Inspired by nature’s extraordinary perseverance under even the most onerous circumstances, Mauro Zamora has created Complex Directional, a mixed-media installation that mimics the look of an industrial construction site. Fourteen paintings on aluminum panels are mounted on signposts and stationed throughout the Sunroom; these are accompanied by a large, collaged wall drawing of a plywood fence adorned with “post no bills” citations. The paintings feature examples of nature thriving in the midst of dense urban development, such as weeds clawing through debris or the re-growth of vegetation where a construction project has been halted.
Influenced in part by the precipitate construction boom of recent years, Mauro Zamora seeks to address the transgressions of humanity against nature. He hones in on imagery that depicts this struggle, often casting nature in a triumphant light. By appropriating the look of billboards and road signs, both icons of urban development and suburban sprawl, Zamora underscores the dystopian overtones of his subject matter and advances his perspective on the impact that contemporary society has had upon the environment. Moreover, Zamora sees the work’s location in the Sunroom, surrounded by views of Wave Hill’s grounds, as an inversion of the dynamic of civilization’s constant encroachment upon nature. In its place, he has conceived of an installation that generates a narrative whereby nature surrounds the site and seemingly threatens to overtake it.
Mauro Zamora has had solo exhibitions at the Abington Art Center, Jenkintown, PA; Seraphin Gallery, Philadelphia, PA; and Vox Populi Gallery, Philadelphia, PA. He has participated in recent group exhibitions such as Summer Journeys, Summer Dreams, Pentimenti Gallery, Phildelphia, PA; Naked Paper, Tower Gallery, Philadelphia, PA; 5 x 7 Art Splurge, Arthouse at the Jones Center, Austin, TX; Picture Journal Project, Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA; and Public/Private, the Jenkins Johnson Gallery, New York, NY. He was the recipient of the Pew Fellowship in the Arts (2008) and a Visual Artist Fellowship from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (2006), among other awards, and completed a residency at the Millay Colony for the Arts, Austerlitz, NY (2009). Zamora earned a Certificate in Painting and an MFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA.
More information can be found at www.maurozamora.com.
Organized by Assistant Curator Leigh Ross, the Sunroom Project Space provides an opportunity for New York-area emerging artists to develop a special project or create a new body of work to exhibit in a solo show. The five artists exhibiting in the 2009 season are: Cece Cole, Steven Millar, Janelle Iglesias, Audrey Hasen Russell and Mauro Zamora.
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October 4, 1pm, Meet the Artist. |
