Saturday, May 13, 2023

De La Torre at ICA SD Central: They never disappoint

by Patricia Frischer





“Epic battle for the future of humankind”

Jamex and Einar de la Torre just never disappoint and this exhibition/installation at The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in Balboa Park Post-Columbian Futurism is no exception. We have 6000 square feet of fantasy, satire, gusto, magic lenticular technology, projections. glass and every possible mixed media and found objects.  

You are greeted by a massive grid at the top of the space, that opens up as you go down the central staircase. You are then invited to join the most bizarre dinner party imaginable. Talk about over consumption, you could spend hours looking at all the details. It is the trippiest of journeys, never to be really understood logically, but only felt on an emotional level.  Nightmare and humor combined to entertain and challenge. The wolf is no longer at the door, but on the table.

Make sure and look at how the glass figures relate to the large work in the far room. Putin as Godzilla wreaking havoc is not really a fantasy, but underscores how the brothers are constantly looking to the past to bring attention to our present and possible future.   

Colonial Atmosphere (2002), an installation of a lunar lander in the shape of a massive stone Olmec head is work we saw at the Riverside Museum, but the rest of the work is brand new.

This exhibition is generously supported by Hyundai, Quint Gallery, and Larry and Debra McGinty Poteet.





























de la Torre Brothers: Post-Columbian Futurism
ICA San Diego / Central, March 19 – August 20, 2023

Open Hours: Thursday to Sunday, 12:00 - 5:00 pm  
Free to the public.

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