Ana Roldán
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Artist_Ana_Rold%C3%A1n_in_Madrid_in_front_of_a_projection_2.jpg/220px-Artist_Ana_Rold%C3%A1n_in_Madrid_in_front_of_a_projection_2.jpg)
Ana Roldán (* 1977 in Mexiko-City) is a mexican-swiss artist.
Personal life
Ana Roldán grew up in Mexiko-City. In the locksmith and carpentry shop of her father, a small manufacturer, she discovered her love of craftsmanship and designed furniture. After training as a caterer, she ran a restaurant, then studied history at the Escuela Nacionál de Antropologia e Historia. She was so inspired by the work of Mexican performance artist Elvira Santamaría,[1] that she began performing as a performance artist in Mexico City in the late 1990. In 2000, she moved to Switzerland and studied art at the Bern University of the Arts and linguistics at the University of Bern. After that, she devoted herself entirely to art. In 2007, she won the City of Zurich's studio scholarship for China and worked in Kunming for a year.
After long stays in São Paulo and Mexico City Ana Roldán lives in Zurich.
Career
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/2023_Green_hole.jpg/220px-2023_Green_hole.jpg)
Ana Roldán's media are performances, sculptures, videos, collages, installations, photography and group exhibitions that she curates. Represented by galleries in Switzerland, Madrid, Mexico and in Colombia and the USA, it is just as present in Latin America as in Europe. Following Tropicalismo Hélio Oiticicas, Roldán often uses natural materials from Latin America such as coconuts,[2] palm trees, banana flowers[3] or jade. Many works oscillate between the austerity of European modernism and the softer forms of Latin American modernism, as seen in the work of the Mexican architect Luis Barragán findet, to whom Roldán refers on various occasions.[4] Thus, the rectangles of modernity become crooked and crooked which Ana Roldán's work for Rio de Janeiro Colección de Especímenes de un Nuevo Mundo I[5] reconstructs with the poor natural material bamboo. And instead of primary colors, she uses the palette of Brazil's skin tones.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Ana_Rold%C3%A1n%2C_Joe%2C_2008%2C_Leather%2C_Wood%2C_29_x_100_x_45_cm.jpg/220px-Ana_Rold%C3%A1n%2C_Joe%2C_2008%2C_Leather%2C_Wood%2C_29_x_100_x_45_cm.jpg)
Roldán's repertoire includes concrete objects that become abstract, often minimalist art. She folds state flags to create more complex abstract color images.[6][7]
Another recurring motif is anthropomorphic sculptures, which she first shows in 2004 with the work Joe, about which Pablo Müller writes: Two angled rolls of leather lying on top of each other are reminiscent of human limbs in their form and materiality. In this way, a performative quality of sculpture is hinted at in the works.[8] Hans Rudolf Reust says about a continuation of Joe, namely the work I thought it was impossible (2015): The separation between geometries and bodies, figuration and abstraction is completely dissolved in the emerging figurations of black round fabric snakes with partially skin-colored overlays. Like slightly schematized human bodies, they are familiar to us, until a small change of perspective abruptly tips them over into abstract lineatures.[9] A political reading is proposed by Thomas Haemmerli, who recalls the dismembered bodies present in the media of Mexico in the context of the civil war: The title I thought it was impossible then referred to cruelties that people do to each other - a diagnosis that applies today not only in Mexico, but globally in a world that has gone off the rails.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Ana_Rold%C3%A1n%2C_Truth%2C_2006%2C_Wood%2C_Lacquer%2C_105_x_56_x_36_cm.jpg/220px-Ana_Rold%C3%A1n%2C_Truth%2C_2006%2C_Wood%2C_Lacquer%2C_105_x_56_x_36_cm.jpg)
Roldán's interest in linguistics and the philosophy of language repeatedly leads to corresponding works. Exemplary is the sculpture Truth[10] from 2006, which depicts the lettering truth and its reflection in three dimensions. If one does not know that the word is mirrored at the center line, one cannot decipher it and, like children or illiterates, is thrown back on incomprehensible signs. Furthermore, the title of the work plays with the claim to truth that words claim for themselves. In a site-specific installation[11] for the headquarters of reinsurer Swiss Re, the terms Risk and Life become abstract chair backs. And in her multi-part bestiary,[12] Roldán works directly with texts,[13] and figures like the young curator and the female artist as beasts of the art world.
Exhibitions
Single exhibition (selection)
- 2024: Dibujando un Círculo, Fomato Cómodo, Madrid[14]
- 2023: Tell Me What Red Is..., Instituto de Visión, New York City
- 2022: Air, annex, 14, Zürich[15]
- 2019: Physical Structures, annex14, Zurich
- 2019: Clear Opacity, Formato Cómodo, Madrid
- 2019: Material Art Fair, Mexico, Solo Booth Instituto de Visión
- 2018: Physical Structures, Instituto de Visión/Frieze, London
- 2016: No, annex14, Zurich
- 2015: Solo Projects: Focus Latinoamérica, with Instituto de Visión, Bogotá, Arco Madrid
- 2015: Take Position: Bodies and Plants, annex14, Zurich[16]
- 2013: Drunk, High and Exhilaration, Florian Christopher, a show room, Zurich
- 2012: Espejo Negro, Formato Cómodo, Madrid
- 2011: Blank Back Mirror,[17] Kunsthaus Langenthal, Langenthal
- 2011: Different Orders,[18] annex14, Bern[19]
- 2011: Forms of contemplation, ideal forms in compositions, Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe
- 2010: Cococompositions, Dolores, Ellen de Brunije Projects, Amsterdam, curated by Karin Hasselberg[20]
- 2009: Words to be looked at, objects to be read, Kunsthalle Arbon
- 2009: Picking holy words from the perfect ghost, homage to James Lee Byars, Kunstmuseum Bern
- 2009: As „the Myth of the hole“, annex14, Bern[21]
- 2008: Observations on Modernity and Form, Statements / „Kunst“, Zurich art fair
- 2008: The Actor, Art Palace, World Trade Center Beijing, China
- 2008: Dance steps, Garash gallery, Mexiko-Stadt
- 2007: Comical, Magical, Musical, Black Box, Marks Blond Project, Bern
- 2006: Truth, annex14, Bern[22]
- 2006: God is red/Gott ist rot, Amberg-Marti, Zurich
- 2006: Fable, Espace Libre, Biel
- 2005: Début, Marks Blond project, Bern
- 2005: Kill the beast, Yellow Submarine – Marks Blond Projekt bei Mark Divo, Häuser und wir, Zurich
- 2005: The mountain and the ground, Kunst in St. Peter und Paul, Bern
- 2004: The letter «O», Gallery Kunstkeller, Bern
- 2002: All is like all, Stadtgalerie, Bern
- 2001: Silver gelatine, Gallery Kabinett, Bern
Group exhibitions (selection)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/Enjoy_the_silence_by_Ana_Roldan.jpg/220px-Enjoy_the_silence_by_Ana_Roldan.jpg)
- 2024: Sound of Signs with Susan Hefuna & Andrea Sparta, annex 14[23]
- 2020: Material Art Fair Mexico, Instituto de Visión
- 2019: Fifth Ural Biennial, kuratiert von Xiaoyu Weng[24]
- 2019: Portadores de Sentido, Museo Amparo, Puebla, Mexiko[25]
- 2017: Espejo negro, elefante blanco, curated by Fabiola Iza, Quarto de Maquinas, Mexiko-City.
- 2017: I was a wall, and my breasts were like fortress towers, Adam and Ollman, Portland, USA.[26]
- 2016: New Buenos Aires, Corner College, Zürich, curated by Damian Christinger, Dimitrina Sevova, co-curated by Silvan Kälin.[27]
- 2015: The Lulennial: A Slight Gestuary, curated by Fabiola Iza & Chris Sharp, Mexiko-Stadt.[28]
- 2014: Blackboard – White Page, Kantonsschule Oerlikon, Zürich, curated by Maud Châtelet und Ana Roldán.
- 2013: LUPA, curated by Abaseh Mirvali für Art Rio, Rio de Janeiro.
- 2012: La jeunesse est un art – Jubiläum Manor art price, Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau[29]
- 2012: Surplus Authors mit Falke Pisano, curated by Defne Ayas and Philippe Pirotte, Witte de With, Rotterdam.
- 2012: Popo de Paris, curated by Beatriz Lopez for Sultana Paris
- 2011: Môtiers – Art en plein air
- 2011: “Free Fall I” with Dieter Meier, Thomas Haemmerli, Sitki Kosemen, curated by Magda Guruli, Georgian National Galery, Tbilisi, Georgia[30]
- 2010: Distant Memories, curated by Hélène Joye-Cagnard und Catherine Kohler, Kunstmuseum Solothurn, Solothurn.
- 2010: Formal reiterations and the end of the world, with Athene Galiciadis, Garash, Mexiko-City.[31]
- 2009: Made in China, Kunstmuseum Bern[32]
- 2009: Turn on, Tune in, Drop Out, 798 Beijing Biennale, curated by Nicoykatiushka, Beijing.
- 2009: The Conspiracy/Die Verschwörung,[33] with Falke Pisano Kunsthalle Bern.
- 2008: Acting Joe, George und Mr. Seek,[34] with Falke Pisano, Wartesaal, Zürich.
- 2008: Mão Dupla/Stopover, curated by Evangelina Seiler and Sarah Zürcher, SESC Pinheiros, São Paulo.
- 2004: Es war einmal,Kunstmuseum Thun, Thun[35]
- 2004: Identität, Kunstraum Baden[36]
Films
- 2016: Bones and Bananas[37]
- 2015: Dialog
- 2011: How to do Shakespeare
- 2008: Construction concerned with the relationship between dissimilar emotional values in a composition with black and white[38]
- 2003: Flags
- 2002: Fortschritt
- 2001: Silver Gelatine
Recognition
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/db/Ana_Rold%C3%A1n%2C_Vanilla_Overseas%2C_2016%2C_Silk%2C_100_x_100_cm.jpg/220px-Ana_Rold%C3%A1n%2C_Vanilla_Overseas%2C_2016%2C_Silk%2C_100_x_100_cm.jpg)
- 2017: Competition art on building for the island Rheinau - Structural engineering office of the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland .
- 2010: Work contribution of the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland. for Blank Black Mirror
- 2009: Work scholarship of the City of Zurich, Switzerland
- 2007: Work contribution of the Canton of Zurich
- 2007: Studio scholarship of the city of Zurich in Kunming, China
- 2006: Swiss Art Award
- 2005: Swiss Art Award[39]
- 2003: Corti Aeschliman Stiftung, scholarship
Further reading
- Ana Roldán. Collection Cahier d'Artistes with an Essay of Burkhard Meltzer. Pro Helvetia / Edizioni Periferia, Luzern 2009, ISBN 978-3-907474-58-7 (PDF)
- Matices del arte en América Latina Andrea Hinteregger De Mayo / Turner Libros, 2019 Madrid, ISBN 978-84-17866-03-7
- Existiert die Schweiz? Lagebericht zur Schweizer Kunstszene der Gegenwart mit einem Ausflug zu Athene Galiciadis, David Renggli und Ana Roldán. Fanni Fetzer in: Gipfeltreffen. Junge Bildhauerei aus der Schweiz und aus Deutschland, Ausstellungskatalog, Kunst im Tunnel, Düsseldorf.
- Distant Memory edited by Kunstverein Solothurn, mit Texten von Fabienne Bideaud, Hélène Joye-Cagnard, Catherine Kohler, Sylvia Mutti, Marina Porobic und Roswitha Schild, Solothurn 2010.
- Ana Roldán. Different Orders texts by Eveline Suter and Michael Pfister. Kunsthaus Langenthal, Langenthal 2011, ISBN 978-3-905817-33-1
- Ana Roldán. Cocompositions, 2011, Editions Ready to Print, digital publication, Issue #11/2011
- Blackboard – White Page, herausgegeben von Maud Châtelet und Ana Roldán, Zürich, 2014.
- Interview von Rahel Beyerle mit Ana Roldán, 26. Dezember 2014, SIK-ISEA, Zürich, 2014.
- 2012 Beni Bischof, Manuel Burgener, Athene Galiciadis, Ana Roldán. Marianne Wagner. In: Madeleine Schuppli Catalouge: "La jeunesse est un art", Jubiläum Manor Kunstpreis, Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau ISBN 978-3-906016-05-4.
- contemporary art mexico Hossein Amirsadeghi, Thames & Hudson, 2015 London, ISBN 978-0-500970-64-5.
- Ana Roldán – Die Moderne in Vanille, Hans Rudolf Reust in: Kunstbulletin 3, 2015.
- Nuances of Latin American Art Andrea Hinteregger De Mayo, Turner, 2020 Madrid & Mexico, ISBN 978-84-17866-03-7.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Website of Ana Roldán
- Video "Identity objects - Artist Ana Roldán", Swissinfo 22. December 2008
- Instituto de visión, Ana Roldáns Galerie in Bogotá and New York City
- annex14, Ana Roldáns Galerie in Zurich
- Formato Comodo, Ana Roldáns Galerie in Madrid
- SIK-Art Lexikon-Entry von Ana Roldán
- Ana Roldán at IMDb
References
- ^ "Seit die Krise da ist, läuft es besser". Der Bund (in German). Retrieved 2023-05-05.
- ^ "Primitive Arrangements decorated with Gold Leaf". Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ^ "Installation with Banana flower and glass table". Archived from the original on 1 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ^ Alice, Henkes (2011-09-09). "Fabelhafte Strenge". Tages-Anzeiger (in German). Retrieved 2023-05-07.
- ^ "Installation in Rio de Janeiro". Archived from the original on 1 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ^ "Latin American Flags". www.anaroldan.ch. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ Jolles, Claudia (March 2015). "Editorial". www.artlog.net (in German). Kunstbulletin. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ "Kunstbulletin 12/2008". artlog.net. 2017-07-14. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
- ^ "Ana Roldán - Die Moderne in Vanille". artlog.net. 2017-07-14. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
- ^ Ana Roldán; Burkhart Meltzer. "Cahier d'Artiste - Ana Roldán" (PFD; 1,3 MB). Pro Helvetia. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ "RISK/LIFE - Installation at Swiss Re". www.anaroldan.ch. Archived from the original on 1 February 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ "Bestiary Chapter One". www.anaroldan.ch. Archived from the original on 1 February 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ Suter, Evelin (2011). Der Ozean in der Muschel (in German). Kunsthaus Langenthal. pp. 2ff. ISBN 978-3-905817-33-1.
- ^ "Ana Roldán Dibujando un Círulo". www.formatoomodo.net. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
- ^ Amberg, Annette. "Ana Roldán Air" (PDF). www.annex14.ch. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ Wiesendanger, Sarah. "Take Position: Bodies and Plants". annex14. Archived from the original on 10 February 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ "Ana Roldán, "Blank Back Mirror"". artlog.net. 2017-07-14. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
- ^ Pablo León de la Barra. "Ana Roldán "Different Orders": Barragan meets Best Magaud in Bern". Blog Centre for the Aesthetic Revolution. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- ^ "Ana Roldán - Different Orders". annex14. Archived from the original on 20 February 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ "Ana Roldán – Cococompositions". edbprojects.com. Ellen de Bruijne Projects. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ "Ana Roldán - As "The myth of the hole"". annex14.com. Archived from the original on 20 February 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ "Ana Roldán - Truth". annex14 (in German). Archived from the original on 22 February 2015.
- ^ "Sounds of Signs". Retrieved 2024-06-11.
- ^ "Roldan on fifth.uralbiennale.ru". Archived from the original on 2021-01-16. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
- ^ "Roldan on the Website of the Museum Amparo". Retrieved 2023-05-07.
- ^ "INSTALLATION IMAGES: I WAS A WALL, AND MY BREASTS WERE LIKE FORTRESS TOWERS - Adams and Ollman". Archived from the original on 2018-02-28. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
- ^ "Corner College". www.corner-college.com. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
- ^ ""The Lulennial: A Slight Gestuary" at Lulu (Contemporary Art Daily)". www.contemporaryartdaily.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-06. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
- ^ "Media Release La jeunesse est un art" (PDF; 1MB). Aargauer Kunsthaus. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ "ARTISTERIUM IV, Tbilisi Annual Contemporary Art Exhibition and Art Events "Free Fall"" (PDF). artisterium.org. Archived from the original (PDF; 0,4MB) on 2 April 2015.
- ^ "Formal Reiterations". Archived from the original on 1 February 2015.
- ^ "Made in China". Art Museum Bern. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ "The Conspiracy". Kunsthalle Bern. Archived from the original on 4 April 2015.
- ^ "Kunstbulletin 12/2008". artlog.net. 2017-07-14. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
- ^ "Kunstmuseum Thun Projektraum Ana Roldán". Kunstmuseum Thun. Archived from the original on 5 April 2015.
- ^ "Identität im Kunstraum". artlog.net. 2017-07-14. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
- ^ "Bones and Bananas auf vimeo". Retrieved 2023-05-07.
- ^ "Construction auf vimeo". Retrieved 2023-05-07.
- ^ "Kunst und Design: Eidgenössischer Wettbewerb für Kunst" (in German). Bundesamt für Kultur. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.