LUCIA WARCK-MEISTER

ARTIST STATEMENT:

Lucia Warck-Meister is a mixed media artist. Through individual and collective memory her work explores identity, gender, visibility and historical narrative. Who we are is contingent on what we remember and how we use those memories to construct new narratives. Her current work focuses on the connection between historical narratives and nature to account for and explain key processes of history within communities.

As a native of Argentina, she is particularly interested in the legends and stories passed down through generations by word of mouth. Some testify to the generational bonds of culture. The content of legends reflects the worldview, beliefs, morals, geographical knowledge, and the politics of another time and how it impacted the economy of a particular place.

The legend of Anahi, which narrates the story of a young indigenous woman the Spanish conquistadors captured. While trying to escape, she killed her captor and flew to the forest. She was soon discovered and punished by being tied to a tree and burned alive. When the men returned for her body, they found a Ceibo tree in her place. The legend claims that the velvety red flowers of this tree had replaced her body and now stood as a symbol of bravery and strength in the face of suffering. The Ceibo tree later became Argentina's national tree. 

Warck-Meister’s work reflects an essential bond to nature by assembling fragments, both stylistically and conceptually. The artist places emphasis on the value of each component to create a new whole defined by its parts. Porcelain flowers and braids are embedded in cement tiles. The cement constrains them as it hardens, but their beauty emerges nevertheless. Other tiles show the residue of an organic form. Tree branches are covered by porcelain, changing their appearance. Layers of materials accumulate like palimpsest pages, creating the new narrative. 

Bio:

Lucia Warck-Meister holds an MFA from UNA University  Buenos Aires. Her works have been exhibited at the Palm Beach International Biennial, Florida; International Sculpture Exhibition Bellevue, WA; Museo del Barrio Biennial, New York; Museum of the Americas, Washington DC; Miura Museum of Art, Matsuyama City, Japan; Briggens Museum, Bergen, Norway; DUMBO Arts Festival, New York; Deutsche Bank Foundation, New York;   NYLAAT New York Latin American Triennial, New York, NY; Katonah Museum of Art, NY; Point of Contact Gallery Syracuse University; Griffiss Sculpture Park, Rome, NY; The Art Gallery, University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL; Paul Robeson Galleries Rutgers University, Newark, NJ; Art Under Glass, Macy’s New York, Windows Project, New York, NY; Piedmont Biennial, Torino, Italy; The Clemente Cultural Center, New York, NY; Casa America, Madrid, Spain.

She is the recipient of the following awards: 2023 Transborder Art Governors Island Residency; 2020 The Bakehouse, Miami, FL; 2019 National Endowment for the Arts Grant Buenos Aires; 2017 Oolite Artist Residency, Miami; 2017, SACO6 Award Antofagasta, Chile; 2015, Ibermuseum Prize; 2010 Pollock-Krasner Fellowship, New York; 2008 NYFA Immigrant Mentoring Program, NY; CAMAC Residency, Marnay-sur-Seine, France; 2007 American Academy in Rome, Italy;  Sculpture Space Residency, Utica, NY; 2006 First Prize, Biennial of Sculpture in Public Spaces, Palm Beach, Florida;  MTA Arts For Transit, Finalist for 231st Street Station – Broadway Line, Bronx, NY; Public Art Program/Summit, City Hall, NJ; Artist’s Fellowship, Inc. New York, NY; 2005 School of Visual Arts Residency, NY.

Her work is included in The Bass Museum of Art, Miami, FL; Marvin and Ruth Collection, Miami, FL; The Taplin Collection, The Sagamore Hotel Video Lounge, Miami, FL; Royal Caribbean Art Foundation, Miami, FL; MEIAC –Museo Extremadura e Iberoamericano de Arte Contemporaneo-, Badajoz, Spain; Diego Rivera Mural Museum, DF, Mexico; Deutsche Bank Art Foundation; Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat, Buenos Aires; Telefonica of Argentina Foundation.