El Dorado: Myths of Gold at Americas Society, Part II on view January 24 – March 18, 2024
“The show, which explores the myth of El Dorado from the Pre-Hispanic period to the contemporary era, is co-curated by Aimé Iglesias Lukin, Director and Chief Curator, Art at Americas Society, Tie Jojima, Associate Curator, Manager of Exhibitions, Art at Americas Society and Edward J. Sullivan, the Helen Gould Sheppard Professor of Art History, New York University.
The exhibition brings together more than 100 objects and artworks that explore the myth as a foundational narrative of the Americas. It includes paintings, prints, photographs, sculptures, engravings, and videos that offer new interpretations and questions about the myth from a hemispheric lens.
Since the invasion of Europeans to the Americas, rumors spread quickly about a kingdom filled with gold, driving conquistadores to find it. Despite never being found, the mythical El Dorado defined the continent as an empty land up for grabs. El Dorado: Myths of Gold brings together artworks and artists that engage with the myth, sometimes offering a critical view and a path of resistance.” — Americas Society
Hew Locke, Columbus, Central Park, 2018. C-type photograph with mixed media, 72 x 48 inches (182.9 x 121.9 cm). Courtesy of the artist and P·P·O·W, New York. Photo: Angus Mill
Mazenett Quiroga, Selva intervenida (Pacífico colombiano) (Intervened jungle [Colombian Pacific]), 2018. Digital printing and gold leaf, 49 ¼ x 33 7/8 inches (125 x 86 cm). Courtesy of the artists and Instituto de Visión.
Mathias Goeritz, Cruz en la caja (Cross in a box), 1960-61. Wood, gesso, gold leaf, paint, brass, steel and magnets, 28 ¼ x 22 x 3 1/8 inches (71.8 x 55.9 x 8 cm). Tate Americas Foundation, courtesy of the Latin American Acquisitions Committee 2015
Bruno Baptistelli, Untitled (Pedites), 2023. Resin, copper, and nickel, plated in 18-karat gold, foot: 2 x 4 inches (5 x 10 cm), anklet: 2 x 4 inches (5 x 10 cm). Courtesy of Galeria Luisa Strina and the artist. Photo: Ana Pigosso
Carlos Motta, Contra natura, 2019. Gold and copper figure and magnifying glass on wooden shelf, 0.78 x 0.39 inches (2 x 1 cm). Courtesy of the artist and mor charpentier
Harmonia Rosales, Our Lady of Regla, 2019. Oil, iron oxide, and 24k gold on wood panel, 40 x 40 inches (101.6 x 101.6 cm). Private Collection
Unknown artist, Ecuador, Nuestra Señora de Passau (Our Lady of Passau), eighteenth century. Oil on canvas, 21 x 18 inches (53.2 x 45.8 cm). Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros
Jaime Lauriano, Colonização #2, 2022. Apoti (bench used in Candomblé terreiros), cattail straw mat, bowl, and twenty-eight Portuguese stones cast in brass, 20 7/8 x 13 3/8 x 13 3/8 inches (53 x 34 x 34 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Nara Roesler Gallery
Ronny Quevedo, el guarda meta de los cosmos (from the abyss) (Meta guardian of the cosmos [from the abyss]), 2022. Mixed media in three parts, 60 x 179 ¾ x 60 inches (152.4 x 456.6 x 152.4 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Alexander Gray Associates
“Through their use of gold, both physical and metaphorical, the artists in this exhibition emphasize to us the ambivalent power of myth in conditioning who we are as a region, opening space for us to resist extractive systems and to reconsider what we are seeking,” writes the exhibition curatorial team.
Organized in collaboration with Fundacio n PROA in Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Museo Amparo in Puebla (Mexico), the exhibition takes place in two parts: Part I from September through December 2023 and Part II from January through May 2024.
Title image: Juan Covelli, Tesoros especulativos (Speculative treasures), 2020-22. Video, 5 minutes. Courtesy of the artist.
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