Various Small Fires is pleased to present Lucia Hierro's first exhibition at VSF, a site-specific outdoor installation that coincides with Hierro's concurrent exhibition at Charlie James Gallery in Los Angeles.
An extension of the artist's ongoing sculpture series, Gates, which debuted at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in 2021, Lucia Hierro utilizes large-scale iron gates as a structural space in which to confront ideas of power and exclusion, capitalism and commodification, and post-war art historical methodologies. This is the first time works from the series have been exhibited outdoors. Enmeshed in and placed alongside the gates are oversized replicas of circulars, consumer items, and flowers, all printed from weatherproof vinyl normally used for advertising- evoking the iconic forms of American sculptor Claes Oldenburg's large, fabric replicas of everyday objects. If Oldenburg's works are defined by the Pop artist's fixation on his particular quotidian, Hierro's practice is fueled by the circadian rhythm of life in New York City, specifically her upbringing around Inwood and Washington Heights and her Dominican heritage. The Doritos bag, for instance, is included in one of Hierro's aluminum printed works for the simple reason that, recently, she's often seen them on the ground in her neighborhood. In recent weeks, controversy has spread regarding working conditions at Frito Lay- political issues aside, however, people continue to consume the products that are most familiar to them.
Hierro is interested in items that are common to the point that we often "have little to no inclination to document their origins or everyday existence." Gates-and their natural extension, fences -partition neighborhoods from Brooklyn to the Bronx. Gates across the city, in particular one set in Fort Greene, embolden Hierro's practice.
