In a materials-based practice that draws on Mexican handcraft traditions and a DIY sensibility, ektor garcia subtly challenges hierarchies ​of​ gendered and racialized labor while undermining notions of static identity. ​He draws from a​ ​unique ​vocabulary of materials—copper wire, cast metals, glass, clay, horsehair, seashells, and leather—​which he​ w​ea​ve​s​, knot​s​, and crochet​s​​ into objects​ at once​ vulnerable and resistant, soft and hard. ​He begins e​ach piece with a single gesture or stitch, ​which he ​repeat​s​ over countless hours to ​create​ long chains, textiles, nets, and altar-like accumulations. Such works are shaped by the artist’s responsiveness to materials, environmental and social context​s​, and the intuitive inattention that develops with manual repetition. As sculptures​,​ they ​are​ quiet but restless​—​psychologically and politically charged in their ​misleading ​delicacy and susceptibility to transformation.

Records of time and labor, garcia’s creations are only ever paused in their growth, never complete. The artist is ​also ​known to undo previously exhibited objects, reshaping and gathering them into ​new​ constellations. ​Through​​ ​his​ ​practice, ​he​ opens up​ new​ possibilities for making and knowing that are constantly engaged in a process of unraveling and reworking, learning and quiet change.  

In SJMA’s Davies ​G​allery, garcia’s installation will incorporate existing and new sculptures repurposed into a single, new installation. Originally from California​, the artist is​ currently living nomadically​;​ this is ​his​ first solo museum exhibition in the United States, and it marks his homecoming to the ​B​ay ​A​rea. The artist’s first monographic book will accompany the exhibition.  

Support

ektor garcia is made possible by the SJMA Exhibitions Fund.

Operations and programs at the San José Museum of Art are made possible by principal support from SJMA’s Board of Trustees, a Cultural Affairs Grant from the City of San José, and the Lipman Family Foundation; by lead support from the Adobe Foundation, the California Arts Council, Toby and Barry Fernald, Brook Hartzell and Tad Freese, the Richard A. Karp Charitable Foundation, Tammy and Tom Kiely, the Knight Foundation, Evelyn and Rick Neely, Yvonne and Mike Nevens, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Skyline Foundation, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and the SJMA Director's Council and Council of 100; and with significant endowment support from the William Randolph Hearst Foundation and the San José Museum of Art Endowment Fund established by the Knight Foundation at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.