14.01.23 –
04.03.23
Heart Keeper
"But then the mirror-door opens and with the movement of the door a new composition of the shadowy room is created and into that composition come flasks and flasks of glass of fugitive clarity." - Clarice Lispector.
Pradiauto is happy to present Heart Keeper, Esther Merinero's first solo exhibition, which is spatially articulated around a sculptural installation that is surrounded by a new series of resin works, a suspended sculpture and small drawings in bronze.
Heart Keeper - protected heart, pulse and armour, skin and shield. Merinero's work constantly revolves around the idea of protection, but also of vulnerability, combining in her works organic or visceral forms with metallic coatings (resin works) and taking personal objects (padlocks, keys, jewellery or even a bed - "Conversation Stuck in the Trhoat [encore]") to refer to that intimate place where memory and the creation of memories come into play. Personal places and objects coexist with found ones, hardware, with the use of metal and protective elements such as helmets, knee pads, and even an armour suit ("Princess's Wardrobe").
In line with her previous work, Heart Keeper stems from an exploration of the space between (or the point where) seemingly antagonistic ideas or forms meet - the soft and its armour, fragility and strength, or the amorphous and the line that gathers it. Sometimes her work presents two physically separate but emotionally united bodies, attempting to embrace each other or showing mutual dependence ("Drop Down Your Guard 1, 2 & 3" and "Keep Awake 1 & 2"). Through this material - and its application in different semi-translucent layers of colour - these pieces allow the eye to slowly wander through their layers, shapes and stories. At the same time, their glossy, mirrored finish blurs the distinction between subject and object, allowing us to appear in them - whilst also acting as surfaces on which to encounter our phobias and desires. They are spatially dual works, consisting of a complex and deep interior and, at the same time, involving us in the treatment of the surface.
Heart Keeper is not a retrospective exhibition, but in it, however, the artist returns to recurring themes in his work, such as love, fantasy as a space of possibility and the fragility of contemporary connections. At the same time, her work continues a speculation on the power of certain objects to retain, to store, to protect these weak connections and to give them a new physical existence. Merinero imagines that feelings can acquire new lives, new homes, new bodies. This is the first time she has shown work in written format.
Pradiauto is happy to present Heart Keeper, Esther Merinero's first solo exhibition, which is spatially articulated around a sculptural installation that is surrounded by a new series of resin works, a suspended sculpture and small drawings in bronze.
Heart Keeper - protected heart, pulse and armour, skin and shield. Merinero's work constantly revolves around the idea of protection, but also of vulnerability, combining in her works organic or visceral forms with metallic coatings (resin works) and taking personal objects (padlocks, keys, jewellery or even a bed - "Conversation Stuck in the Trhoat [encore]") to refer to that intimate place where memory and the creation of memories come into play. Personal places and objects coexist with found ones, hardware, with the use of metal and protective elements such as helmets, knee pads, and even an armour suit ("Princess's Wardrobe").
In line with her previous work, Heart Keeper stems from an exploration of the space between (or the point where) seemingly antagonistic ideas or forms meet - the soft and its armour, fragility and strength, or the amorphous and the line that gathers it. Sometimes her work presents two physically separate but emotionally united bodies, attempting to embrace each other or showing mutual dependence ("Drop Down Your Guard 1, 2 & 3" and "Keep Awake 1 & 2"). Through this material - and its application in different semi-translucent layers of colour - these pieces allow the eye to slowly wander through their layers, shapes and stories. At the same time, their glossy, mirrored finish blurs the distinction between subject and object, allowing us to appear in them - whilst also acting as surfaces on which to encounter our phobias and desires. They are spatially dual works, consisting of a complex and deep interior and, at the same time, involving us in the treatment of the surface.
Heart Keeper is not a retrospective exhibition, but in it, however, the artist returns to recurring themes in his work, such as love, fantasy as a space of possibility and the fragility of contemporary connections. At the same time, her work continues a speculation on the power of certain objects to retain, to store, to protect these weak connections and to give them a new physical existence. Merinero imagines that feelings can acquire new lives, new homes, new bodies. This is the first time she has shown work in written format.
Esther Merinero
(1994, Madrid). She studied her BA in Fine Art at Chelsea College of Arts and recently graduated from an MA in Sculpture at the Royal College of Art with the support of Fundació “La Caixa”, awarding her a a fellowship for postgraduate studies. Her work has been included in international exhibitions at Dada Post (Berlin), Centre del Carme (Valencia), Space2B (Madrid), Charsoo Honar (Tehran) or Saartchi Gallery (London), amongst others. Now represented by Pradiauto (Madrid).
Esther has also given lectures and workshops internationally in institutions such as University of the Arts (London), University for the Creative Arts (Farnham) or in Espositivo Academy (Madrid), and has curated exhibitions such as Archipiélago at the former British Embassy in Madrid, or Baldea.
Esther has also given lectures and workshops internationally in institutions such as University of the Arts (London), University for the Creative Arts (Farnham) or in Espositivo Academy (Madrid), and has curated exhibitions such as Archipiélago at the former British Embassy in Madrid, or Baldea.