Artist Talk: 6:30 PM I Hallway Gallery
Art League Houston (ALH) is proud to present Gone, an installation of work by Texas based Artist, Carmen Flores. Selected by ALH’s Artist Advisory Board during the Open Call process, Gone is an ongoing project exploring the proliferation of violence (both intentional and unintentional) that is prevalent in our contemporary society. In her installation, Flores’ creates delicate, intimate drawings of flowers with red pencil, graphite and thread on white handkerchiefs. These flowers symbolically reference the temporal nature of life that is a shared human experience.
Flores states, “In June 2017, the American Academy of Pediatrics published the paper “Childhood Firearm Injuries in the United States” revealing that nearly 1300 children are killed annually by gun violence in the United States. The numbers are the result of data collected from 2002 to 2014. Firearm related deaths are the third leading cause of death overall among children in the United States. In this installation, each handkerchief represents one child killed by a gun. If we properly educate and make people aware of these alarming numbers, deaths of children by firearms can be reduced and be avoided.”
Every flower in Gone is different. They tell the stories of those that are no longer with us and stand as a symbol for a life that is now gone. Handkerchiefs are often adorned with decorative, floral motifs. Flowers are also dominant features in funeral homes at burials and ceremonies. Flores’ media of red colored pencil and graphite is purposefully selected for its transient, elusive qualities, referencing the vulnerability of violence. The piercing motions of the embroidery process symbolically reference bullets as they injure a body. Flores intentionally leaves her threads exposed alluding to the passing spirits of the deceased and serving as a tool for recollection of their lives.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Carmen Flores is an artist living and working in Richmond, Texas. Her drawings reference the adaptation and proliferation of violence in our society. Images in her work include outlined silhouettes of people shooting, shot and wounded; and diagrams of guns and bullets accompanied by text. The inclusion of flowers as a symbol of temporal life is also recurrent in her much of her oeuvre. She sources imagery from newspapers, police reports and safety tutorials. Her drawings are executed using graphite, red colored pencil and thread. Flores was born and raised in Culiacan, Mexico, a small city with high crime and violence statistics. She earned her BFA from Universidad de las Americas-Puebla, Mexico (2003), and an MA in Painting from Savannah College of Art and Design, Georgia (2010). Flores is a two time recipient of the FOECA Artist Grant and MASIN 12x12 Artist Grant in Mexico. Her work is featured in numerous collections including the Museo de Arte de Sinaloa; Museo de Arte de Mazatlan; and Banco del Bajio, Mexico. Selected exhibitions include shows at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut; Mexic-Arte Museum, Austin, Texas; Lawndale Art Center, Houston, Texas; Anya Tish Gallery, Houston, Texas; Box 13 ArtSpace, Houston, Texas; Museo de Arte Sinaloa, Mexico; and Centro de las Artes, Monterrey, Mexico.