Häsler Gómez

Lives and works in Richmond, VA, USA

Artist statement

Häsler Gómez (b. Guatemala City, Guatemala) is a sculptor and writer who pushes the everyday toward its poetic limits to allow questions of value, perception, power, and being to arise. Through sound, light, architectural intervention, language, and objects, he creates speculative spaces and encounters rooted in the realities of materials, objects, and bodies. From extracting the water embedded in the air we breathe to vibrating spider webs to using roofing tar and darkness to confuse the eye, his gestures tune our attention to the possibilities held within space, material, and form. Endlessly enamored with what things can and can’t do, his practice is an ongoing investigation into what happens when things misbehave. His work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Art (Richmond, VA), Espacio Cabeza (Guadalajara, Mexico), after / time (Portland, OR), LVL3 (Chicago, IL), Rump Gallery (Richmond, VA), Bronx River Art Center (Bronx, NY), Material Room (Richmond, VA), Coco Hunday (Tampa, FL), and Heaven Gallery (Chicago, IL). Häsler attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and earned an MFA in Sculpture + Extended Media from Virginia Commonwealth University as well as a BFA in Sculpture and a BA in Psychology from the University of Nevada, Reno. He is a recipient of the Dedalus Foundation MFA Fellowship in Painting and Sculpture and has been an artist-in-residence at The Studios at MASS MoCA (North Adams, MA), Visible...

Artwork

• UNNAMED (VIEW FINDER), 2026. found umbrella ribs, steel from found marking flags, steel from a found lamp shade frame, bleached and extracted nylon thread from a United States flag, glass from a found magnifying glass
• ECHOES AFTER DUSK, 2025. Reel of Multiple Installations
• IN OBLIVION'S LIGHT, 2024. intervention with hallway light bulbs to dim the amount of light present before entering the gallery, window tinting, weather stripping, door sweeps, painter’s tape, gallery wall, joint compound, digitally degraded audio recording of a g cord (30 minute loop, with 20 seconds of built in silence between loops), wireless speaker and media player housed within custom built container for manual sound modulation, self-leveling laser levels with custom stands designed to break the lines of light so as to not touch any of the sculptures in the installation but to hit the viewer at ankle height as they walk through the work, fluorescent pink masonry line illuminated with laser level, drywall screws, joint compound, church pew, cockroach trap, found wood, wood glue, joint compound, painter's tape, tar, photograph, chewed gum
• ELEGIES AFTER DUSK, 2026. intervention with gallery lights, steel from found marking flags; corrugated cardboard moving boxes from The Home Depot, corrugated cardboard box from amazon, found corrugated cardboard box from a case of flexcolor warm grey, found corrugated cardboard, corrugated cardboard found inside the office of The Artist Book Foundation, found cardboard, water, wood glue, touch, found magnolia leaves, found rusted steel rod, found garden stool, found gardening glove, found everready portable lamp, found plastic bag filled with cotton, found sanding disk, found torn piece of felt roofing underlayment, found outdoor brochure holder, found file folder, found accordion folder, found page protector, legal size inkjet prints, on going collection of found objects and materials, raku-fired ceramic, my books, my clothes, three tombstones, digitally manipulated audio recording of a harmonica found on the ground, found headphones, media players, wireless speaker; corrugated cardboard moving box from The Home Depot, found metal frame, found plastic candybag, found hot water bottle filled with boiling water, unworn sweaters, water, wood glue, touch; corrugated cardboard moving box from Lowe’s, under cabinet light, found mini fluorescent striplight, found h frame, found ikea shelf, inkjet print of found image, found velum, tape, found cardboard, magnets, steel from found marking flags; found corrugated cardboard, found magnolia leaves, safety seal from a Talenti gelato, found tape, wood glue, touch; LED bulb found inside MASS MoCA, flashlight, steel from found marking flags, tape, found corrugated cardboard from a case of juice boxes, found corrugated cardboard, found cardboard, water, wood glue, touch; UNNAMED: found sign hooks, found aluminum rod, wire rope sling found inside MASS MoCA, found hand mirror, found paper clips, found images, flashlight, tape, corrugated cardboard from a Kinder’s Carne Asada Mexican Seasoning case, corrugated cardboard from an Adidas shoe box, found corrugated cardboard, found cardboard, water, wood glue, touch; Mexican Coca-Cola bottles, found clip on selfie ring light, power adapter, found insulation foil, found oak leaves, found images, tape, corrugated cardboard from a K-Swiss shoe box, found corrugated cardboard from a case of juice boxes, found corrugated cardboard, found cardboard, water, wood glue, touch; found aluminum from an ice cream maker dasher paddle, steel from found marking flags, found bungee cord with aluminum tips, found bungee cord, tape, corrugated cardboard from a Pizza Hut pizza box, found corrugated cardboard, water, wood glue, touch; found welded aluminum, found exhaust muffler, found aluminum d-ring, steel from found marking flags, found felt marker tip, found hose clamp, found insulation foam, emergency flashlight, tape, found corrugated cardboard from a Uline box left by Lauren Cardenas at MASS MoCA, found cardboard, water, wood glue, touch; steel from a found lampshade frame, found glass, found iPad, inkjet print of found image, found plastic sheet protector, found insulation foam, tape, found corrugated cardboard from an Aspelins Art Galleries mailer, found corrugated cardboard, water, wood glue, touch
• AT THE EDGE OF A SHIFTING I, 2024. two wall studs, water extracted from the air, tar, unseen performance where I track the light that seeps into the room throughout the day and record it onto the work via touch so as to only be visible at certain distances and light conditions, my sock, used lint sheets, dust, hair, color pencil, starch, spray adhesive, surgical tape, liquid latex, polyurethane, lube, pink fiberglass rebar, salmon pink masonry line, fluorescent pink masonry line, joint compound, intervention with gallery windows, window tinting, gallery spotlights with custom filters, audio recording of the room's hvac system with added digital ambient sound (8 hour loop), wireless speaker, media player, mount
• A GRAIN OF SALT BETWEEN TWO TONGUES, 2024. trash can lids, joint compound, tar, enamel, audio recording of water dripping (3 hour loop), wireless speaker and media player mounted within one of the mezzanine floor holes, intervention with preexisting hole in the dark room's door that turns the room into a camera obscura by focusing the amount of light that can enter the room from the street outside, unseen performance where I flood the floor of the dark room with a combination of water extracted from the building and water extracted from the air, enema bags, silicone tubing, catheter valves, meat hooks, dentist’s spit bowls, hydrocal, pvc pipe, surgical tape, liquid dye, enamel, plastic sheeting, painter’s tape, tar, liquid rubber, unseen performance where I remove the sculpture that drapes over the ladder to climb to the mezzanine space to fill the enema bags with a combination of saliva, sweat, and water extracted from the air
• IN THE WAKE OF THE DESIRING PATH, 2025. intervention with ICA pamphlets, painter’s tape, tar, touch, ICA floor vents, gallery light, tinting, wood found in VCU construction dumpsters, plywood, mdf, wall studs, wood glue, drywall tape, found metal shelves, joint compound, primer, insulation foam, tar, projector, video with sound (3:56 min loop), media player, found thread, steel, reading lights, cabinet lights, desk fan, metal framing found in VCU construction dumpster, enamel, weather stripping, electrical tape, power adapters, remote control outlet, surge protector, extension cord, conduit pipe found in VCU construction dumpsters, conduit fittings, conduit body, outlet covers, power extracted from the building, water extracted from the air, touch, dust, pulverized bathroom tile from MoMA PS1 that was fed through sculptures and the ICA’s HVAC system, flashlight, digitally manipulated audio recording of the ICA’s exterior hvac vents, back of gallery walkway, window tinting, saliva, sweat, water extracted from the air, 4k video with sound (3:53 min loop), ICA monitor, media player, intervention with ICA’s exterior name plate
• A FORCED PERSPECTIVE, 2024. drop ceiling, 4k video without sound (3:48 loop with moments where screen goes dark built into video loop), tv, media player, ceiling tile, mdf, plywood, joint compound, texture, primer, locked bathroom stall, audio recording of an hvac system (1 hour loop), wireless speaker, media player, mount, dislocated ceiling tile, plexiglass, intervention with window inside the bathroom’s plenum that allows cold air to alter the temperature of the bathroom as well as refracts light throughout the day and frames the moon once a year, satellite dish, duct-tape, plastic-sheeting, joint compound, spray paint, tar, automotive enamel, dust
• UNNAMED (TWO LEFT FEET), 2025. my Nike sock, used lint sheets, dust, hair, color pencil, starch, spray adhesive, surgical tape, liquid latex, polyurethane, lube, pink fiberglass rebar, salmon pink masonry line, fluorescent pink masonry line, joint compound
• UNNAMED (RESTING SHADOW), 2025. a found 2x4, water extracted from the air, wood glue, joint compound, tar, touch, rebar, hydrocal
• UNNAMED (BREATHING MACHINE), 2025. steel from a found marking flag, a cardboard tube from a roll of Amazon dog poop bags, found plastic cap from an applesauce pouch, found plastic cap from an applesauce pouch, wood glue, building’s HVAC system
• BREATHTAKER, 2023. gallery wall, cropped photograph, liquid rubber, drywall tape, dehumidifier, programmable electrical outlet, insulation foam, packing tape, OSB, furring strips, wood glue, screws, joint compound, hydrocal, liquid dye, my used lint sheets, vent draft blockers, liquid rubber, surgical tape, polyurethane, audio recording of breathing exercise meant to counteract panic attacks (1 hour loop), wireless speaker, media player, my used nike socks, plastic sealer, cast polymeric sand, water extracted from the air, pink masonry line, screws, gallery wall, joint compound, traffic cone weight, masking tape, plywood, joint compound, rubber, tar, enamel, water extracted from the air in the room, unseen performance where I drink from the collected water at the end of each day, gallery wall, photograph, drywall tape, cast grey joint compound, paint
• IF MY VOICE COULD SPEAK, 2020. 7/11 “Big Gulp” cup, concrete, permanent marker stick; Legal size inkjet print of poem written by artist using words from Pablo Neruda’s “Canto XII”, furring strips, screws; Photograph, liquid rubber, drywall tape; unseen performance in which I attempt to write with a permanent marker stick in my mouth while blindfolded by a sliver of the American flag, tar paper, roofing nails; Performance in which I lay my ankles on sandbags filled with polymeric sand and “plays dead” until an imprint is left; unseen performance in which I kneel and prays on sandbags filled with polymeric sand until an imprint is left; Construction line, screws; Bolillo bread, hydrocal, bone dust, enamel, water, construction line; Copies of the wall street journal newspaper, painter’s tape, masking tape, drywall tape, chicken wire, fence post concrete, wall studs, screws; Styrofoam, masking tape, duct-tape, photographs of my grandmothers, bones, drywall joint compound, polyurethane, screws
• UNNAMED (TOMORROW AND TOMORROW AND TOMORROW), 2025. A copy of the NYT is dyed with roofing tar and water extracted from the air. I touch wherever images once existed, creating a shift in the surface that captures the light as the viewer walks around the work. From some angles and light conditions, the "highlights" become virtually invisible.
• A LADDER FOR THE LATTER, 2024. cast concrete, masonry line, thread extracted from the American flag, found and extracted thread, finishing nails, joint compound, pink light filters
• UNTITLED (I WANTED-), 2021. tar paper, roofing nails, permanent marker stick
• UNNAMED (DEATH MASKS), 2020. dust masks cast in joint compound, wall studs, epoxy, enamel
• ADAM II, 2022. photograph coated in liquid latex, drywall tape
• UNNAMED (MILAGRO II), 2023. my used Converse sneaker, my used work boot used while illegally working as a constructor laborer, wood glue, insulation foam, joint compound, enamel
• TRANSDUCER, 2026. the loose nails and boards on the side of my studio at Skowhegan, found electrical wire, found glass objects, found rocks, a found wooden flower, a found brass bell, a found toy truck, a found shell, a found LED light bulb, a found plastic whiffle ball, a stretch spider, two barn spiders and their webs