KATES-FERRI PROJECTS: SOLSTICIO Curated by Eduardo Carrera R.

KATES-FERRI PROJECTS presents SOLSTICIO: on view June 19 to July 20th with a reception on The Summer Solstice, Thursday, June 20th 6-8pm at Kates-Ferri Projects 561 Grand Street, NYC 10002.
Artists on View:
Karina Aguilera Skvirsky, Gabriela Cherrez, Cecile Chong, Stephano Galarza Espinoza, Juan Miguel Marin, Pachi Muruchu, Ronny Quevedo, Boris Torres, Mary Valverde.
Curated by Eduardo Carrera R.
This exhibition celebrates the solstice as a moment of transition and transformation, signifying the onset of summer. The featured artworks channel a variety of mediums, including painting, photography, ceramic, and drawing. The selected artists engage with themes including abstraction, geometry, territory, landscape, and urban and psychological environments, delving into the symbolic significance of our bodies' cyclical orbit around the Sun.
The summer solstice holds deep cultural and symbolic significance for these artists, marking the start of the planting and harvesting season in many native cultures of Abya Yala. The exhibition, coinciding with the year's longest day, is a testament to this cultural heritage. It is a time for introspection, a chance to reflect on our connection with our environment. The juxtaposition of light, gateways, geometrical patterns, and human forms against natural landscapes reminds us of the rituals that prompt reflection on endings and new beginnings.
Beyond merely showcasing the output of contemporary Ecuadorian artists living in the United States, this exhibition underscores their influence on the artistic portrayal of spatial dynamics, territoriality, and the human condition as a foreigner. It presents a diverse array of artistic concepts, languages, and stances.
SOLSTICIO thus emerges as an occasion to acquaint oneself with the work of artists hailing from the equatorial region, transcending nationalist discourses and emphasizing their shared origins and experiences of departure.
About the curator:
Eduardo Carrera R. (b. Quito, 1987) is a curator, art historian, and writer based in Philadelphia.
His research interests include postcolonial and queer approaches to curatorial practices, art history, and writing. He is currently enrolled in the Ph.D. program in History of Art at the University of Pennsylvania, with a focus on Latin American art, Latinx art, and Queer art. Carrera holds an M.A. in Cultural Management from the International University of Catalonia and has completed the Independent Study Program at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona (PEI). Carrera earned a BA in Visual Arts from PUCE, Ecuador. Recently, Eduardo was awarded the Independent Curators International Curatorial Research Fellowship, under the Marian Goodman Gallery Initiative in Honor of the Late Okwui Enwezor.