Condemned To Be Modern
September 10, 2017 – January 28, 2018

This artwork installation by the artist Lucia Koch includes various shades or red, pink, orange and purple light filters on the glass panels of the lamps outside of the gallery entrance. The artwork installation also has similar red filters on the gallery's front entrance doors.
Lucia Koch, The Doors, 2017, commissioned by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, photograph by Kelly Barrie
This installation view of the Condemned To Be Modern exhibition includes artworks by Lenor Antunes, Jonathas de Andrade, Mauro Restiffe, Héctor Zamora, Alexandre Arrechea, and Lais Myrrah. In the foreground, the artwork by Lenor Antunes features geometric, copper scultpures suspended from the gallery ceiling by black rope. In the background, the left-most artwork by Jonathas de Andrade includes clusters of square framed images hung onto white walls. The artwork on the inner left wall by Mauro Restiffe includes seven black and white photographs hung in black frames horizontally along a wall. The images includes bodies of water, and linear architectural buildings and structures. In the center background, the artwork by Héctor Zamora includes a large cubic plynth/pedestal base upholding nine triangularly geometric concrete forms. Further in the background, the artwork by Alexandre Arrechea includes a mask-like render produced by basic geometric shapes of varying colors: red, yellow, cyan, and brown onto a large black surface. In the background, the right-most artwork by Lais Myrrah includes a small light brown wooden table/stand upholding a large quantity of square posters. The artwork also includes a medium-sized color poster with a blue toned image and black text within a black frame hung on the wall.
Condemned To Be Modern, installation image, September 10, 2017 - January 28,2018, photograph by Kelly Barrie
This installation view includes artworks by the artists Mauro Restiffe, Héctor Zamora, and Alexandre Arrechea. The two artworks on the left, by Mauro Restiffe, depict large black and white photographs of the burial ceremony for the architect, Oscar Niemeyer, and one of Niemeyer’s landmark government buildings, Palacio do Planalto. The artwork in the center, by Héctor Zamora, includes nine large triangularly geometric concrete forms positioned orderly behind ech other. The nine forms are seated atop a large white cubic plynth/pedestal base. The artwork hung in the right background, by Alexandre Arrechea, includes a large mask-like image rendered through basic geometric shapes of various colors: red, white, yellow, cyan, and brown onto a large black surface.
Condemned To Be Modern, installation image, September 10, 2017 - January 28,2018, photograph by Kelly Barrie
This installation view includes artworks by the artists Manuel Piña, Terence Gower, and Tercerunquinto. The artwork on the left, by Manuel Piña, includes sixteen black and white photos hung, closely together in a grid-like pattern, in white frames. The photographic works present images of large deteriorating buildings and structures. The center artwork, by Terence Gower, includes a black and white video still projected onto a large screen suspended from the ceiling of the gallery. The video still presents a large stage setting whith an individual, dressed in black, at the center; back turned and gesturing upward. The arwork on the right, by Tercerunquinto, includes a large scale black and white rectangular frame and image made up of six panels producing a grid-like pattern with an additional circular distinction in the center of the artwork. The image represents empty place where the seal of Mexico was placed at the Centro Cultural Universitario Tlatelolco in Mexico City.
Condemned To Be Modern, installation image, September 10, 2017 - January 28, 2018, photograph by Kelly Barrie
This installation view features the artwork installations of the artists Lucia Koch and Leonor Antunes. The artwork in the background, by Lucia Koch, shows the gallery balcony doors with a color gradient filter applied to the glass portions. The color gradient glows from a pink tone at the top to orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple at the bottom. The artwork in the foreground, by Leonor Antunes, includes a collection of thin and rod-like large metal geometric shapes roughly suspended by black rope from the gallery ceiling.
Condemned To Be Modern, installation image, September 10, 2017 - January 28,2018, photograph by Kelly Barrie
This artwork installation by the artist Carlos Garaicoa includes several small, wooden architectural models of a variety of buildings and structures (both real and fictional) from Cuba set on various colored mats on top of white pedestals. Each architectural model has a thread that connects it to the wall behind these models; these connecting threads and pins re-create the archictural models as drawings on the wall.
Carlos Garaicoa, Self-flagellation, Survival, Insubordination, 2003, photograph by Kelly Barrie
This artwork installation by the artist Felipe Dulzaides features a video projection and a table with an assortment of photographs and notes. The video still depicts a a close up of a water hose located in the Cuban National Art Schools. The photographs and notes on the table also feature the Cuban National Art Schools.
Felipe Dulzaides, Water Runs, 1999-2017, installation image, photograph by Kelly Barrie
This artwork installation by the artist Jonathas de Andrade includes a variety of small, medium, and large photographs depicting a variety of intimate close-up images and birds-eye-view of cityscapes, as well as reproductions of pages from a diary the artist found. The photoworks are hung in black or brown wooden frames on the walls of a room. The photographs are both in color and black and white and hung at a variety of levels along the walls. The reproductions of the pages from a diary are placed horizontally in the middle between the rows of photographs.
Jonathas de Andrade, Ressaca Tropical (Tropical hangover), 2009, installation image, photograph by Kelly Barrie
In this sculptural and video installation by the artist Eduardo Abaroa, a video still features a light brown statuette carved from stone resting atop a cement slab set outside of the entrance of the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City. Behind the statuette are large green trees, blue sky, and glipses of skyscraper buildings and urban civilization. In front of the video artwork is the sculptural artwork consisting of a large pile of rubble. The rubble includes ceramics, toys, cement, and other debris arranged in a pile on the floor.
Eduardo Abaroa, Total Destruction of the Anthropology Museum, 2012 - 2017, photograph by Kelly Barrie
The artwork installation by the artist Eduardo Abaroa includes eight large white prints with color-coded maps and schematics of the propopsed destruction of National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City in blues, reds, yellows, and blacks. Each print is framed in a light brown wooden frame. Four of eight artwork prints are hung side-by-side on two walls facing each other.
Eduardo Abaroa, Total Destruction of the Anthropology Museum, 2012 - 2017, photograph by Kelly Barrie
The artwork installation by the artist Beto Schwafaty is a rectangular space containing many objects. Nine of ten 2D works are seen hung on two walls with the largest work containing a green grid-like background and a white circular object surrounded by red, yellow, and blue slanted rectangles in the center. Beneath this large 2D work are brown and blue wooden chairs resting above a brown carpet and facing a square television projecting a deep blue image. In the foreground is a large light tan wood tabletop and clear acrylic cover housing an assortment of black and white images, documents, and books. To the right, a rectangular structure of brown woven panels and metal armature house/separate the artwork installation.
Beto Shwafaty, Remediations, 2010 - 2014, installation image, photograph by Kelly Barrie
The artwork installation by the artist Ramiro Chaves features several paper drawings and prints displayed in six rows. The papers are white and the images and/or texts printed are a combination of blacks, whites, greys, and red. The printed subjects include buildings, symbols, faces of persons, structures, designs, and text, all featuring some variation of an X.
Ramiro Chaves, XXXXXXXXXX, 2014, photograph by Kelly Barrie
This video installation by the artist Clarissa Tossin presents a tall cement wall with designed etchings along the top portion of the wall located at Hollyhock House. The artwork projects three female perfomers (the same perfomer) at profile view: one (center) dressed in a loose blue-white-yellow gradient dress while the other two on either side are dressed in tan/yellow cheetah print spandex. The left subject postured upright and angled arm gesture, the center subject is postured slanted and downward directed arm gestures, and the right subject knelt down and gestured upwards.
Clarissa Tossin, Ch'u Mayaa (Maya blue), 2017, commissioned by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs,, photograph by Kelly Barrie
In this video artwork by the artist Clarissa Tossin, the video still shows the performer's hands reacing up from a dark crawl space. You can also see the cheetah print costume sleeve of the performer. On either side of the performer's hands are two sculptural motifs from the Hollyhock House.
Clarissa Tossin, Ch'u Mayaa (Maya Blue), 2017 (video still) Choreography / Performer: Crystal Sepúlveda, courtesy of the artist
Lucia Koch, Light Corrections - Minus Green, 2017, commissioned by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, photograph by Kelly Barrie
Lucia Koch, Light Corrections - Minus Green, 2017, commissioned by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, photograph by Kelly Barrie
This artwork installation by the artist Lucia Koch includes nine lamp posts in the pine grove outside of the gallery's entrance with various shades of pink, purple, red, and orange light filters on their glass panels.
Lucia Koch, Light Corrections - Minus Green, 2017, commissioned by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, photograph by Kelly Barrie

With a special performance by Crystal Sepúlveda as part of Clarissa Tossin’s newly commissioned project inspired by the Mayan Revival architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House.

 

Condemned To Be Modern, curated by Clara Kim, was an exploration of the lives of buildings and an interrogation of our built environment-the structures we inherit, the cities we live in. Taking its title from the preeminent Brazilian critic Mario Pedrosa’s infamous statement about Brasília, this exhibition brought together the works of twenty-one contemporary artists who responded critically to the history of modernist architecture in Latin America. In works produced over the past two decades, these artists explored the effects, contradictions, and contested legacies of modernism in Brazil, Cuba, and Mexico as expressed through ambitious projects for government buildings, public housing, universities, and even new cities constructed during periods of radical political and social change. In examining these buildings and their histories from a contemporary perspective, the exhibition aimed to deconstruct and demystify the formation of a modern (architectural) identity while provoking consideration of the fate of architecture and its changing representation over time.

 

The exhibition included work by Eduardo Abaroa, Jonathas de Andrade, Leonor Antunes, Alexander Apóstol, Alexandre Arrechea, Ramiro Chaves, Felipe Dulzaides, Carlos Garaicoa, Terence Gower, Tamar Guimarães, Lucia Koch, Runo Lagomarsino, Renata Lucas, Lais Myrrha, Manuel Piña, Mauro Restiffe, Beto Shwafaty, Melanie Smith, Tercerunquinto, Clarissa Tossin, and Héctor Zamora.

 

Condemned To Be Modern and its associated programming were part of Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, a far-reaching and ambitious exploration of Latin American and Latino art in dialogue with Los Angeles.

 

Supported by grants from the Getty Foundation, Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA took place from September 2017 through January 2018 at more than 70 cultural institutions across Southern California, from Los Angeles to Palm Springs, and from San Diego to Santa Barbara.
Pacific Standard Time was an initiative of the Getty. The presenting sponsor was Bank of America.

 

Major support for this exhibition and publication was provided through grants from the Getty Foundation.

 

Condemned To Be Modern was also supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, and the City of Los Angeles Department on Disability.

 

Additional support provided by: Galleria Continua (San Gimignano – Beijing – Les Moulin – Havana); Fortes D’Aloia& Gabriel (Sao Paulo); kurimanzutto (Mexico City); and Galeria Luisa Strina (Sao Paulo).

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