Sandra Vásquez de la Horra

Sandra Vásquez de la Horra: The Awake Volcanoes is the first solo show in a U.S. museum for the Chilean artist, known for her recent participation at the Venice Biennale and being the recipient of the prestigious Käthe Kollwitz Prize for 2023.​

Vásquez de la Horra was born in 1967 in Viña Del Mar, Chile, growing up during Augusto Pinochet’s 17-year military regime and leaving her home nation to study in Germany in the 1990s. Her drawings often include symbols from different cultures, and her female figures perform contrasting roles in narratives that deal with freedom, spirituality, and nature. Vásquez de la Horra’s works frequently show female bodies melding with surrealistic landscapes, and her practice is known for its poetic and artistic experimentation that weaves the absurd with the affirmation of affection and pleasure.

The Awake Volcanoes highlights paintings, drawings, and prints by Vásquez de la Horra, exploring notions of fantasy, desire, fear, and pleasure to explore the relationship between the human body and the world around it. Drawing is central to her practice, reminding viewers that it is a flexible and dynamic medium that is still essential to contemporary art making.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website