Luis González Palma, “Jerrarquías de intimidad, Hierarchies of Intimacy”
10 September 2009, 19:00 EST
Lesley University
Prospect Hall
1803 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02140
Born in Guatemala, Luis GonzáLez Palma is one of Latin America’s most original and acclaimed artists. González Palma first came to international attention with his luminous and politically charged portraits of indigenous people in his native country of Guatemala. He later moved to Argentina, where he now lives. In recent years, his work has focused on narratives associated with Latin American culture, imagination and religion. Luis González Palma’s original work is large scale, and his images are often manipulated with the use of collage, hand tinting, and layering with gold leaf.
González Palma has exhibited widely with over 60 major shows in South America, North America and Europe and was selected to exhibit in the 2001 and 2005 Venice Biennales. Represented by the Robert Mann Gallery in New York City, his work is included in numerous museums including the Art Institute of Chicago; the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris; The Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University, Cambridge; and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Publications include Poems of Sorrow (Arena Editions, 1999) and Il Silencio de Maya (Peliti Associati, 1998). He last exhibited in Boston at MIT’s List Gallery in 1997.
Luis González Palma: The work, entitled “Hierarchies of Intimacy,” was executed in Argentina. In it I have tried to represent scenes charged with significant psychological experiences by using titles to “investigate,” to infuse a dialogue that becomes like the silent script in a film, each image a scene seemingly disconnected. Alone, each photo acts as an instant in a prolonged dream in which figures outside time are like wounds in memory….
These works were conceived with the desire that the image contain and somehow express the visible word and the fundamental experience that sustains visual adventures — like apparitions unseen when you look, words unsaid when you speak, and silences contained in the symphony. This work is intended to give a body to the ghosts that govern personal relationships and religious hierarchies, and to address directly those that govern the politics of life.
Bonnell Robinson, Director of Exhibitions, Art Institute of Boston: In celebration of Lesley University’s Centennial year, we welcome Luis González Palma. A decade ago, Luis visited the Art Institute of Boston as a recipient of the Dupont Fellowship and since that time we have talked of an exhibition that we could bring to the AIB galleries. Fortunately for us, this became possible a year ago and there are currently two exhibitions of his work on our campus.
Born in Guatemala, González Palma now lives and works in Argentina. He remains close to his roots psychically and spiritually, yet his mysterious images succeed in transcending national borders and cultural boundaries. An international artist, Luis readily embraces cross-cultural dialogue and the shifting contexts in which audiences view his photographs; and his work — often based on the most personal experiences — derives nourishment from diverse sources: myth, dream, history, religion, literature, and art itself. In fact, these shared references provide us with access to an intimate art, and the intimacies of art must certainly be among those considered here.
Our appreciation and thanks to Luis for this exhibition, and to his collaborator, artist and poet Graciela De Oliveira. In addition, I want to thank Martha Schneider of Schneider Gallery Inc. of Chicago for her advice, support, and willingness to loan to the exhibition. Soledad Sanchez who directs Luis’s studio in Cordoba, Argentina, has helped at every stage and provided guidance and support from the beginning. Andrew Mroczek, curator and director of the University Hall gallery, and I are especially indebted to John Kramer, our designer, for ideas, suggestions, and his beautiful design of all the exhibition materials.
