Flow States: LA Trienal 2024

EL MUSEO DEL BARRIO PRESENTS: FLOW STATES – LA TRIENAL 2024

The Second Edition of El Museo del Barrio’s Major Survey of Latinx Contemporary Art Debuts This Fall with 33 Participating Artists

On View from October 10, 2024 to February 9, 2025

NEW YORK, NY, June 4, 2024 – El Museo del Barrio announces Flow States – LA TRIENAL 2024, the museum’s second large-scale survey of Latinx contemporary art. Organized by El Museo del Barrio’s chief curator Rodrigo Moura, curator Susanna V. Temkin, and guest curator María Elena Ortiz, the exhibition will feature 33 participating artists working across the United States, Puerto Rico, and—for the first time—extending into new geographies that reflect the complexities of diasporic flows, with artists based in the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia. Opening at El Museo del Barrio on October 10, 2024, this edition builds on the framework of the critically acclaimed ESTAMOS BIEN – LA TRIENAL 20/21, the museum’s inaugural survey of Latinx contemporary art—the first of its kind in the United States.

“For the second edition of LA TRIENAL, we have broadened the geographic scope to emphasize the multiplicity of the Latinx cultural experience as a lens to frame the contemporary artistic landscape. Importantly, this edition acknowledges the resonances and connections among Latinx, Filipinx, Caribbean, and Indigenous identities,” says Moura.

Emphasizing plurality and a sense of movement, the title, Flow States, is a pun on creative focus and the fluidity of geographic boundaries and cultural exchanges. This phrase connects to diasporic themes—broadly defined as a dispersion, scattering, and flux of populations, languages, and cultures—that inform the exhibition. The selected artists share interests related to transformation, porosities of landscape and the built environment, spiritual connections, collective memories, hybrid belongings, and material exchanges. These threads come together against a background of ongoing displacements and migrations that continue to transform our global and local ecosystems.

“Flow States – LA TRIENAL 2024 presents itself as a summit in which the works of the selected artists reflect affinities and solidarities, as well as distinct perspectives and individualized points of departure. Together, they offer strategies for resistance and diverse imaginations for the future,” says Temkin.

The selection of 33 artists in Flow States – LA TRIENAL 2024 represents the culmination of intensive research, conversations with artists, and more than eighty studio visits across three continents by the curatorial team. Encompassing works in a variety of media ranging from paintings and textiles to social practice and smell, the exhibition will feature a range of aesthetic languages, as well as 10 newly commissioned projects made especially for the show.

Commenting on the significance of the exhibition at this particular moment, Maria Elena Ortiz, guest curator and curator at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, adds: “This exhibition validates Latinx art, focusing on its diasporic realities to expand on the mainstream notion of Latino. Breaking away from national boundaries, it is an opportunity to admire the work of emerging voices, celebrate underrepresented artists, and include other narratives into the discourse.”

El Museo del Barrio’s LA TRIENAL is inspired by the historic The (S) Files exhibitions held at the museum between 1999 and 2013. The (S) Files provided a platform for emerging Latino and Latin American artists based in the New York metropolitan region. Reconceived as a triennial, LA TRIENAL takes an ever-evolving approach, each edition responding to the unique artistic and socio-political context of its moment.

“Flow States – LA TRIENAL 2024 demonstrates El Museo del Barrio’s unwavering commitment to championing Latinx art and amplifying the voices of underrepresented artists. This edition extends our reach beyond the United States and Puerto Rico to include new geographies that reflect the complexities of diasporic flows, with artists based in the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia. We invite audiences to challenge established narratives and find their own stories mirrored in the powerful works of art that will be on display,” says Patrick Charpenel, Executive Director, El Museo del Barrio.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated, bilingual publication.

ARTISTS SELECTED FOR FLOW STATES – LA TRIENAL 2024

Carmen Argote b. 1981, Guadalajara, Mexico; lives and works in Los Angeles, California Hellen Ascoli b. 1984, Guatemala City, Guatemala; lives and works in Baltimore, Maryland 

Esteban Cabeza de Baca b. 1985, San Ysidro, California; lives and works in Queens, New York, and the Southwestern United States

Widline Cadet b. 1992, Pétion-Ville, Ayiti; lives and works in Los Angeles, California Liz Cohen b. 1973, Phoenix, Arizona; lives and works in Phoenix, Arizona

Tony Cruz Pabón b. 1977, Puerto Rico; lives and works in San Juan, Puerto Rico Lance De Los Reyes b.1977, Houston, Texas; d. 2021 New York, New York

Christina Fernandez b. 1965, Los Angeles, California; lives and works in Los Angeles, California

Verónica Gaona b. 1994, Brownsville, Texas; lives and works in Houston, Texas

Roberto Gil de Montes b. 1950, Guadalajara, Mexico; lives and works in Nayarit, Mexico 

Maria A. Guzmán Capron b. 1981, Milan, Italy; lives and works in Oakland, California 

Madeline Jiménez Santil b. 1986, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; lives and works in Mexico City, Mexico, and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Caroline Kent b. 1975, Sterling, Illinois; lives and works in Chicago, Illinois

Koyoltzintli b. 1983, New York, New York; lives and works in New Jersey

Anina Major b. 1981, Nassau, Bahamas; lives and works in New York, New York

Mario Martinez b. 1953, Penjamo, Scottsdale, Arizona; lives and works in Brooklyn, New York 

Mark Menjívar b. 1980, Virginia; lives and works in San Antonio, Texas
Karyn Olivier b. 1968, Trinidad and Tobago; lives and works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

Alina Perez b. 1995, Miami, Florida; lives and works in New Haven, Connecticut
Carlos Reyes b. 1977, Chicago, Illinois; lives and works in New York, New York, and Caguas, Puerto Rico
Gadiel Rivera-Herrera b. 1963, San Juan, Puerto Rico; lives and works in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Ruben Ulises Rodriguez Montoya b. 1989, Parral, Mexico; nomad
Norberto Roldan b. 1953, Roxas City, Philippines; lives and works in Roxas City
Sarah Rosalena b. 1982, Los Angeles, California; lives and works in Los Angeles, California Ser Serpas b. 1995, Los Angeles, California; lives and works in New York, New York
Chaveli Sifre b. 1987, Würzburg, Germany; lives and works in Berlin, Germany
Kathia St. Hilaire b. 1995, Palm Beach, Florida; lives and works in New York, New York, Studio Lenca based in Margate, England
Magdalena Suarez Frimkess b. 1929, Caracas, Venezuela; lives and works in Venice, California
Sarita Westrup b. 1989, Edinburg, Texas; lives and works in Dallas, Texas, and Penland, North Carolina
Alberta Whittle b. 1980, Bridgetown, Barbados; lives and works in Glasgow, Scotland
Cosmo Whyte b. 1982, St. Andrews, Jamaica; lives and works in Los Angeles, California
Joe Zaldivar b. 1990, Rosemead, California; lives and works in Los Angeles, California

ABOUT THE CURATORS

Rodrigo Moura

Rodrigo Moura is a curator, writer, and editor currently serving as Chief Curator at El Museo del Barrio in New York. At El Museo, Moura has curated Cuerpo: Carlos Martiel (2024), ESTAMOS BIEN – LA TRIENAL 20/21, and Raphael Montañez Ortiz – A Contextual Retrospective (2022). Previously, he was the Adjunct Curator of Brazilian Art at Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand (MASP), where he curated or co-curated exhibitions such as Djanira: Picturing Brazil (2019), Melvin Edwards: Lynch Fragments (2018), Images of the Aleijadinho (2018), and Who’s Afraid of Teresinha Soares? (2017). Moura also served as Artistic Director of Instituto Inhotim (Minas Gerais, Brazil) between 2014 and 2015, where he was also curator from 2004 to 2013.

María Elena Ortiz

María Elena Ortiz is a Curator at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, where she curated Surrealism and Us: Caribbean and African Diaspora Art since 1940 (2024), and Jammie Holmes: Make the Revolution Irresistible (2023). Previously, she was a Curator at the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), where she organized group shows such as Allied with Power: African and African Diaspora Art from the Jorge M. Pérez Collection (2020) and The Other Side of Now: Foresight in Caribbean Art (2020), as well as solo exhibitions with Firelei Báez, Ulla von Brandenburg, william cordova, Teresita Fernández, José Carlos Martinat, Carlos Motta, and Beatriz Santiago Muñoz. At PAMM, Ortiz founded the Caribbean Cultural Institute, a curatorial platform dedicated to Caribbean art, and worked to grow the museum’s collection by securing works by Simone Leigh, Bisa Butler, Bony Ramirez, and others.

Susanna V. Temkin

Susanna V. Temkin is a Curator at El Museo del Barrio in New York and holds a PhD from the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University. At El Museo, she has curated or co-curated exhibitions such as Cuerpo: Carlos Martiel (2024), Something Beautiful: Reframing La Colección (2023–2024), DOMESTICANX (2022), Juan Francisco Elso: Por América (2022), ESTAMOS BIEN – LA TRIENAL 20/21, and Culture and the People: El Museo del Barrio, 1969– 2019 (2019), among others. Prior to joining El Museo, Temkin was an Assistant Curator at Americas Society in New York and the Research and Archive Specialist at Cecilia de Torres, Ltd., where she co-authored the digital catalogue raisonné of artist Joaquín Torres-García. Her essays and reviews have been published in exhibition catalogues and magazines, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Alice Neel: People Come First, Rutgers, Art Review, and The Burlington Magazine.

ABOUT THE CATALOGUE

Flow States – LA TRIENAL 2024 is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue with curatorial essays, reprinted source texts, and short essays on participating artists by invited collaborators.

Edited by Rodrigo Moura, María Elena Ortiz, and Susanna V. Temkin. Designed by Estúdio Gráfico. English and Spanish. Published by El Museo del Barrio, New York.

EXHIBITION CREDITS

Flow States – LA TRIENAL 2024 is made possible by the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Foundation. Leadership support is provided by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Major support is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and Tony Bechara. Generous funding is provided by the Trienal Council: Agnes Gund, Patrick Collins, Virginia Cowles Schroth, María Eugenia Maury, Ramiro Ortiz Mayorga, and Monica Vidal and Joseph Sherman. Additional support is provided by Isabel and Julio Nazario, Tracey and Phillip Riese, Robert and Encarnita Quinlan, and Javier Lumbreras. Public support is provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

ABOUT EL MUSEO DEL BARRIO

El Museo del Barrio is the nation’s leading Latinx and Latin American cultural institution. The Museum welcomes visitors of all backgrounds to discover the artistic landscape of these communities through its extensive Permanent Collection, varied exhibitions and publications, bilingual public programs, educational activities, festivals, and special events.

The Museum is located at 1230 Fifth Avenue at 104th Street in New York City. The Museum is open Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 11:00am – 5:00pm. Pay what you wish. To connect with El Museo via social media, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and X. For more information, please visit www.elmuseo.org.