Solo Exhibitions

Welcome to Santo Poco!
Cristina Grajales Gallery
152 W. 25th Street, 3rd floor
New York, New York
November 2018 - January 2019

Curated by Steven and William Ladd

Installation images courtesy of Cristina Grajales Gallery

The works in this exhibition reflect that transformation. A miniature anthill, constructed from beads, wire, and topped by a beaded shed, was inspired by our discovery of ant mounds on the land—and our decision to build protective sheds over them.

“From our childhood past to our grown-up present, the ants have escaped the Lego box!”

That first winter, we camped through freezing temperatures, chopped wood, and built fires. One night, around a 15-foot bonfire, we felt a seismic shift. “The time is now,” we said. That moment inspired us to stop looking back and start creating work that looked forward—drawing from our present life and imagined futures. We named the land Santo Poco (“Little Saint”) and crowned ourselves the Two Kings of Santo Poco.

That first winter, we camped through freezing temperatures, chopped wood, and built fires. One night, around a 15-foot bonfire, we felt a seismic shift. “The time is now,” we said. That moment inspired us to stop looking back and start creating work that looked forward—drawing from our present life and imagined futures. We named the land Santo Poco (“Little Saint”) and crowned ourselves the Two Kings of Santo Poco.

While still rooted in our signature techniques and storytelling focus, these new pieces marked a pivotal refocusing of our art. We began drawing more directly from nature’s beauty and unpredictability, without letting go of our daily life and studio routines in Manhattan.

“As we clear the land with a chainsaw and clippers, we take branches, trunks and sometimes whole trees and pile them into giant bonfires. Exhausted at night, we sit around these fires marveling that this land is ours, that our dreams are coming true. It was around those bonfires we realized there was a simultaneous shift happening in our art practice. Our work is transitioning from stories about the past to life in the present and our visions for the future.”