by Maru Vázquez

The exhibition Absent Structure 2.0, now showing at the Museum of Art of Querétaro includes work of ten artists from San Miguel along with 14 other artist.

This all-women exhibition was done with such care, balance and harmony that the entire show itself is a pleasure to behold. It is a reliable example of female talent and the will to generate spaces in which the strength and passion of these women can be shared, within their scope of action as a very important reference for the culture of our country.

In the words of the Museum's director, Antonio Arelle Barquet, the exhibit "achieves something unprecedented."

Bouleversé
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Totem
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"Glass is an amazing material that can be worked and, with imagination, pushed beyond traditional boundaries. In the melted, molten state, from the furnace, when it touches organic materials, such as twigs or leaves, it takes the exact fingerprint of the material even while it is burning them. Such elements are part of the sculptural Totem, but you have to look closely to detect them. Glass can be blown like the red 'heart' shape in 'Bouleversé,' or cast directly into other materials such as wood. It burns its way into the hole and then becomes one with it, drawing the light inward. This is the case of 'Stele.' Its language is infinite.
- Ana Thiel

Stele

"Herstory is ushered by women, it touches the deepest parts of our souls — it is our heartbeat… our songlines. Herstory is the recorded accounts of all who came before us and is cradled in the hearts of those who will sing the next chapters. Deeply layered with memories, conversations, passions, yearnings, fears, regrets… and hopes, these works reflect the many layers and textures of life."
- Wendy Moyer, Artist

By hand-making paper and creating three-dimensional works, Terry Ann Tomlinson says she is constantly inspired by its beauty and its infinite variety of textures, colors and shapes. She uses nagashizuki, a Japanese papermaking technique and traditional kozo or abaca fibers to convey the sensual, translucent, and more refined beauty of handmade paper, paper cast or embedding with a variety of contrasting materials such as metal, thread, found objects, mica, and text: "In the digital world we live in, making paper keeps me directly connected to nature."

Soliloquy at Dawn
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"Paintings are imaginary worlds subject to growth, change, energy, and rebirth. They embody the idea that the universe is innovative and intelligent. In the painting 'Connections' one can see in the center a web of connected lights sharing the deep space. In 'Soliloquy at Dawn' one can imagine the cosmic conversation at play."
- Kathleen Cammarata

Connections

Chernobyl
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"The sculptural pieces that were selected for the MAQRO show, while seemingly very different in style and coloration, are actually constructed from similar materials. 'Chernobyl' is extremely vibrant, both in color and texture, while 'Stella' is calmer and more subtle. But in these, as in most of my current work, they both have in common honoring the work of those in the past through the use of repurposed materials."
- Beverly Moor

Stella

The art of painting is the curiosity to explore the space and tension between opposites, and by painting in reverse on a clear acrylic surface Bobbi Van creates a transparency in which to explore these dualities:

"Movement and stillness, driving forces in all life forms, reveal this duality of contrasts, conflicts, inspiration and harmony. And so it is that the spaces in between sound and silence, thought and action, transparent and opaque, arrival and departure, movement and stillness have captured my imagination and my heart."
- Bobbi Van

"I have begun a phase of exploration more focused on aesthetic and material experimentation; the 'new work.' I change from working with hot wax to working with cold wax with an integration of objects and materials. I'm playing, finding what calls to me. And I moved to San Miguel, to make sure the change was real. I exhibit large-format work."
- Debra Thompson

"Like a flame juggler, Kambria Anton tames plastic, sinister pollutant, and creates powerful, weightless sculptures that transform one of the most widely used materials in our lives into amorphous, breathtaking shapes."
- Zuzka Kurt, New York Film Production Company

"I will always keep changing my artwork. The mystery of experimentation and the unknown outcome of my journey are the reason I paint... A successful painting is never guaranteed [laughing]."
- Merry Calderoni

"The years do not pass in vain. Learning, together with constant experimentation, result in these pieces full of maturity where bold colors, firm strokes and delicate textures reveal the always humanistic language that has characterized this Mexican artist.

"Experiences lived as well as imagined, suffered as well as poetized. Translating what is felt into small majesty, translating natural emotions into chromatic vibration, weaving space and time into dynamic combinations

"What stands out are the sensual spaces invented by Maru Vázquez from the discovery of her own inner self."
- Bertha Taracena, Art Critic

Absent Structure 2.0
Tuesday-Sunday 10am-6pm
Museum of Art of Querétaro
Allende 14 Sur, Centro Histórico, Querétaro, 442-212-2357
until April 28

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Born in Mexico in 1960. She entered the art world in a lyrical and circumstantial way, in 1975, working with oils. Later she perfected her technique and took classes in drawing, painting, sculpture, performance, graphic design, art history, human figure, object art, engraving, batik, mixed media, abstractionism, monotype, resins and molds and experimental painting.

She has a degree in Graphic Communication from the Academia de San Carlos, as well as a master's degree in Visual Arts from UNAM.

Distinguished artists such as José Luis Cuevas+, Alberto Castro Leñero, Manuel Felguérez, Gilberto Aceves Navarro, Alberto Gutiérrez, Emilia Sidauy+, Yani Pecanins+, Juan José Beltrán+, J.D.Weiss and Rafael Solana+, are among her teachers.

She has participated in more than 106 group exhibitions and 35 solo shows in Mexico, the United States, South America and Europe.

Her work is in permanent collections in Mexico, Paris, Berlin, Bermuda, Texas and Cabo San Lucas.

Personalities such as Bertha Taracena, Ninfa Canté, Robert Hughes, G. Archer and Robert E. Edelman have written about her work. Also, there are articles and interviews about her work in the most widely circulated newspapers and publications such as Arte al Día, Expansión, Ocean Drive, Proceso, Harpers Bazaar, Glow, Clara, Quien, Vanidades, Tiempos del Mundo, Personae, Cardinal and Época, among others.

Canal 22 made a special about her career in 2006.

Her work was included in two films "The woman after" and "Siete años de matrimonio". It was also used to illustrate the cover of the book "Aprendí que" by Estrella Aguilar.

In 2011, the Suntory brand made a special production of its Plumb Due liquor with a commemorative label for its 35 years of trajectory. It included the artwork Rebirth, part of the collection "Life, a celebration of..."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development selected her as Mexico's representative for the War on Hunger Group Auction in Paris, France in 2014. This event celebrated the 50th anniversary of the OECD, in which her work was one of the most outstanding contributions.

Most important awards
Third place in the Painting Marathon of Santa Fe, New Mexico 1991.
Diploma as outstanding artist Art Paris, Paris, France 2002 (10th place)
Second place at the First Biennial of Contemporary Latin American Art Barcelona, Spain 2004
Second place, Honorable Mention (5th place) and Special Mention as one of the three best collections presented at Art Paris, Paris, France 2007
First place for painting at the Karlsruhe Biennal, Berlin, Germany 2011.
Representative of Mexico at the OECD Auction for the War on Hunger Group Paris, France, 2014.
Member of ARTAC, Mexican Committee of the International Association of Plastic Artists, associated with UNESCO 2019.

In 2006, under the sponsorship of TELMEX, she created the Women in Art Group, and presides it to date; which has 180 career artists and 27 exhibitions and auctions.

As a parallel work, she teaches a workshop of expression through color and is Creator and Director of Igual... Ninguno!, her own brand of everyday items painted and reborn as pieces of art.

In 2020 she moved to San Miguel de Allende and began exhibiting her work at the Art Museum of Queretaro, the Nudo Gallery, the Calderoni Gallery, located in the cultural center "La Aurora", and Gale 88.

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