LatchKey Gallery in partnership with WALLWORKS NEW YORK proudly presents, The Cost of Living | El Costo de la Vida, a two-part solo exhibition by Lucia Hierro. El Costo de la Vida / The Cost of Living will be on view at Independent New York 2019 from March 7-10, 2019 and WALLWORKS NEW YORK, a community-driven art space in the Bronx from March 9- April 10, 2019.
Cost of Living | El Costo de la Vida plays on the economic concept that quantifies the maintenance of a certain standard of living. This term, when taken out of its economic context and placed in a community-driven art space in the Bronx or a curated art fair in Manhattan, stirs up more questions about its impact and definition.
Currently working in the Bronx, Lucia Hierro's work uses personal and specific narratives that explore broader economic structures. "Large oversized receipts from chain stores such as CVS and Fine Fare stream down from the ceiling, exposing personal purchases that most are shy to reveal. Through this humorous colloquial reference to the size of the CVS receipt, Constancia #1 & Constancia #2 demands attention to the items Hierro has bought. Purposefully highlighting ideas around maintenance of the body, in health and quality of life, it allows the audience to judge her personal expenditure decisions. In this instance, literal references are made to the cost of living in survival against pleasure.
One of the collage fabric pieces, "Torrejitas de Yuca" portrays the ingredients used for a yucca dish-common items available in the Bronx that could disappear as traditions change. Fundita Que Pesa, on view at Independent, a bag pinned against that wall holding images of corner shop owners indicates that awareness of the shifting tide. When thinking of the context of the making of these colorful and exaggerated objects, there is a sinister undertone implied by where and who is making them. Hierro's placement and intention is not fate or contingent on her upbringing, but deliberate and a chronicle of the city.
Lucia Hierro's work explores the body as a collection of fragmented signifiers that includes language, taste, and culture. Hierro addresses these ideas across a broad platform of techniques that incorporate digital media, collage, and felt constructions.
The series titled Mercado (soft sculptural objects resembling oversized translucent tote bags filled with images/ images of objects), utilizes digital media, painting, installation art, sculpture and color theory as tools to tackle ideas of exclusion and privilege. The bags employ signifiers from pop culture, everyday items such as Vick's Vaporub/supermarket circulars to engage the viewer in a discourse on issues of class, culture, and identity. The works in the Bodegones or "still life" series as well as Mercado explore the symbiotic relationship between personal narrative and larger economic structures.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Lucia Hierro is a Dominican American conceptual artist born and raised in New York City, Washington Heights/Inwood, currently working in the Bronx. She received a BFA from SUNY Purchase (2010) and an MFA from Yale School of Art (2013). She has exhibited in shows at Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Bronx Museum of the Arts, Sugar Hill Children's Museum of Art and Storytelling, Paris Photo, her solo shows include Elizabeth Dee Gallery in Harlem and the at Casa Quien Gallery in the Dominican Republic. Residencies include Yaddo, Red Bull Arts in Detroit, Fountainhead Residency, Bronx Museums Artist in the Market program and Casa Quien. Her work is part of the JP Morgan Chase art collection and the Rennie collection in Vancouver.
ABOUT THE GALLERIES
LatchKey Gallery is a nomadic contemporary art gallery that looks to re-imagine the brick and mortar via intimately curated exhibitions, salon series, and events by partnering with various spaces around NYC.
LatchKey Gallery is a response to the changing market place and the erosion of the traditional art gallery. We are committed to supporting art and culture and the role it plays in sustaining healthy communities. By partnering with various non-profit organizations to help their mission, LKG contributes a percentage of sales from exhibitions, lends assistance by joining benefit committees and provides art donations.
LatchKey Gallery is the brainchild of Style Curator, Natalie Kates and gallerist/curator, Amanda L. Uribe. Each with their unique curatorial approaches, come together to create experiences centered around emerging and mid-career artists.
WALLWORKS NEW YORK is a contemporary art gallery in the Mott Haven area of The South Bronx, dedicated to reminding everyone of the rich artistic history of the neighborhood.
In the vein of Fashion MODA, WALLWORKS is dedicated to showcasing new and exciting art from both emerging and established artists from The Bronx and around the world.
The passion project of legendary Graffiti pioneer CRASH, entrepreneur Robert Kantor and CRASH's daughter Anna Matos, WALLWORKS NEW YORK seeks to invite and encourage everyone to take a trip Uptown!
ABOUT THE FAIR
Independent was conceived and initiated in 2009 by Elizabeth Dee, Darren Flook, Matthew Higgs and Laura Mitterrand, with a consortium of like-minded commercial and non-profit galleries. The first edition took place in the former Dia Center for the Arts and former home of X Initiative at 548 West 22nd Street. This was the first fair to take place in a former museum, a landmark building in Chelsea’s gallery district. The inaugural edition included 40 international exhibitors in March 2010.
Following the critical success of the first three editions, in 2014 Independent launched Independent Projects—a two-week platform of solo exhibitions during New York's auction week in November 2014.
In 2016, Independent relocated the New York edition to Spring Studios in Tribeca. As the founding visual cultural partner of Spring Studios and Spring Place, Independent joins the ecosystem of Tribeca Film Festival as the two public events to take place annually in this location.