Alicia Ayanegui: In Praise of Shadows
November 14 - December 16, 2024
JO-HS New York
In Praise of Shadows at JO-HS New York features new work by Alicia Ayanegui that delves into the relationship between external space and internal experience. Examining the interplay between the seen and the felt, the structural and the ethereal, Ayanegui investigates how environments, both natural and built, shape our inner lives, and vice versa.
Selected works
Each painting interweaves the materiality of place and psyche. Dreamlike images call forth memories, sensations, and unspoken narratives. Ayanegui’s paintings do not simply depict spaces; they become portals into the multi-layered experience of space, where familiar materiality is imbued with abstract significance. Steeped in shadow, the spaces Ayanegui conjures are ambiguous, blurring the lines between solid forms, vital energy and fluid ideas.
The title of the show, In Praise of Shadows, is inspired by an essay of the same name by Jun’ichirō Tanizaki. Written in 1933 and translated into English in 1977, the text reflects on the subtle poetics of shadow and darkness embedded in traditional Japanese art forms, in contrast to the austerity of bright lighting cultivated in Western modernity. Tanizaki celebrated the impermanence, mystery, and contextual contingency of shadow, which can index the passage of time and the interconnection of all things.
Tanizaki’s philosophy of shadow resonates with Ayanegui’s paintings. The artist examines the shadows that define space and amplify the emotional weight of simple objects, imbuing familiar forms with quiet reverence. Ayanegui embraces silence, stillness, and the subdued drama of everyday spaces, inviting contemplation of the quiet life of objects and invisible layers of existence.
In Praise of Shadows invites viewers to navigate these layered psychological landscapes and recognize connections to their own internal worlds. The works meditate on the relationship between inner and outer worlds, prompting viewers to ask how personal experiences can reshape understandings of space, and, in turn, how space affects our sense of self and place in the world.
Artist’s Biography
Alicia Ayanegui (b. 1994, Mexico City)
Alicia Ayanegui (born 1994, Mexico City, Mexico) studied Visual Arts at the Faculty of Arts and Design of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (ENAP). She has received a scholarship from the Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes (FONCA) Jóvenes Creadores in 2019 - 2020 and 2021 - 2022 in the painting category. She is represeted by Campeche Gallery in Mexico City.
