Amanda Atria

Lives and works in New Haven, CT, USA

Artist statement

Amanda Atria’s practice focuses on the many layers that constitute a manufactured object and how these point to different –material or immaterial– dimensions and forces of our contemporary times. Rooting from the habit of roaming and purchasing from street markets in her hometown of Santiago, Chile, her practice centers on the expressive moments embedded in industrially manufactured discarded objects. The abstract shapes used so ubiquitously by industrial design carry an aesthetic of efficiency and technological speed that feels perpetually outdated. Simultaneously, this speed contrasts with the context of the Global South, where geopolitical and economic factors shape a specific relationship between subject and industry. Atria emulates this infinite chase with handmade alterations that speak of the subject who, through labor, interacts with the discarded car parts, home appliances and other quotidian objects. Through this dialogue, seemingly outdated semi-industrial techniques and materials thrive beyond hegemonic centers, revealing the wheels of history in motion. Amid this constant movement, subjectivity silently seeps into the industrial standard. Coming from a background of skilled craftsmanship, Atria’s work delves into how craft can bridge the gap between subject and object: how one alters the other, generating a symbiosis that blurs the boundaries between them. This understanding grounds her approach to look at objects as a way to observe subjects better, and vice...

Artwork