past exhibitionDiana-Sofia EstradaTraveling Without Doing Harm11.24.14

Diana-Sofia Estrada
Traveling Without Doing Harm
Opening Reception Friday, November 24, 7-10 pm
Exhibition open Nov 22nd, 23rd, 25th, 29th
1-4pm, and by appointment

LA based artist Diana Sofia Estrada presents new work at Elephant. In this installation of work, Estrada focuses on traveling without doing harm. The term “ harm” is applied broadly, the idea being that whenever people travel, we leave or do something to the immediate environment or community. Traveling without doing harm is an impossible, but lofty, goal for one who wishes to be as respectful as possible to an area they are visiting… maybe.

Drawing upon Estrada’s experiences in travel, often being mistaken for a local, this body of work comments upon traveling as a source of “inspiration.” Using imagery she took while in Alexandria and Cairo, Egypt during the summer of 2009, she contrasts this with images taken while her parents were living in Alexandria during the January Revolution of 2011, known in the U.S.A. as part of the Arab Spring. Addressing issues of cultural insensitivity and voyeurism, Estrada’s works seek to record immediate reactions and considerations unto themselves, creating an installation of paintings and objects that voyeuristically contemplate beauty and change.

Estrada has also organized a group of artist performances that address the title of the show, “Traveling without doing harm” through the issues of identity/persona, urban planning, immigration, and capitalism. The artists are Joy Harris, Guan Rong, Henry Taylor, and Diana-Sofia Estrada. Performances start at 9pm on the night of the reception.

Artist Performances on Friday, November 24, 9pm
Traveling Without Doing Harm: Blunders and Mishaps
Joy Harris, Guan Rong, Henry Taylor, and Diana-Sofia Estrada

Diana-Sofia Estrada

Diana-Sofia Estrada received her BFA cum laude in Painting/Drawing and BA cum laude in Psychology from the University of North Texas. She received her MFA in Art from the California Institute of the Arts in 2008. Estrada’s work encompasses drawings, installations, and video to question every day expectations. Estrada has exhibited her work in FotoFest Houston, participated in DiverseWorks’ artist residency, The Real (Art) World both in Houston; in 2008, Estrada was an artist in residence at the Vermont Studio Center, and in 2009 she received the Arts for All Teaching Fellowship from the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. That same year she was a teaching artist in residence at the Bibliotheca Alexandria/ L’Atelier D’Alexandrie in Alexandria, Egypt. Estrada has exhibited her work internationally and nationally including Diaspora Vibe Gallery (Miami), Maniac Gallery (CA), Alice Yard Space (Trinidad), and at Artlab at the Smithsonian Hirschhorn Museum in Washington D.C. www.dianasofiaestrada.com

Joy Harris

Jeanette Joy Harris is an artist and writer who lives in Houston, Texas. She has had solo and collaborative works shown in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, and Houston. Her work will also be shown in December at Miami Photo Salon, an exhibit associated with Miami Art Week. She has published work with TribTalk (editorial section of Texas Tribune), Glasstire, and Illusion. With a background in philosophy and politics, Joy has also presented academic work on the concepts of public space and action. Her blog www.duchampintheoffice.com connects “normal” people with contemporary art. @duchampintheoff

Guan Rong

Guan Rong as “Ms. Rachel” has been teaching art classes to children and youth in the San Gabriel Valley area since 2005. She adopted the name “Rachel” right after she graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a BFA. Finding it difficult to be “Ms. Rachel” while teaching art and also attending CalArts, she left CalArts after a year of study in the MFA program. Being “Ms. Rachel” while teaching is her main source of income that supports her art making as Guan Rong. Guan Rong has exhibited and performed at the Armory Center for the Arts, Riverside Art Museum, The Velaslavasay Panorama, KCHUNG Radio, Rowland Contemporary (Chicago), and Blutenweiss (Berlin). Guan Rong makes paintings, films, books, performances, and radio shows with John Burtle. She recently participated with KCHUNG at the Made In LA 2014 at the Hammer museum.

Henry Taylor

Henry Taylor is a Los Angeles-based painter and sculpture who often makes portraits of his relatives, friends, neighbors, and anyone he feels connected to, if only briefly. His work freezes an intimate moment in time. Henry Taylor received his bachelor of arts from California Institute of the Arts and has had solo exhibitions at MOMA PS1, Santa Monica Museum of Art, and Studio Museum in Harlem. He has been included in numerous group exhibitions, including 2013 Carnegie International, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; Blues for Smoke, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Made in LA, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles; Peres Projects, Berlin, Germany; and Body Language, Saatchi Gallery, London, England; Human Nature: Contemporary Art from the Collection, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles; 30 Americans, Rubell Family Collection, Miami, FL and North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC. Taylor is included the collections of Saatchi Collection, London, UK; Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY; Rubell Family Collection, Miami, FL; MoCA, Los Angeles, CA;MoMA PS.1, New York, NY. Taylor is represented by Blum and Poe in Los Angeles and Untitled in NYC.