Flor Garduño is one of the most acclaimed Mexican photographers. She was born in Mexico City in 1957 and studied visual arts at the San Carlos Academy of the Arts at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Although she was first attracted to drawing, she was captivated by photography. In 1979, she began working as an assistant to Latin America’s greatest photographer, Manuel Álvarez Bravo (1902-2002). He had an indelible influence on Garduño, but she developed her own “eye”—and style.
In his forward to the exhibition catalog, art dealer Spencer Throckmorton notes: “I have known Garduño for well over twenty years, and have had the honor of representing her in New York for the past fifteen years. She is an accomplished artist who brings luster to the gallery, but I also count Garduño as one of my dearest friends. In addition to her creative talents, Garduño is erudite, witty, energetic, and kind. She is well read and well-traveled. We always laugh when we are together. Garduño works tirelessly and as an artist she is well known and respected. Indeed, she is today one of Latin America’s most celebrated photographers. Some of her images have achieved iconic status, including Abrazo de luz (Embrace of Light), Vestido enterno (Eternal Dress), and Tótem (Totem). This exhibit highlights Garduño’s most recent work, though some of her earlier photographs are shown, too. Most of Garduño’s work is drawn from her native Mexico, but she has also labored elsewhere, including in Guatemala, Ecuador, Bolivia, Switzerland, and Poland. I have always felt that Garduño has a gift for juxtaposing facets of Latin American culture with universal themes. Even when Garduño shoots in a country like Switzerland, Latin America remains close.”
Flor Garduño’s photographs offer poetic images drawn from nature, village life, dreams, and the female form. Her images are usually sparse, but they are elegant and richly suggestive. She has a surrealist, dream-like perspective, giving her photographs a mystical quality. They elicit a second look, and invariably contemplation.
Flor Garduño Photography
December 1, 2016 – February 25, 2017
Throckmorton Fine Art
145 East 57th Street, third floor
New York, NY 10022
USA
