Calderón investigates her ancestral roots and personal migrant journey through performance art and sculptural installations which push the boundary of bookmaking, or the making of a libro. The edition páginas : pages is a series created by using constructs made during past VT : TV (Verbo Transitivo : Transitive Verb) performances.
Artlink Inc., in partnership with the Artlink Artist Council (AAC), announces the art exhibition VT: TV produced by the third grant recipient of The Artist Forward Fund (TAFF), Diana Calderón. VT: TV will be a two-night exhibition and will open with an artist reception at 6 p.m. on February 6 in the first floor of The Stewart, at 800 N. Central Ave from 6 to 10 p.m. The exhibition will be open to the public from 6 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, and from 6 to 10 p.m. on Third Friday, Feb 21, 2020.
Diana Calderón’s Verbo Transitivo : Transitive Verb is about exploring thoughts and allowing them to take form intuitively while focusing on being present. In these performances she allows both introspective insights and subconscious motivations to manifest as an object while using comfortable and familiar materials (ink, cloth, paper, thread, wood), to create uncomfortable pieces that articulate her deepest concerns. In this body of work, the process of creation was inspired from familiar construction methods and a unique array of materials that were inherited from the artist’s father and grandmother.
In the work, Calderón breaks through the correct way to create a thing that normally has instructions. She pushes the boundary of bookmaking by creating abstracted pieces that are sewn onto cloth and paper. With pins and nails, Calderón makes distinctive adjustments to a variety of garments with the intention to fix a piece just as a seamstress would in the process of making custom made clothing, but which are also meant to serve as a metaphor for our desire to adjust the details of our life.
The project Verbo Transitivo : Transitive Verb was born in 2018 during the CALA Alliance artist residency GDL>>PHX, which is a Partnership between the ASU Art Museum and PAOS GDL. This body of work includes a performance art installation and art pieces created from wooden frames, linocut prints, ink, paper, cloth, thread, pins, and nails. Since its inception VT : TV has evolved into different editions, or variations, which include performance art. Performance art variation #4 will be performed during Calderón’s solo exhibition entitled libro, or book.
In each VT:TV performance / art installation, Calderón uses unique pieces of furniture, adapted from a specific location or environment. Linoleum carvings are inked and hand printed on cloth and paper, and then sewn with a sewing machine to create book abstractions.
This exhibition of performance art will include a 1.5hr duration of variation 4 only:
- Performance variation 1 – 2018 PAOS GDL, Casa Museo Jose Clemente Orozco
- Performance variation 2 – 2018 Teotihuacán opening, Phoenix Art Museum
- Performance variation 3 – 2019 Artlink’s 19th Juried Exhibition, Park Central
- Performance variation 4 – 2020 Artlink‘s TAFF, The Stewart
About TAFF and the AAC
Formed in February of 2017, the AAC has identified key areas where the Council, which is comprised of professional artists, can provide support to emerging artists in the following areas: mentoring, exhibition planning, sharing connections/networking support, portfolio review and practical advice on how to move your career Forward as a practicing artist. For the third annual TAFF call, the AAC sought an artist who demonstrated outstanding potential in their art practice through risk-taking and pushing their work in dynamic ways, as well as a recipient who is at a critical juncture in their career when this support would make the greatest possible impact.
About Diana Calderón
Born in Chihuahua Mexico 1981, raised in the borderlands of El Paso, Texas & Ciudad Juárez, Calderón earned a Bachelor of Fine Art from Arizona State University in 2008. She studied bookmaking & printmaking in Cortona, Italy with the University of Georgia’s Abroad Program & studied Printmaking at the University of Dallas in 2016.
Calderón exhibits her work nationally & internationally. She was the awardee of the 2018 GDL>>PHX Residencias Artísticas residency, which is a partnership between CALA Alliance, ASU Art Museum & PAOS Gdl, where she lived & worked in the Museo Taller José Clemente Orozco, the former home and studio of a famous muralist. Calderon has taught for 10 years as places like Las Artes de Maricopa, International Leadership of Texas, Mesa Art Center, and NFL Yet College Prep. She also teaches workshops nationally and internationally at places like PAOS GDL, Taller Imagen Rinoceronte CDMX, the Phoenix Art Museum, the ASU Art Museum, and Free Arts for Abused Children of AZ. Calderon is an alumni of the prestigious National Association of Latino Arts & Cultures (NALAC) 2015 Leadership Institute as well as being a member of one of five groups awarded the ACF Water Public Art Challenge, in partnership with the Huhugam Heritage Center, AZ Audubon and Medio Completo Artist collective.
In her artwork, Calderón investigates and documents her ancestral roots and journey as an immigrant. Calderón blends traditional and contemporary techniques such as relief printmaking, bookmaking and performance art, as she explores ideas about crossing barriers and borders both physically and spiritually, creating human connections, and referencing Mexican archaeological and architectural patterns and textures.
About Artlink Inc.
Artlink keeps the arts integral to the development of our city by connecting artists, business and community. Artlink supports a variety of community-based art events and initiatives, including complimentary shuttles during the monthly First Friday Art Walks, The Artist Forward Fund, Phoenix Urban Guide, and the annual Art Detour, Art d’Core Gala and Juried Exhibition. Formed as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 1989, Artlink is supported by Arizona Commission on the Arts, City of Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture, Downtown Phoenix Inc., Park Central, Valley Metro, Marriott International, True North Studio, Phoenix Convention Center, Reimagine Phoenix, and works in partnership with Roosevelt Row CDC, Phoenix Warehouse District, Central Arts District and Historic Grand Avenue.
