Adrian Esparza: Curated by Kate Bonansinga

A D R I A N E S PA R Z A

A D R I A N E S PA R Z A 1 2 . 0 3 . 2 0 0 3 – 1 . 24 . 2 0 0 4

Curated by Kate Bonansinga

f o r wa r d

We are honored and grateful to present this exhibition generously curated by Kate Bonansinga. Ms. Bonansinga, the Director of University Art Galleries at the University of Texas at El Paso, has chosen a young artist, Adrian Esparza. Mr. Esparza was born and raised in El Paso and uses the borderland experience as artistic inspiration.

Ms. Bonansinga’s appreciation of Mr. Esparza’s work demonstrates how the Foundations discretionary selection process allows differing forms of expression an opportunity to be seen.

CUE appreciates that geographic location can sometimes limit an artists exhibition possibilities elsewhere, thus CUE is pleased to offer Mr. Esparza the opportunity for his first solo exhibition since graduating in 1998. Ms. Bonansinga and we, together, wish him a future of fulfillment and success.

c u r at o r’s s tat e m e n t

Adrian Esparza’s Notions 256-189

and ease of movement. Displayed at ankle height, they upset the traditional eye-level

Juarez, Mexico and El Paso, Texas together comprise the most densely populated

encounter between viewer and artwork. All of the sculptures are raw white, pale coun-

bi-national area in the world. The bridge across the Rio Grande River that divides the

terparts to the vibrantly colored blankets, their smooth, monochromatic surfaces well

two cities is short: many residents of Juarez commute daily to El Paso, and vice versa.

suited to their complex forms. Esparza grafts together typically unrelated images to

While the international border is permeable, it also clarifies the socioeconomic

make art from the things and events of everyday life.

inequalities that characterize both contemporary urban environments and the relationship between the U.S. and Mexico.

Adrian Esparza was born and raised in El Paso and returned here to live soon

A third component in this body of work are Esparza’s paintings on bed sheets.

For these the artist photocopies one of his drawings onto a transparency, projects the rendering onto a wall-mounted, full-sized, white bed sheet, and then traces the trans-

after earning his graduate degree. He garners much of his source material and artistic

mitted image in black fabric paint. Machine parts, smoke stacks and human figures

inspiration from his borderland experience, and the artist's daily encounter with this

crowd together, morph into one another, evolve into themselves, and almost

political divide seems to nourish his perpetual challenge of generally accepted bound-

completely consume their backdrop. The now-defunct copper smelter that towers

aries and hierarchies. In Trade and Sell, for example, Esparza mounts to the wall an

over the western edge of El Paso inspires the industrial imagery. The painting’s

inexpensive Mexican blanket that he purchased from the market in Juarez. He then

graphic renderings connote both comic books and patterned textiles. Considered

unravels its bottom portion, and guides the piece of cotton thread through a maze of

together the bed sheets and blankets speak of protection, warmth, sleep and dreams,

nails affixed to the wall nearby to create a design that complements that of the

and connect the imagery to subconscious thoughts and yearnings.

blanket. It also alludes to hard-edged, geometric painting, though the soft texture of

In all of these works, Esparza imbues the materials and processes of the decora-

the material counter balances the linearity of the forms. By displaying the blanket as

tive and popular arts with conceptual potency. His methodologies and titles suggest

fine art, Esparza sanctifies this popular Mexican product. The act of its deconstruction

that opposites come together in a passing from one place, time and state of mind to

and reconstruction references the dependence of present forms on past ones, and

another. The artists refers to his ideas as “notions,” lending them a sense of chance

suggests new life and possibilities.

and superstition, and numbers them in reverse, like anonymous products of

This concept also underlies Esparza’s ceramic sculptures. For these he casts liquid

descending dates or importance. But the art work that results from these “notions” is

clay into hobbyist molds, disassembles the resulting objects before the clay is

much more than ordinary because Esparza alters and assembles commonplace

completely dry, and then reassembles the parts into surreal works representing odd

objects so that they become something greater than themselves.

combinations of plants, animals and other organic matter. In Come and See, for example, a human head sprouts from a rabbit’s neck. In Nature and Nurture, a flower blossom replaces the face of a seated boy. Esparza presents several of his sculptures in groupings. For one he gathers small pieces into a basket, transforming them into a centerpiece or three-dimensional still life. In another the sculptures line up on a narrow platform mounted directly onto casters, and thus suggest both community

Kate Bonansinga

a r t i s t’s s tat e m e n t

Rococococo By constructing an environment of production, the object contributes to the development of an event. Entering this space causes the object to fracture. Evaluation fragments the fragile item. Particles existing in this restless environment unite to form acceptable interpretations of events. These notions emerge as fresh forms that reflect the migratory process of production.

Adrian Esparza

COME AND SEE Ceramic, 18" x 7" x 7", 200 3

FRESH AND NEW Ceramic, 4" x 4" x 4", 2003

N ATURE AND NURT U R E Ceramic, 10" x 8" x 8", 2003

LAND AND SEA Ceramic, 8" x 8" x 9", 200 3

HIS AND HERS Ceramic, 8" x 6" x 6", 2003

D E LTA QUA D R A N T tktk

TRADE AND SELL Sarape and nails, dimensions variable, 200 3

UNTITLED Ink on paper, 24" x 36", 2003

UNTITLED Ink on paper, 14" x 36", 2003

UNTITLED Ink on paper, 18" x 12", 2003

UNTITLED Ink on paper, 18" x 12", 2003

a r t i s t ’ s b i o g ra p h y Adrian Esparza currently lives and works in El Paso, TX where he was born in 1970.

In 1996, he received a BFA from the University of Texas at El Paso, and then graduated in 1998 with an MFA from the California Institute for the Arts. In 2003 he was included in the Texas Trialogues: San Antonio - El Paso – Denton exhibition at the Blue Star Art Space, San Antonio, TX as well as Come Forward: Emerging Artists in Texas at the Dallas Museum of Art, TX. In 2002 Esparza, participated in the Border Art Residency Program, La Union in New Mexic o. He currently teaches Design and Drawing at the University of Texas at El Paso and also Design and Art Appreciation at El Paso Community College as well as Drawing at the El Paso Museum of Art.

c u r at o r ’ s b i o g r a p h y Kate Bonansinga is the Director of University Art Galleries at the University of Texas at El Paso. Bonansinga earned a B.A. in economics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and an M.A. in art history, with a focus on the art of Asia, from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. From 1991-1999 she taught art history at the Oregon College of Art and Craft in Portland, Oregon, where she also served as director and curator of the College's exhibition gallery, There she developed an interest in contemporary art that resides at the intersection of materials-oriented fine craft and concept-driven fine art. Her most recent curatorial projects have focused on the art of the U.S./Mexico borderlands, including Crossing Over: Photographs and New Video Installations by Willie Varela, which is traveling throughout Texas. She serves on the editorial advisory board for Artlies Magazine, Houston, TX and as a national art peer for the Office of the Chief Architect of the United States.

UNTITLED Ink on paper, 18" x 12", 2003

c u e a r t f o u n d a t i o n m i s s i o n s tat e m e n t

B OA R D O F D I R E C TO R S

Gregory Amenoff CUE Art Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides deserving artists

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from around the country an opportunity for solo exhibition. Located in New York’s

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Chelsea gallery district, the Foundation’s 2,000 sq.ft. ground floor exhibition

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space affords these artists professional exposure comparable to that offered by neighboring commercial galleries, without the usual financial restraints. CUE does

A DV I S O RY C O U N C I L

not promote a particular school of artistic thought or practice; rather, the criteria

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for selection have been devised with the sole purpose in mind of exhibiting work

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by artists who have not had a solo exhibition in a commercial venue, or have

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received minimal exposure in New York in the last ten years.

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At the core of CUE’s mission is the determination to foster an agenda-free

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program of twelve exhibiting artists a year, each handpicked by a single curator.

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An on-site artist-in-residence program offers selected artists studio space in which

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to produce or finish work for their exhibition at CUE.

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The responsibility to choose qualified individuals from the visual arts and beyond to act as exhibition curators rests with CUE’s Advisory Council, an honorary

G A L L E R Y D I R E C TO R

group of artists and leading figures from the arts education, applied arts, art

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history, and literary communities. The curators, in turn, will play a role throughout the exhibition process, helping the artist catalogue his or her work for exhibition,

G A L L E R Y A S S I S TA N T

and participating in gallery lectures and programs.

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Educational initiatives in the form of public programs and artists’ dialogues will take advantage of the diverse community that participates in CUE's gallery and studio programming. Foundation internships and stipends will help prepare the next generation of artists and art educators by providing practical working knowledge of the art making and exhibition process.

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