Gladys Triana, born in Cuba, has lived in New York City since the 1970’s.
Triana’s experience with a variety of materials in different mediums stimulated her to find new formal solutions to create a discipline more open and free in relation to three-dimensional space.
Stillness is Gladys Triana’s recent work conformed of a series of 20 photos taken in 2007. Secret objects in an unusual context, isolated and unique, turn her subject matter into a magical element with a powerful theme. In the virtual space of the photograph Triana, magnifies these frail objects in order to create a new perception that relates to poetry, which enhances the imagination.
Triana acknowledges the ambiguous nature of the object and the resulting expressive force that adds a meditative tone to the general concept of the work. The mystery emerges from the play between light and shadow. Since the object has no identity in itself, the viewer is induced to recreate an image endowed with the illusion of reality.
Every Time is Now, is Triana’s three installation project, series of graphic format composed of mixed media in which drawings, with photomontages are placed in linen and horomi paper within a round embroidery frame.
Triana employed hands playing in three different formats –the triangle, the rectangle, and the spiral , to express in a direct way their indispensable function in everyday activities.
It is an insinuation to the intention of appropriation; there is a dialogue generated in the movement or when its usefulness is into action. A metaphorical quality exists in its relationship between the physical and the spiritual. The triangle corresponds to the concept of unity and in the rectangle, the permanence of communication within dialogue.
Every action is a response to the conscious will, influenced in unfathomable ways by the unconscious moment. There is circularity between what is retained in the memory, which in turns generates a will in the context of the self to explore new forms within simple everyday life. A small embroidery frame circles images evocative of experiences lived in Triana’s life, so there is an autobiographical basis to these images.
The installation highlights the different uses of the object (embroidery frame) .The representation of an implicit dialogue between an industrial object, which while necessarily utilitarian, transcends insofar as it allows different practical and social uses. While it denotes an awareness of its perceived dependency, in the interaction between application and use, the results could be foreseen, but also unforeseen. The craftwork and the image are elements in her search to express the different values emanating from the rituals of daily life.
The Spiral format composed of drawings with the topical inclusion of pills and capsules, points to the incessant need to maintain vitality and the physicality of the body; so it being a response to the imperative rituals of life to preserve youth. The Spiral opens itself up to new possibilities that run the gamut of involution to evolution generating inquiries that question our perception about existence.
A sculptural installation, The Tension of Silence, 2007, hands tensing a barbed wire as a representation of experienced and imaginary conflicts and emotions, attempts to express a sense of contained violence, a clash of opposite wishes, and an irreconcilable and conflicting relationship between contrary sides.
For Triana destiny is in our hands, is a means of expression that has gained increasing importance over the years. The use is compulsive, but it can also be perfectly controlled, expressing her views, reveling her hidden meaning, and relating the connection of certain works to her own fears.
This exhibition collects Triana’s remarks on art, confirming the autobiographical sense of her work, offering new insights in to her creating thinking and process.