For the 2023 edition of NADA Miami, HESSE FLATOW is pleased to present sculptures and paintings by Paloma Izquierdo and Luis Edgar Mejicanos whose creative dialogue over the years have intertwined over notions of the gaze and related power dynamics operating within social spaces.
A hyper-realistic chalkboard, an intricately woven chain link fence, a legged magnifying glass, and the grid of a chess board all conjure the grounds of an elementary school through shifting perspectives of students and administrators in the room. While Mejicanos captures the lighthearted and mischievous tendencies of a young child engaging in play, portraying a field of depth as if seated at a desk, Izquierdo responds with glass keys, traffic cones, railings, and other devices used to regulate access and movement through a space, their highly fragile compositions ultimately questioning their own enforceability.
Glass works by Izquierdo have been created under the guidance of the Yale University Chemistry Department Glass Shop.
Paloma Izquierdo (b. 1995, Havana, Cuba) works in sculpture and installation to analyze how infrastructures can be intervened or subverted, reimagining everyday structures with transformed functions. She holds a BFA from Cooper Union and an MFA in Sculpture from Yale. She will be participating in Pioneer Works Tech Residency Fall 2023, and has participated in SOMA, Oolite Arts, and Ox-Bow School of Arts. Her work has been included in group exhibitions at HESSE FLATOW, NY; Helena Anrather, NY; Real Art Ways, CT; Art Lot, NY; Oolite Arts, Miami; Black Ball Projects, NY; Smithsonian S. Dillon Ripley Center, D.C among others.
Luis Edgar Mejicanos (b. 1995, Miami, FL) studied at Fordham University in New York City, where he earned a Dual BA in Visual Arts and Art History. He attended the renowned Yale Norfolk Summer School of Art and Music in 2018, and Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 2023. He has participated in art residencies, including the Vermont Studio Center, the Wassaic Project, and The Lighthouse Works. Mejicanos has exhibited in New York City, Miami, and Chicago.
