A new installation by Daniel Otero Torres celebrates the unsung heroes of environmental activism
Daniel Otero Torres, Si no bailas conmigo, no bailas conmigo, 2021. Pencil on mirror, polished stainless steel, steel, mixed media. Photo courtesy the artist.
MANCHESTER, NH.—
The Currier Museum of Art announces Sonidos del Crepúsculo (Twilight Sounds), the first exhibition at a US institution of the work of Paris-based Daniel Otero Torres (b. 1985, Colombia) opening on July 14. Featuring new work expressly created for the show, the artist will also present his first-ever video – Green Manifesto: Transformation Through Leaves (2024) – and intersperse his work with a selection of paintings from the Currier’s own collection that reference nature and ecology.
Sonidos del Crepúsculo (Twilight Sounds) is an ode to the unsung heroes of environmental protection, and centers on the artist’s ongoing interest in rural and peripheral communities, power structures, and collective participation. For his exhibition at the Currier, Otero Torres is utilizing his signature drawings on aluminum and steel to create totemic monuments that commemorate the work and lives of environmental activists, whose voices have been silenced by corporate interests and exploitative policies.
Sitting between drawing and sculpture, Otero Torres’s work does not generally portray specific individuals, nor does it tell a singular narrative. Instead, it illustrates a collective – and often transnational – struggle that resounds with a plurality of voices. His images are collages that draw from diverse sources, from archives to the internet and the media, to signify the layered complexity of the power structures and systems of control operating in an increasingly interconnected world. His installations address globally relevant issues from a hyper-local perspective and are concerned with telling the stories of marginalized communities and foregrounding their perspectives.
Sonidos del Crepúsculo (Twilight Sounds) will run from July 14 through October 6, 2024.
Daniel Otero Torres has exhibited in galleries and museums around the world, including at the Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden (MACAAL) in Marrakech and El Espacio 23 of the Jorge Pérez Collection in Miami. His work has also been featured in significant art events and biennales, including this year’s Venice Biennale, in which he is participating with a work titled Aguacero (2024), an ephemeral installation exploring the relationship between vernacular architecture and the global environmental crisis that highlights the devastating impact of extractive economies. Similar concerns will be addressed in his exhibition at the Currier.
