Esperanza Cortes

Lives and works in New York, NY, USA

Artist statement

My passion for the art traditions, rituals, music and dance of the Americas and their evolving changes are at the core of my sculptures, paintings, installations and videos. I utilize a wide variety of materials and artistic methods in combination with reworked found objects that are impregnated with cultural symbols that act as sites of memory. The hand crafted artworks create an intimate repository for individual and collective memory and implement the body as a symbol and expression of nature, vulnerability and power. As a former afro latin dancer, physicality informs my practice through body memory and seeks to underscore sacred space, and the patterns of dance and percussion. I use fragments of histories as departure points to investigate and build the structure and space of the installations. My works are organic and improvisational constructions, infused with hope and renewal, creating structures for collaborative dialogues as expressions of community truths and histories. While encouraging viewers to reconsider social and historical narratives when dealing with Colonialism and raises critical questions about the politics of erasure and exclusion.

Artwork