Manuel Molina Martagon | Ñew York

Manuel Molina Martagon | manuelmolinamartagon.com

Manuel Molina Martagon

Ñew York: Latin American and Spanish Artists in New York City

AMA | Art Museum of the Americas

Bio

Manuel Molina Martagon (b 1981 Puebla) is a multimedia artist working in video, photography and performance. Molina Martagon holds a Bachelor in Mass Media and Communication from UPAEP and a MFA in Photography, Video and Related Media from the School of Visual Arts in New York. His work has been exhibited in Mexico, United States, Spain and Cuba. His videos have been featured in festivals like Proyector Madrid, Region 0 The Latino VideoArt Festival, YANS & RETO and Festival Internacional de Video Arte de Camaguey. His work is currently exhibited at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia and Galería de Arte Contemporáneo y Diseño Espinoza Iglesias en Puebla. Molina Martagon has also been a recipient of multiple international awards and grants, such as a Fulbright Scholarship, Santander-UPAEP para Estudios de Posgrado, Beca complemento SEP, Alice Beck Odette scholarship and Fondo Estatal para la Creación Artística de Puebla FOESCAP. Molina Martagon is currently collaborating in the New New Yorkers program at Queens Museum of Art.

Artist Statement

The two videos [in Ñew York] come directly from my everyday experience of living in New York. American Sculpture is a performance that takes place at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 20 minutes I learned the American sculptures of the XIX century collection from a Met catalog. Each sculpture was performed several minutes by heart. American Sculpture is a work that addresses the different functions that a museum has as public space, ranging from a mausoleum to a tourist attraction. Based in endurance, memory and chance, the performance is open to random interactions. In If I come back to life I want to be an American dentist, I chewed only with one side for several days, due to a cavity. The extra work helped to wake up a wisdom tooth. My insurance didn’t cover the expenses and I couldn´t afford a dentist. This situation happened four weeks before spring break… So I resolved to go to a dentist in Mexico. It was just 4 weeks. The result of this process is a beautiful piece, my first organic sculpture: a symbol of coming of age and human endurance.

Sol Aramendi | Ñew York

Sol Aramendi | www.solaramendi.com

Sol Aramendi

Ñew York: Latin American and Spanish Artists in New York City

AMA | Art Museum of the Americas

Artwork

Ñew York features three photographs by Sol Aramendi. Aramendi says of her work:

"I choose to look through the lens in order to see. The language of photography helps me understand how I position myself in the world, where I’ve come from and where I might go next.

In my pictures I am exploring psychological impressions of my life of 'Being Solo' in New York. I construct scenes that translate the processes and obsessions I go trough my life here with the uncertain hope of bringing some light of understanding to my obscure self."

© Sol Aramendi. "Welcome to My Hood" (2011). Image Courtesy of Praxis Gallery.

Bio

Sol Aramendi is a New York based Argentinean artist working in photography and installation. Sol has merged her artistic work with Social Practice. She is the founder of the Project Luz Photography Program for New Immigrants (http://www.facebook.com/projectluz). Using photography as a tool of empowerment, creating a dialogue of understanding, connecting people with communities and their creativity.

She was featured at El Museo del Barrio's 2011"(S) Files," the museum's sixth biennial of art created by Latino artists living in NY. Sol’s work has been shown widely in New York, Buenos Aires, Berlin, Los Angeles, Tolouse, Barcelona, Madrid, Utrecht, and Split.

Her first studio was at the legendary 5pointz building in Queens, NY where she interacted with a large and diverse group and actively participated of Urban culture. This empty building is now her canvas.