A continuation of a virtual discussion which began in April 2021, the Nasher Sculpture Center is pleased to welcome Guadalajara-based artist Gabriel Rico for an in-person artist talk. Rico, who will be in town for a residency at the Augustus Owen Foundation, joins Nasher Sculpture Center’s Chief Curator Jed Morse for a conversation covering the artist’s practice. 

Drawing on his degree in architecture and interests in science and philosophy, Gabriel Rico combines found, collected, and manufactured materials to create sculptures that reflect on the relationship between humans and the natural environment. He frequently uses neon, taxidermy, ceramics, branches, and objects of more personal significance to create installations and wall-mounted sculptures in seemingly absurdist scenarios or equations that nonetheless suggest causes and effects, as well as a need for balance. Often lyrical and humorous, his installations combine natural and unnatural forms that explore concepts of symmetry and asymmetry and highlight cultural and political foibles.

 

Rico’s work has been featured in a number of important museum exhibitions and international surveys in Mexico, Europe, and the United States, including solo presentations at the Aspen Art Museum and MAZ Museo de Arte de Zapopan, Mexico. His work was also featured in May You Live in Interesting Times, the 58th Venice Biennial in 2019. Several prominent museums, such as the Pérez Art Museum in Miami, the Voorlinden Museum in The Netherlands, and MASIN (Museo de Arte de Sinaloa) in Culiacan, Mexico, have acquired his work. Rico is represented by Perrotin Gallery and lives and works in Guadalajara, Mexico