Booth 228
Sicardi | Ayers | Bacino is pleased to announce our participation in The Armory Show 2022 at the Javitz Center in New York from September 8-11. In Booth 228, the gallery will present a group exhibition featuring gallery artists Gustavo Díaz, Thomas Glassford, Marco Maggi, Gabriel de la Mora, Reynier Leyva Novo, Miguel Angel Ríos, Fanny Sanín, and Melanie Smith.
Gustavo Díaz [b. 1969, Argentina/Lives in Houston] researches the behavior of complexity and presents his findings through intricate, abstract works on paper and installations that map the conceptual connections between theories such as Chaos Theory, Dissipative Structures, fuzzy logic, and the concept of networks. In his recent series Imaginary Flight Patterns, Díaz contemplates the idea of confronting silence in drawings that resemble the flight patterns of thousands of birds in the sky. Although the work is entirely abstract, Díaz relies upon our associations to create an intricate non-representational drawing.
Thomas Glassford [b. 1963, USA/Lives in Mexico City] uses everyday materials - ranging from gourds to broomsticks, anodized aluminum to melamine plates - to create architectural or installation-scale works reminiscent of Minimalist sculpture and Op Art paintings of the 1960s. His new blown-glass suspended sculpture is a continuation of his recently completed commission Dueling Pendants for the San Antonio, Texas courthouse.
Marco Maggi [b. 1957, Uruguay/Lives in New York] takes everyday objects such as photocopy paper, aluminum foil, and apples as the foundations for his meticulously-rendered sculptures and drawings that explore the relationship between information and knowledge in our contemporary world. In Too Close / Too Far, Maggi presents us with a deep blue expanse of paper studded by complex webs of geometric cuts that recall the motherboard of a computer, signaling the notion that our society is bogged down by information. The title of the work acts as the viewer's concrete reminder that even upon close inspection, we are still too far from understanding our reality.
Gabriel de la Mora [b. 1968, Mexico/Lives in Mexico] collects detritus and ephemera ranging from hair to found photographs, shoe soles to painted ceilings, and transforms these objects, using meticulous craftsmanship to call attention to their original uses and the actions of time upon the object, while also making conceptual investigations into the nature of art. In 8,684, the artist exhibits the core principles of his practice: obsessive assembly of 8,684 glass fragments that materialize into a mesmerizing composition, that, upon first glance, appears minimal yet is constructed with great technical complexity.
Reynier Leyva Novo [b. 1983, Cuba/Lives in Houston] is considered one of Cuba's leading conceptual artists. He combines anthropological research with cutting-edge technology to examine the psychological and sociological effects of complex issues throughout history, challenge ideology and symbols of power, and question notions of an individual's ability to affect change. In the sculpture What It Is, What It Has Been, Novo takes the bust of Cuban nationalist poet José Martí sculpted by Juan José Sicre and manipulates it with 380 layers of white paint, obscuring Martí's recognizable features to prompt us to ponder the impact of the totalitarian regimes in Cuba in the 20th century.
Miguel Angel Ríos [b. 1943, Argentina/Lives in New York and Mexico] combines a rigorous conceptual approach with a meticulously constructed aesthetic to explore the concept of "Latin America" through sculpture, photography, installation, and video. From his seminal series of maps he began in 1992, during the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' discovery of the Americas, La Reina del Plata, which translates to the Queen of Silver, contains a representation of South America that Ríos manipulates with carefully folded pleats, reclaiming agency over the territory in his reworking of the cartography and offering a criticism for the exploitative colonizers.
Fanny Sanín [b. 1938, Colombia/Lives in New York] is considered a pioneer of the second generation of Latin American abstract artists. Her style is distinctive in its precise execution and meticulous choice of colors, which she mixes herself, to create nuanced yet energetic compositions. In Acrylic No. 1, 1999, Sanín's strategic use of basic geometric forms with captivating colors offers movement to the outwardly stable painting in a striking example of her deceptively complicated aesthetic.
Melanie Smith [b. 1965, England/Lives in Mexico City and London] creates conceptual works that explore complex cultural, social, and psychological phenomenons across media including painting, video, and installation. In her Fragmented Landscape paintings, a new series she began in 2020, Smith draws upon the works of key American Western painters including Frank Reaugh, Frederic Remington, and Charles Russel and injects her own work with minimalist qualities in order to investigate our past and its lasting impact on our contemporary situation.