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The Source: Artpace's Spring Residency Brings Bold Works To Life In San Antonio

Courtesy Artpace

One wonders what the initial reaction was to Adriana Corral's request to rip open the concrete floor at Artpace for her newest work. It's a highly polished concrete that once was an auto showroom floor. According to the organization, they give their artists-in-residence free range to create. So when Corral wanted to dig a 4'x8' grave 10' down into the foundation of their downtown gallery, the real question was is would the building still be structurally sound.

"We consulted with a structural engineer," says Corral. "It was important for me to take that risk," she says of the bold statement she tries to make with the void. 

The hole - which sits in a gallery alongside tablets with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights printed on them - represents a mass grave. Corral has traveled the world researching genocide and human rights violations, from Berlin to Juarez, the latter city has seen potentially thousands of women killed over the past 20 years.

Credit David Martin Davies

The Spring Exhibition at Artpace - which opens tonight - has given life to three new works from three very different artists in three mediums. Daniel Garcia Andujar also lived and worked in the city over the past few months. His piece explores the border, the Camino Real, and the many routes of migration into San Antonio. It also show how that migration and the context of migration has changed over time. 

The Barcelona native's work for many years has revolved around surveillance technologies and how it is misused along with themes of racism and xenophobia. 

The Spring exhibition is the first of three that will take place this year and every year at Artpace. Each time a curator picks one international, one national, and one regional artist to stay in the city and create art.

We talk with the artists and the new executive director about what Artpace is adding to the city's art profile, and how it can become more a part of the community.

Guests: 

  • Veronique Le Melle, executive director of Artpace
  • Adriana Corral, regional artist in tonight's exhibition
  • Daniel Garcia Andujar, international artist in the exhibition
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Paul Flahive can be reached at Paul@tpr.org