Piedras Blancas

2014 - Film & Video (Film & Video)

4:53 minutes

Miguel Angel Ríos


For Piedras Blancas , arguably his most ambitious and visually arresting video to date, Miguel Angel Ríos made 3,000 “piedras” out of a concrete/stone composite. The video is shot in arid, mountainous locations in Mexico (his adopted country) and Argentina (his home country). Over several months, Ríos scouted locations for natural-worn tributaries where he eventually allowed these balls to then thunder down the mountain. The work is violent and humorous at once, absurd and impossible (a signature style of the artist). These “piedras” take on an anthropomorphic quality, as if they were people migrating in mass, akin to a wildebeest crossing in the Masai mara. They also provide a metaphor for drugs running through one’s veins. The work has been on view at Arizona State University Museum, Gallery Wendi Norris, EXPO Chicago’s Black Box Program curated by the Centre Pompidou’s Florence Derieux, at the Palais de Tokyo and in the Daros Latin America Collection.


Miguel Angel Ríos studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires before moving to New York in the 1970’s to escape the military dictatorship in Argentina. He subsequently relocated to Mexico and now divides his time between New York and Mexico City. In his work, Ríos pairs a rigorous conceptual approach with a meticulously constructed, handmade aesthetic. Since the 1970’s, he has made work about the concept of the Latin American, using this idea as both an artistic strategy and a political problem. Over the past two decades, Ríos has delved into the medium of video to create symbolic narratives about human experience, violence, and mortality. His videos of spinning tops–trompos–use the childhood game as a backdrop for a meditation on the transience of life, and the mechanics of power.


Colors:



Other related works, blended automatically  
» see more

The Ghost of Modernity (Lixiviado)
© » KADIST

Miguel Angel Ríos

2012

Superb production values and special effects that in the hands of Miguel Angel Rios do not get in the way or distracts from the content and deep essay of this work...

Related works sharing similar palette  
» see more

Météo des forêts
© » SLASH PARIS

Météo des forêts — La MABA — Exhibition — Slash Paris Login Newsletter Twitter Facebook Météo des forêts — La MABA — Exhibition — Slash Paris English Français Home Events Artists Venues Magazine Videos Back Météo des forêts Exhibition Film, installation, mixed media Upcoming Julien Prévieux et Virginie Yassef, L’Arbre, 2009 — Image : Élie Godard Film Super 8 transféré sur DVD — 7 min 18 — Ed 4 + 2 Courtesy des artistes Météo des forêts In about 1 month: January 18 → April 7, 2024 La MABA présente, du 18 janvier au 7 avril 2024, Météo des forêts : une exposition collective réunissant des travaux d’artistes de diverses générations travaillant différents médiums (dessin, photographie, vidéo, sculpture, installation…)...

The working processes of artists: Grace Lee-Khoo
© » ARTS EQUATOR

The working processes of artists: Grace Lee-Khoo | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia ArtsEquator Viewpoints July 7, 2020 Applied theatre practitioner Grace Lee-Khoo shares about the work of disability-led arts company Access Path Productions, which she founded in 2018...

Kim Tschang-Yeul — Disparitions
© » SLASH PARIS

Kim Tschang-Yeul — Disparitions — Almine Rech Gallery, Matignon — Exhibition — Slash Paris Login Newsletter Twitter Facebook Kim Tschang-Yeul — Disparitions — Almine Rech Gallery, Matignon — Exhibition — Slash Paris English Français Home Events Artists Venues Magazine Videos Back Kim Tschang-Yeul — Disparitions Exhibition Painting Vue de l’exposition Kim Tschang-Yeul, Disparitions à la galerie Almine Rech, Paris Courtesy of the artist & Galerie Almine Rech, Paris Kim Tschang-Yeul Disparitions Ends in 11 days: November 18 → December 22, 2023 It was twilight when Kim Tschang-Yeul, then aged 42, discovered the droplet while sprinkling water over one of his canvases...

Golden Bridge
© » KADIST

Lin Yilin

Golden Bridge is part of “Golden Journey”, a series of site-specific performances and installations created during Lin’s residency at Kadist San Francisco...

Other works by: » Miguel Angel Ríos  
» see more

The Ghost of Modernity (Lixiviado)
© » KADIST

Miguel Angel Ríos

2012

Superb production values and special effects that in the hands of Miguel Angel Rios do not get in the way or distracts from the content and deep essay of this work...

Related works found in the same semantic group  
» see more

How Rishi Sunak Revealed Himself to Be a Collector of One of Britain's Bestselling Contemporary Artists - via The Telegraph
© » LARRY'S LIST

The artist Harland Miller is known for a novel theme in his works - and his fans are surprisingly diverse...

Aaron Levine, Leading Conceptual Art Collector With Deep Duchamp Holdings, Dies at 88 - via ARTnews
© » LARRY'S LIST

With his wife Barbara, he made a major donation to the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in 2018....

How Gregory Halpern Found His Voice in Buffalo
© » APERTURE

Gregory Halpern

The photographer speaks with his brother, the journalist Jake Halpern, about growing up in a city of surreal sights and memorable characters....

Crash Position I
© » KADIST

Zbigniew Rogalski

2007

Zbigniew Rogalski territory extends from painting to photography...