$10 Halves examines how memory can simultaneously serve and fail us. In my practice I am investigating what is gained and lost through recalling a memory. The works presented here serve as my attempts to hold on to and solidify some of these fragments as best as I can while also looking at them from a new angle. Because of this new perspective I am able to interpret new meanings from the past, one that is in a constant state of orbiting me. This process of excavation and discovery is present in the work on multiple levels, including the materials used and the processes by which they are applied to the substrates.
The show will include two dimensional pieces that highlight the fragile nature of the past as well as sculptural works that present different methods of navigating through memories. For example in “Primos” I drew a family portrait in charcoal and then covered it with joint compound. After the joint compound dries I crack off fragments to reveal the image underneath. This process of cracking off the layers highlights the barrier that is between me and these memories and makes for works that develop and change overtime. I use my abstracted imagery of family photos to depict the memory of specific people and locations. In these newest joint compound pieces I have found a process to think about how people fill in “blanks” in their memories. My Exhibition $10 Halves will showcase how I’ve been investigating the forms of memory in my studio practice.
Artist Statement:
I’m trying to navigate the present with fragments from the past. I work with various materials including tracing paper, joint compound, concrete, charcoal, sound, and video, transforming them into abstract sculptures, wall pieces, and works that slip in between disciplines and memories. I’ve felt the most love from my Dad when he cuts my hair. He taught me how to cut hair in college, and now I feel the most love for him when I cut his, noticing how he closes his eyes in the chair as I shave his head. When I was little my Mom would trace Pokemon characters for me to fill in because I wasn’t confident enough in my drawing skills. Tracing is still a major facet of my practice, as I trace old family photos onto my substrates. I felt the biggest as a kid cruising with my Dad in the Monte Carlo driving down National Avenue, when the music would be really loud and people would look at us, and show love as we passed by. From my archive of experiences I create works that attempt to solidify these fragments but they’re distorted, not as I experienced them initially. There’s a haze to it, the leftover residue that guides me now.
Artist Bio:
Isaiah Vazquez is a multimedia artist from Milwaukee, WI who’s currently based in Kansas City, MO. Vazquez’s work examines ideas of reverence and maintenance, whether for materials, subjects, and memories. These interests began during Vazquez’s childhood upbringing during which he detailed cars with his Father and colored cartoon characters that his mother would draw for him. Art was a major part of his childhood, spending lots of time at the kitchen table drawing graffiti or various characters from cartoons.
He was awarded residency at the Yale Norfolk School of Art, and has exhibited at the Lester Goldman Gallery at the Kansas City Art Institute, Runnels Gallery at Eastern New Mexico State University, and is a part of forthcoming exhibitions at the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art (MO) and 100,000,000 Space (KCMO). He will graduate from the Kansas City Art Institute with a BFA in Painting in the Spring of 2025.
