Karian participated in a special project in the city of Miami, Florida with Espejos de Agua. "They are trays made of copper of different shapes to resemble the terrain. When you add salt and sand to copper, the material starts its crystallization process. So I added sea water to the trays and let the natural process go on during the days of the exhibit. And with the passing of days, the copper began to rust. This exhibit speaks about the passing of time. Copper always returns to its original state even though you can industrialize it."
Where do you find inspiration?
"My work has mutated, but stayed within the same line. I always return to themes tied to my origin: my dad, my childhood, the dessert, dunes, meditation, natural forms and the void. As a kid, I would often hike the mountains with my dad to see the sunset. Chihuahua is Mexico's largest State. It has a lot of natural minerals like copper, gold, flowery and lead. There are big crystal deposits in the area. So, I began to investigate and speak more to my father who was a miner. I usually only work with marble from Mexico's different States including Chihuahua."
"I make a reference to literature in my artwork. Books that talk about the dessert. Also readings on the duality and ambiguity of occidental and oriental beauty." Karian explains oriental beauty is based on history while occidental beauty is based on reflections, shine, mirrors and polish." She finds inspiration on books like Woman in Nature by Susan Griffin, works by Ana Mendieta who speaks on embedding femininity and Mexican writer Jesus Gardea. "Sometimes my concept can be related to politics, but I try for it to be more about poetry", she says.
"My studio has a library of materials including a marble bookcase. This was my husband's idea, who is an architect, to help me organize the studio."
What are you focused on now?
"I have had a busy year. I was part of a collective exhibit for women sculptors called Atelier: la escultura como medio de exploracion in MUSA Museo de las Artes in Guadalajara, Mexico. I had an individual exhibit called Desplazar el Paisaje in Mexico at the Ex convento del Carmen. And I had my first individual exhibit in the city of Chihuahua in the Museo Casa Redonda called Por todo lo que es construido, algo es destruido. I also exhibited Reflejos de la Tierra in Guatemala City at La Galeria Rebelde.
This coming November (2024) I will be part of a collective exhibit in New York. And next year (2025) between April and June I will have an individual exhibit in New York."
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