LOS ANGELES, CA.- Marciano Art Foundation is presenting OBSIDIAN LADDER, the first large-scale solo exhibition in the United States by Bolivian American artist Donna Huanca. Huanca's site-specific installation for MAF’s 13,000-square-foot Theater Gallery reveals a new topography of triggered senses, combining sound, scent, and live performance. These elements will be experienced together against a constellation of carved steel sculptures and skin paintings, along with performances by models every Saturday throughout the duration of the exhibition, June 28 through December 1, 2019.

Alongside the exhibition, MAF will host a series of public programs with artists, activists, and scholars discussing topics related to the performance of gender and sexuality in contemporary life. Events will take place on select Saturdays throughout the duration of the exhibition, including presentations and talks by artists Donna Huanca, Faith Wilding, Barbara T. Smith, Cheri Gaulke, scholar Gloria Orenstein, curator Cecilia Fajardo-Hill, Sean/Milan™ Garcon of REACH LA, and MAF Creative Director Olivia Marciano.

The exhibition additionally features a series of limited-edition artworks and merchandise that can be purchased at the MAF Bookstore and online. These items include a limited-edition and uniquely packaged perfume designed after the scent in the exhibition and individually packaged by the artist, uniquely painted prints, and a versatile unisex garment based on her paintings. All proceeds from the sale of these items will be donated to three Los Angeles-based nonprofits, the Trans Wellness Center, REACH LA, and the East Los Angeles Women’s Center.

Born in Chicago, Donna Huanca studied painting at the Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main, the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine, and the University of Houston in Texas. OBSIDIAN LADDER is Donna Huanca’s first major solo exhibition in the United States. She has previously had museum exhibitions at the Zabludowicz Collection in London, United Kingdom (2016), the Yuz Museum in Shanghai, China (2018), the Belvedere Museum in Vienna, Austria (2018), and Copenhagen Contemporary, Denmark (2019). Huanca lives and works in Berlin.