Luisa Duarte

Madi #1 , Venezuelan Artist, Archival print, Geometric Abstract, MOMA , Cotton Rag

2021

Duarte is a Venezuelan-American artist based in Houston. She has been exhibited around the world, including at the Holocaust Museum in Houston, the 2017 Texas Biennial in Austin and Museo de Arte Contemporáneo del Zulia, Maczul in Maracaibo, Venezuela. Duarte is known nationally for her distinctive monotypes and colorful paintings, characterized by sharp-edged geometric shapes that allude to her background in architecture. Her work focuses on themes of identity, fragility and the boundaries between personal and public. “I am working on a collage made of monotypes on paper,” Durate shares. “It is a collection of fragments, a fictional territory, where the hard stone texture seemed to be captured or trapped by the paper. It also has a structure made of monotypes as well, hovering over the surface, indicating a road to be traveled. “This work will be part of an ongoing series talking about territoriality, fragility and borders that I have been working on since 2018. For me, the concept of territoriality encompasses not only the physical aspect of the space, but the emotional part as well. These territories that I create are spaces that work as refuge and solace. “They are a means to break away from chaos. They become repositories of longings, tributes and secrets.”