Documents of Latin American and Latino Art

This exhibition essay by Julia P. Herzberg reviews the artistic trajectory of Venezuelan artist Nela Ochoa (b. 1953), whose current work is inspired by the medical sciences. Since the 1990s, she has mainly focused on the body, genetics, and [...]

In this interview with Iván Navarro, Julia P. Herzberg poses questions about process and materials, the use of electricity, and art historical influences on his work from the 1990s to the 2000s. Navarro’s Blade Runner series (2004), [...]

Written for Iván Navarro’s midcareer exhibition, this essay explores his early work from the 1990s to the 2000s, enabling us to understand his evolution over time. Growing up in Chile during the Augusto Pinochet regime (1973–90), [...]

This text, included in an exhibition catalogue for artist Carlos Alfonzo, is a transcription of a conversation between Alfonzo and his friend César Trasobares. The interview was videotaped by Alfonzo’s friend Craig Robins in November [...]

This exhibition essay by guest curator Julia P. Herzberg addresses two major long-term projects by Leandro Katz. The Catherwood Project (1985–1995, 2001) is a photographic reconstruction of the two mid-nineteenth century expeditions of John [...]

 This art magazine interview between Julia P. Herzberg and Francisca Sutil involves a conversation about the artist’s painting process in general and her recent series Mute (2009), in particular. Sutil explains that prior to initiating [...]

This exhibition essay explores the works of four contemporary women artists of Cuban descent: Teresita Fernández, María Elena González, Quisqueya Henríquez, and María Martínez-Cañas, each discussed [...]

This exhibition essay discusses three interrelated artistic works by Raquel Rabinovich: the Pabhavikas series, the Emergences series, and the Riverbed Library series. It details how she brings together the creative and perceptive mindset of her [...]

This exhibition essay discusses several Central American and Caribbean artists who draw on rituals in their performative works, including Ernesto Pujol, María Magdalena Campos-Pons, José Bedia, Pepón Osorio, Tania Bruguera, [...]

This exhibition essay discusses the Chilean artist Catalina Parra’s collages on view in the exhibition Catalina Parra: It’s Indisputable. It includes seven series with seventy works, which comprise collages made of newspaper clippings [...]

These exhibition notes explain RISD’s (Rhode Island School of Art and Design) Art ConText series and artist Pepón Osorio’s work Transboricua. These socially engaged installations originate from his past experiences as a social [...]

This art magazine article on Pepón Osorio overviews his career trajectory since the late 1980s, suggesting that he has pushed boundaries with his site-specific installations. His work addresses social issues by engaging in community outreach [...]

This short text appears in a catalogue of works in El Museo del Barrio’s permanent collection. It addresses several works by artist Leandro Katz. Among them, a chromogenic photographic print titled Lunar Typewriter (1980). It depicts an old- [...]

This art magazine article reviews the 10th Bienal de La Habana organized around the theme “Integration and Resistance in the Global Era.” It exhibits works in all media that explore the effects of globalization on economies, natural [...]

This art magazine article reviews the 9th Bienal de La Habana and describes art works in its various venues. The biennial’s theme focuses on the dynamics and complexities of urban culture, exhibiting works in all media. Some works present the [...]

This exhibition brochure, written by guest curator Julia P. Herzberg, explains the ideas behind Leandro Erlich’s installation Neighbors. The brochure contains her curatorial statement and a brief artist’s biography. It describes Neighbors [...]

This exhibition essay charts Ana Mendieta’s artistic trajectory between 1970 and 1980, including her tenure at the University of Iowa (where she completed two master’s degrees: one in painting and one in intermedia), her time in Mexico, [...]

This magazine article addresses Ana Mendieta’s early work during her graduate studies at the University of Iowa in the early 1970s. The article argues that though Mendieta’s work has been extensively analyzed, this period in her [...]

This exhibition essay by adjunct curator Julia Herzberg on artist Magdalena Fernández’s video installation 2iPM009 (2009) intends to broaden our understanding of the Venezuelan artist’s concepts, processes, sources, and development [...]

This exhibition brochure by guest curator Julia P. Herzberg describes several works included in A Town Portrait, with an eponymous installation and two photographic series, When I Am Not Here/Estoy allá (1996) and Abridor de caminos (1997). [...]

This essay by Julia Herzberg overviews Carlos Alfonzo’s artistic trajectory from 1982 to 1991, outlining the biographical details of his life and analyzing multiple artworks included in the exhibition. Working mainly in a Neo-Expressionist [...]

This essay explores Liliana Porter’s screenprint and mixed-media works (1991–94), depicting figures and objects taken from popular culture, art, literature, and her own collection of bric-a-brac. Her works create images in which the real [...]

Curator Julia Herzberg’s exhibition essay for The Decade Show: Frameworks of Identity in the 1980s explores the construct of “identity” in the art of the 1980s. It discusses the twenty-five Hispanic, Latino, Chicano, Latin American [...]

This exhibition essay by Julia P. Herzberg explains and describes two installations by Josely Carvalho: It’s Still a Time to Mourn: Dia Mater I and Tempos de Luto: Dia Mater II (both 1993). Both works are part of the larger series It’s [...]

This foldout pamphlet for the III Bienal Internacional de Pintura in Cuenca, Ecuador, discusses the six artists of Latin American and Caribbean descent included in the biennial’s U.S. representation. The curatorial introduction by Julia P. [...]

This exhibition brochure, written by consulting curator Julia P. Herzberg, addresses Ernesto Pujol’s installation Conversion of Manners. The title comes from a Benedictine vow that Catholic monks take when they leave secular life and enter [...]

Written by guest curator Julia P. Herzberg, this exhibition leaflet explains the ideas behind Ernesto Pujol’s installation American Fields. This Cuban artist’s work comprises a wooden table, a metal chair, and cast-aluminum corn cobs, as [...]

This exhibition essay overviews the trajectory of Arturo Cuenca’s photographic practice from his time spent in Cuba in the 1980s until his arrival in New York in the early 1990s. In the late 1970s, he transitioned from making Photorealist/Pop [...]

This exhibition essay overviews the trajectory of Arturo Cuenca’s photographic practice from his time spent in Cuba in the 1980s until his arrival in New York in the early 1990s. In the late 1970s, he transitioned from making Photorealist/Pop [...]

This exhibition essay by Julia P. Herzberg discusses twelve Chilean artists working in experimental and avant-garde modalities (from the late 1970s to early 1990s). These artists are lesser known outside Chile because they stayed in the country [...]