Jun. 1, 2022 @ 12:00 pm – Jun. 30, 2022 @ 7:00 pm
Cover image artwork: Installation from 2021 exhibition I Carry This Land with Me at Gallery 12.26 in Dallas Texas.
About the Artist
Karla García, Originally from the border of Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico and El Paso, Texas, now resides in Dallas, Texas. She has an MFA in Ceramics and certification in Museum Education from the University of North Texas (UNT) in Denton. She has worked as an adjunct professor at Dallas College, and as a contractor educator for the Dallas Contemporary Museum. She is currently part of an art collective with past Changarrito artists Tina Medina and Eliana Miranda.
Artist Statement
Migration is oftentimes a necessity for a better life. As individuals we carry the memories of our homes, friendships and our own unique stories. This body of work is a continuation of my previous explorations of migration and memory. My work is rooted in the desert landscapes of the cities I grew up in Mexico and the United States. Cacti plants are translated into organic sculptures made with terracotta clay. The sculptural forms connect the plant, the body, and earth, vary in scale, and represent memories that have been eroded by time.
I am influenced by works that speak of the human condition through their material choices such as the installations by Damian Ortega, Teresa Margolles, Doris Salcedo, Gabriel Orozco, among others. My ceramic influences include Torbjorn Kvasbo, Annabeth Rosen, Francisco Toledo, and ancient Mexican ceramic vessels and sculptures.
In my installations and through my exploration of materials and migration, I also create drawings with clay on paper that reflect the abstracted landscape of the desert on both sides of border and create moments of introspection about our shared land that connects rather than separates us.