2012 Catalogue Archive

Argentinean artist Liliana Porter calls her sculptural works incorporating miniature figures and toys “theatrical vignettes.” In many of these works, the figure is involved in a tragic-comic activity connected to labor or creation, easily identifiable with the role of the artist. In this work, a tiny man hacks away at a wood panel that would typically be used for a painting. The man’s everyday task mimics a number of historically important artists, namely Lucio Fontana who famously slashed and gouged the canvas of his paintings. Porter is currently based in New York, and her work is represented in national and international public collections such as the Museo del Barrio, New York City; the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, among numerous others.