Working mainly in the field of sculpture, Diana of Solares (born 1952) uses a range of ready-made and found materials to explore space as a cohesive whole and answer the question: “Where are we when we are in the world?” The Guatemalan artist creates sculptures that not only occupy the site where they are presented but help to define it. Describing her works as a form of “provisional drawing in space and on space”, she envisions them as self-reflective site interventions that affect the perceptual experience of viewers.
The artist is currently the subject of a personal exhibition with The Gallery Rebelde in Guatemala,3 from Plycem, 2 from Clavos and 1 Tablón ‘Caos y Eros,’which is on view until July 28, 2023. Featuring a range of sculptural works made using found materials and objects, the exhibition features a spatial scene that “seeks to create new relationships and understandings between material bodies and human bodies”.
Recently, we reached out to de Solares to find out more about the ideas behind their current exhibit and what their process looks like both technically and creatively.
Installation view of “3 de Plycem, 2 de Clavos y 1 Tablón ‘Caos y Eros'” by Diana de Solares (2023). Courtesy of La Galería Rebelde, Guatemala City.
Your personal exhibition is currently on view with La Galería Rebelde, can you tell us about the exhibition and the inspiration behind it?
I work with various materials and mediums. Diversity and change are essential to my work and my life. In this exhibition, I have collected pieces belonging to different series of works. Nevertheless, they are bound by a distinct mindset. “Where are we when we are in the world?” is a recurring question that underlies my motivations to make art. I have been interested in the concepts of chaos and eros in recent years. Lately I’ve read some wonderful books that explore these ideas, by scientist Ralph Abraham Chaos, Gaia, Eros (1994) and psychoanalyst Veronica Goodchild Chaos and Eros: Sacred Mysteries and the Darkness of Love (2001). I found amazing revelations in both; they informed my understanding of the connection between beings in the world and the importance of myth and Eros for understanding our relationship with the world. I therefore used the binomial “chaos and eros” as the subtitle of my exhibition.
What do you hope the viewing experience will be for visitors? Is there a main impression or takeaway that you would like visitors to have?
It is important to me that the visual experience transcends a simple visual surprise. I would expect my works to stimulate other senses and emotions in order to elicit a more primal experience of self, as it fits perfectly into the intricate puzzle of human life on this planet.
Installation view of “3 de Plycem, 2 de Clavos y 1 Tablón ‘Caos y Eros'” by Diana de Solares (2023). Courtesy of La Galería Rebelde, Guatemala City.
How would you describe your creative process, do you work from a fully formed idea or is it more intuitive?
The starting point of my creative process is an attitude of full awareness of everything around me. This allows me to discover relationships, which are the foundation of my works.
Along with my connection to daily events, I am an avid reader. After a day of work in the studio, I will take a book that will provide me with synchronic ideas associated with the work in progress.
For example, a recent commission I created for the new U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City was nurtured and informed by philosopher-poet David Whyte’s poem “Everything Awaits You.”
Installation view of “3 de Plycem, 2 de Clavos y 1 Tablón ‘Caos y Eros'” by Diana de Solares (2023). Courtesy of La Galería Rebelde, Guatemala City.
From a technical point of view, what does your practice look like? How do you choose the materials? What do you think is the most important tool in your studio?
I am a builder. I’m prone to common and discarded materials, such as construction debris and sports laces. I’ve been collecting such things for decades, even before I decided to start making art.
The nature that surrounds me and atmospheric phenomena are also part of my sources.
My home is totally connected to nature, and I am aware of the variety of sounds from the garden and nearby volcanoes; the constant changes in the sky and the temperature and movement of the wind; as well as light variations throughout the day. What mystery and what delight!
Such a variety of materials and sensory experiences is not enough, because my goal is not to build a sculpture or a painting per se, but to create a set of relationships between the different elements that I choose to connect. Therefore, my sense of spatiality is my most important tool.
You first studied architecture. Does architecture inform or influence your artistic practice?
Architecture has influenced my work. I am very indebted to the Finnish architect Juhani Pallasmaa, whose philosophical ideas on art and architecture inform my vision. Through his writings, I understood and embraced the need for myth, sensuality and eros in artistic creation.
Installation view of “3 de Plycem, 2 de Clavos y 1 Tablón ‘Caos y Eros'” by Diana de Solares (2023). Courtesy of La Galería Rebelde, Guatemala City.
Where do you look for inspiration? Are there any artists or movements – historical or contemporary – that you think have helped shape your work?
Inspiration comes from a variety of sources: the vernacular architecture that surrounds me, the popular objects in the streets, roads and markets, the daily life that unfolds before my eyes. The books I read help me complete the concepts for each new project.
All of these entries are translated into an abstract language, which I have understood and adopted since I was a child, in particular geometric abstraction.
Artists, movements or techniques that have been useful in the creation and understanding of my work: exceptional developments that occurred in Europe at the beginning and the middle of the 20th century; also, Minimalism, Hard-edged painting, Mono-ha, to name a few. Artists like Giuseppe Penone, Carlos Mérida, Luis Barragán, Carmen Herrera, Ben Nicholson, Kishio Suga, Abraham Cruzvillegas, are artists who have always impressed me and continue to do so.
Can you tell us what you are currently working on or would like to work on next?
I am currently working with paper collages from magazines that I have been collecting for decades. In fact, all my work ends up being a kind of collage. If the 20th century was the century of collage, it seems to me that the 21st century is defined even more by the reassembly of disparate fragments comprising healthy images that speak of the charm and effectiveness of mixture and “contamination”.
Installation view of “3 de Plycem, 2 de Clavos y 1 Tablón ‘Caos y Eros'” by Diana de Solares (2023). Courtesy of La Galería Rebelde, Guatemala City.
“3 from Plycem, 2 from Clavos and 1 Tablón: ‘Caos y Eros’is on view at La Galería Rebelde, Guatemala City, through July 28, 2023.
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