Laura Mosquera: All the Way Through
Curated by Eileen Jeng Lynch

 The Yard: City Hall Park
116 Nassau Street, Floors 5 & 6
New York, NY 10038

November 23, 2020 - March 19, 2021

Viewing hours: Monday - Friday, 10 am - 4:30 pm (see community manager on floor 5)
and by appointment (contact: eileen@neumeraki.com)

Neumeraki is pleased to present All the Way Through, a solo exhibition of Laura Mosquera’s work from 2014 to 2020. In the shaped paintings and work on paper, Mosquera creates psychological spaces of emotional content—capturing complexities of the human experience, including fleeting moments, feelings elicited from difficult memories of personal relationships, histories, and current events. The exhibition features abstract work as well as her return to the figurative in her recent pieces—all creating a visual tension and embodying a sense of movement.

Mosquera sought out to challenge herself when she shifted toward abstraction from figuration in her earlier work. Although abstract, the works allude to characters. On shaped surfaces, the artist paints vivid colors, hard-edged forms, and straight lines. The bright colors are perhaps influenced by her multicultural upbringing as she was born in Panama to a Colombian mother and Guatemalan and Dutch father. The angular edges are inspired by the urban environment of the city and also serve as metaphors for one’s rigidity and obsessiveness as well as conformity and the need to break free. Mosquera’s additive process is mainly intuitive as she begins with a sketch and adjusts the wood panels and canvases on the floor and then incorporates color—making decisions as she builds the surfaces.

On Floor 5, Grasp, Clench, Slip (2016), a canvas of acrylic and gouache, comprises two parts, referencing two characters (the artist and her ex)—two different personalities whose relationship eventually fell apart. The left part is composed of a gridded green and yellow pattern that overlays a striped orange and lavender background. On the right part, there is a gradation of blue with a jarring black angled form. The two slightly overlapping rigid shapes create a dynamic, active, and emotional scene. With dark, diagonal lines against a bright yellow or red background, Punk Rock Poser and Pulse Pop (2019) possess a energy as if one can hear the sound of the music referenced in the titles. On Floor 6, The Day It Started (2018) comprises a solid black, red and orange pointed form that is juxtaposed with a geometric one with narrow brightly colored stripes—constructing a charged and intense environment.

Recently, Mosquera returns to the figure as a reaction to the 2016 election and its consequences. For instance, the artist recalls a photo of a father and daughter from El Salvador who drown trying to cross the Mexican border, risking their lives. The image was then used at a Trump rally by a supporter mocking their deaths. With figures against brightly colored, patterned backgrounds, these works, in a sense, become abstracted rather than serve strictly as portraits. They convey feelings of compassion, grief, or relief due to urgent situations. Hold Tight Then Let Go (2020) and To Hold It All In (2020), speak to the desire to run or hide. In the former, the female figure is in motion, moving toward the right edge of the angular surface, which is formed by two pieces that connect like a puzzle. In the latter, the female protagonist has her head down as if trying to escape mentally. Mosquera alludes to the need for more protection. Rather than focusing on the hard edges, organic gestures appear in To Hold It All In. Mosquera explains, “All these elements are used to describe the psychological response/reaction of this dehumanizing time.” Mosquera’s paintings, conjoining abstraction and figuration, continue to evolve.

About the Artist
Laura Mosquera’s solo exhibitions have been held at the Domus Atrium (formerly Contemporary Art Museum), Salamanca, Spain; Feigen Contemporary, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA Chicago), Monique Meloche gallery, Chicago; Savannah College of Art & Design; Bodybuilder & Sportsman Gallery (now Tony Wight Gallery, Chicago); Rosefsky Gallery at Binghamton University, and Reservoir Art Space, Queens. A permanent installation of paintings has been installed at the Archer Heights Branch Library commissioned through the City of Chicago Percent for Art Program, and eight billboards of her paintings continue to be exhibited at the Red Line Subway station at Chicago Ave. and State Street sponsored by the Museum of Contemporary Art and the CTA's Adopt a Station Project. Her work is in the collections of the MCA Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago, and the Domus Atrium in Salamanca, Spain. She was a Professor and Chair of Painting at the Savannah College of Art and Design for six years. Mosquera received her MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
lauramosquera.com
@lauramosquera

Neumeraki
Founded in 2016 by Eileen Jeng Lynch, Neumeraki collaborates with artists, organizations, and galleries on curatorial, consulting, writing, and editing projects. Jeng Lynch works with artists on career growth and development and has curated exhibitions in galleries and nonprofit institutions, including LMAKbooks+design, Sperone Westwater, Lesley Heller Workspace, Dorsky Gallery Curatorial Programs, Garis & Hahn, and Radiator Gallery. Jeng Lynch is also the Curator of Visual Arts at Wave Hill, where she organizes solo exhibitions by emerging artists for the Sunroom Project Space, co-curates shows in Glyndor Gallery, and is involved in all aspects of visual arts programming. She received her MA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and BA from Syracuse University.
neumeraki.com
@eileenj8

The Yard
Founded in 2011 by Morris Levy and Richard Beyda, The Yard is a revolutionary, shared office space that allows driven professionals to work together in an innovative community. The Yard provides month-to-month memberships for private offices, private desks, and co-working spaces in 14 designed locations in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. The community comprises more than 2,000 companies and thousands of members across all locations. Members have access to state-of-the-art conference rooms, beautiful breakout lounges, monthly networking events, rotating art gallery installations, and hundreds of business amenities.
theyard.com
@theyard