Maria Isabel Rueda: “Más allá”

April 29 – May 22 2009

Casas Riegner Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of the exhibition “Más Allá” (Beyond) by Colombian artist Maria Isabel Rueda that will be on view until May 22.

Maria Isabel Rueda’s most recent body of work gathered under the title “Más Allá” (Beyond) is comprised of a series of color photographs of Puerto Colombia, the Atlantic Coast, and Punta Gallinas in La Guajira (the northernmost tip of Colombia that extends into the Caribbean Sea), three historically and politically significant geographical sites within Colombia. Far from being documentary, Rueda’s compelling images are meant to be artistic expressions or visual metaphors that tell a story and allude to significant aspects of Colombia’s history and current political condition.

Over a period of two years, Rueda traveled to Puerto Colombia located near the city of Barranquilla, and photographed the historical pier originally built in 1893. A symbol of progress and economic prosperity, and a significant late XIXth century work of infrastructure, the pier in Puerto Colombia became the first to manage 60 percent of the world’s commerce. After functioning for approximately fifty years, the pier began to deteriorate as it stood waiting for the government to preserve and maintain it; in March 7, 2008 the pier disappeared as it got swept away by the fury of the waves. Rueda managed to capture overpowering images of a structure, which once stood deteriorated, fragile and abandoned and is now part of history.

Born in Cartagena, Colombia en 1972, Maria Isabel Rueda studied Publicity and Fine Arts in Bogotá. In 2008 she completed an MA in Visual Arts at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. She has had solo shows in Cali, Bucaramanga and Bogotá. Her work has been shown in numerous group shows both on a local and international level. Selected exhibitions include: “Once More With Feeling: Recent Photography from Colombia”, Photographers Gallery – Impressions Gallery, London (2008); “Once More With Feeling”, University Gallery, University of Essex (2008), England; “Cinco miradas Europeas sobre la fotografía Española e Hispanoamericana”, Instituto Cervantes, Madrid (2007); “Tropical Goth Magazine”, Proyectos Monclova, Mexico D.F. (2006); “Constance Disturbance. On Contamination and Foreign Agents”, Centro Cultural Español, Miami (2006); “A*TERISCO Calles del Desire – Streets of Deseo” Liverpool Biennale, England (2004); “Premio Phillips de Arte para Jovenes Talentos, Memorial de America Latina, Sao Paulo, Brasil (2000); “Chic Chinois. Arte & Moda, Unesco House, Paris (2000).