Exhibition Deep in The Pool, House of Propellers, London. Curated by Cecilia Brunson. May 4 - 25, 2010.
* Photos by Sashiyo Nishimura.
Excerpt from Press Release:
House of Propellers in collaboration with curator Cecilia Brunson is pleased to present the first UK solo exhibition of Johanna Unzueta. The presentation will consist of one installation of industrial sculptures specifically made for the gallery.
Working against any grain of sensationalism by using materials such as felt, fabric, wood and cardboard, Johanna Unzueta’s practice explores the history of labour. She sews and assembles simple representations of basic work tools like shovels, wheelbarrows, axes, boxes, nails and pipes. These objects are literal reconstructions of artefacts used in manual work, as well as delicate allegories of the history of technological advancement. In her sculptures the notion of labour exists not only in a social and historical context, but is also present in the careful handicraft and fabrication of each artwork. One of the common denominators in her installations is the atmosphere of playfulness and subtle humour, as she adjusts variations in scale that tend to shift viewer’s perception.
Johanna Unzueta was awarded the 2010 Pulse Prize for best solo booth at the New York Armory Fair. And recently exhibited her first monographic exhibition at the Queens Museum of Art in New York.