A Thousand Stories – Stories
Grimanesa Amorós
Multidisciplinary Artist; Peru
Website: www.grimanesaamoros.com
Multidisciplinary artist Grimanesa Amorós has spent half her life in Peru and half in New York City—a realization that occurred when we first met in February of 2006. For a moment she remained pensive about having two homes. It’s a challenging situation.
But seconds later, traffic noise burst through the windows of her Manhattan studio and diffracted the revelation. There’s always so much going on here. Projects are in every corner. Stacks of press blurbs and promotional statements lay on tables. Blueprints hang in neat rows on a wall near the kitchen—future work for public spaces.
Grimanesa puts tremendous importance on having her hand in every aspect. Nothing leaves the studio unless she’s seen it; edited it; approved it. The quality must always be there. Resarch has to be done. Growth must continue.
“Perhaps for people who are seeing your work for the first time, it might seem very good. But people for example who are following your career, then you have a responsibility because they say, ‘Oh my God she’s selling out’, or ‘Oh my God she’s doing the same thing as before’.
Or…it would be great for them to say, ‘Once more she has surprised us. Once more she has been able to do something new’.
As human beings we change. Our interests change.”
So really, describing the brilliant facets inside Grimanesa would take almost too much time and too many pages. Spend a moment exploring her creations. Try the variety of flavors in Frente Ferroz, Petalos, and Rootless Algas. Every installation explodes with feeling.
And if you’re in Tribeca, visit Terrarium, a new permanent, site-specific public art project (in the lobby of 54 N. Moore St.). It’s an incredible collection of wall-mounted acrylic half-globes that glow with all sorts of colors, randomly fading in and out. Each globe contains a photograph, many of which detail the past and present life of the building. It’s viewable from the street, and is especially lovely at night.