Emil Alzamora: Dulce Compañía (Sweet Company): 225 West 17th Street

Ethan Cohen Gallery is pleased to present Emil Alzamora: Dulce Compañía (Sweet Company). Presented concurrently with his solo museum exhibition Starship Abundance at MOCA Jacksonville, Alzamora’s New York exhibition features larger than life naturalistic figurative sculptures which recast histories and are both psychologically compelling and thrilling while simultaneously imbued with a deep sense of emotional empathy.

Upon entering the gallery, the viewer is confronted with the spectacle of a highly naturalistic sculpture of a slain Minotaur splayed on the floor. Standing over him is a lifesize sculpture of a nude male maintaining a serene expression. The work is titled Ethesus, an anagram for Theseus, the hero from legend who historically vanquished the Minotaur. At once there is a sense of terror elicited from the lifelike quality of the beast while in the same instance the viewer is confronted with the sense of emotional empathy. While the Minotaur is clearly a monstrous hybrid with the head of a bull and the body of a man, the highly recognizable humanistic aspects of the creature allow the viewer to have a cathartic experience in the solace of its death. Perhaps this can be seen as wider metaphor for the Other, such as the manner in which some demonize other groups of peoples.

Presiding over the scene is a group of life-size ceramic figural busts with a variety of naturalistic interventions from raw minerals to flora and fauna. The works follow in the tradition of sculptural bust portraiture from Antiquity to the Rococo period. However, Alzamora’s artistic gestures situate them in contemporary dialog by replacing the portrait with the very elements the artist employs to make his work as a poetic homage to the natural world.

Also included in the exhibition are wide-ranging examples of the artist’s formal prowess including works in bronze, ceramic, and cement. Dulce Compañía is Alzamora’s first solo exhibition with Ethan Cohen Gallery in New York City.

Emil Alzamora was born in Lima, Peru, and lives and works in Beacon, NY. His figurative sculpture practice explores notions of transience, beauty, harmony, uncertainty, and hope. Alzamora has exhibited at institutions including: The Queens Museum of Art, The Knoxville Museum of Art, The Royal West Academy of Art and at the United Nations General Assembly. Alzamora has also exhibited with cutting edge galleries including Lowell Ryan Projects, Marc Straus Gallery, and Ethan Cohen Gallery. His artistic practice has graced the pages of The Brooklyn Rail, Juxtapoz Magazine, ArteFuse, Whitehot Magazine, Tussel Magazine, Boston Metro News, The New York Times, among others.