Rodrigo Valenzuela in solo exhibition at Upfor 9.3.19

PAST: September 4 – 28, 2019
First Thursday opening September 5, 6–8 pm

PRESENT: October 2 – November 2, 2019
First Thursday opening October 3, 6–8 pm (artist present)

THE WORK

Past | Present, Rodrigo Valenzuela’s third solo exhibition at Upfor, is comprised of two parts: in September, a selection of prior work from major series in photography, video and painting; and in October, the debut of a new body of monochromatic photographs.

Past in September is comprised of selections from photographic series and videos created between 2013 and 2018. Diamond Box, a 2013 video work highlighting stories from Latino immigrants, is concurrently on view in The Warmth of Other Suns: Stories of Global Displacement at The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC (through September 22). Hedonic Reversal, a series of monochromatic photographs examining the aesthetics of urban decay, debuted in Valenzuela’s first solo museum exhibition, Future Ruins, at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle, WA (2015). The exhibition at Upfor also includes selections from Sin Héroes (2016), Mask from General Song (2018), American-type (2018) and ongoing mixed media series New Land (selections from 2017-18).

Present in October features a new series, not yet titled, that makes use of elements of electronic product packaging and Brutalist aesthetics. As in previous photographic series, the new works’ imagery is comprised of found and made objects staged in temporary assemblages in the artist’s studio. Valenzuela leverages the flattening effect of the camera to play with viewers’ sense of perspective and scale.

Upfor
929 NW Flanders St
Portland, OR 97209

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