Aguas profundas (Deep Waters)

The Awake Volcanoes Exhibition Guide

Since the early 2010s, Sandra Vásquez de la Horra’s work has expanded in scale and in the use of color. She began assembling her drawings from four or even six different sheets of paper. These works also feature the longest sentences included by the artist in her drawings. Unlike the fragmented character of previous text, these sentences suggest action so strongly as to evoke the cinematic.

With a certain reverence and silence, these new works reflect on collectivity. What does it mean to be whole or to be part of a collective? What does it mean to release oneself from these ideals?

The back side of a nude female figure surrounded by blue. Her arms extend upward, and her hands touch in a point over her head. At the center of her hands, a white light radiates outward and is surrounded by six concentric rings.

Saludos a Olorum
Greetings to Olorum
2021
Graphite pencil, watercolor, and wax on paper
© and courtesy of the artist. Photo:Eric Tschernow

Saludos a Olorum is one of Vásquez de la Horra’s most iconic works. It references and shows reverence to Olorum, the Supreme God who created the universe according to different aspects of Yoruba culture and Candomblé, a Brazilian religion rooted in African traditions practiced by the artist.

A print of two photos of the artist holding a sword in different poses. They wear a long-sleeve white dress, and a scarf completely covers their head.
A different print of two more photos of the artist holding a sword in different poses. They wear a long-sleeve white dress, and a scarf completely covers their head.

Changó defiende el Amazona
Changó Defends the Amazon
2003
Inkjet print
© and courtesy of the artist

An ephemeral, nebulous looking human shape from the shoulders up. It is light blue against a dark blue background.

Trance
2003
Inkjet print
© and courtesy of the artist

A print of two photos of the artist holding an animal horn and posing in different positions set against a red background. They wear all white and have gourds stuffed in their tights.
A print of two photos of the artist holding an animal horn and posing in different positions set against a red background. They wear all white and have gourds stuffed in their tights.

La Venus
Venus
2003
Inkjet print
© and courtesy of the artist

Vásquez de la Horra experimented with digital media in the early 2000s and created a series of self-portrait photographs. Here, she expands her color palette and incorporates the suggestion of movement. Her interest and engagement with various religious systems are evident. She captures the experience of being entranced and intertwines her physical form with the Yoruba and Candomblé orisha (god) Shango and the Roman deity Venus.

A nude female figure. Her head is in profile facing right and is encircled by snakes. A human heart is visible between her bare breasts. She holds a tall stick with a circular orb at the top on the lefthand side of the composition. A stag head with long antlers is drawn over her vagina. She stands on one leg on top of a globe-like sphere, with the other leg bent upwards toward the lefthand side.

Deidad planetaria
Planetary Deity
2015
Graphite pencil and wax on paper
© and courtesy of the artist. Photo: Cordia Schlegelmilch

A nude male figure with dark hair and a mid-length beard facing left. He has a satchel on his back with three figures on it, and a small dog nips at his foot on the right.

El portador de estrellas
The Star Bearer
2015
Graphite pencil and wax on paper
© and courtesy of the artist. Photo: Eric Tschernow

The backside of a human figure diving downward with arms extended shoulder-width apart toward the bottom of the composition. A white spine is visible down the back, with a diamond-shaped tailbone at the top of the buttocks.

Aguas profundas
Deep Waters
2016
Graphite pencil, gouache (opaque watercolor), and wax on paper
© and courtesy of the artist. Photo: Eric Tschernow

A figure that hints at the human form in profile facing left. Its arms are outstretched, and legs bent at the knee with pointy claw-like nails on hands and feet. From the top of the thigh, a ship figure is in the place of the tailbone and spine. Lines extend out of the mouth to text in the upper left that reads, “La voz de un pueblo que lucha,” (The Voice of a Nation That Struggles).

La voz de un pueblo que lucha
The Voice of a Nation That Struggles
2019
Graphite pencil, gouache (opaque watercolor), and wax on paper
© and courtesy of the artist. Photo: Eric Tschernow

A group of four human figures in black and gray enmeshed and climbing on top of one another to reach a star at the top. The text, “EL PUEBLO UNIDO JAMAS SERA VENCIDO,” (The People United Will Never Be Defeated), overlaps the figures in white.

El pueblo unido jamás será vencido
The People United Will Never Be Defeated
2020
Graphite pencil, gouache (opaque watercolor), and wax on paper
© and courtesy of the artist. Photo: Eric Tschernow

For Vásquez de la Horra, the depiction of stars and planets among her figures, and the compositions’ striking verticality, emphasizes her interest in the mystical relationships between the human body and the cosmos.

Sandra Vásquez de la Horra: The Awake Volcanoes is organized by the Denver Art Museum. Support is provided by the donors to the Annual Fund Leadership Campaign and the residents who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). Promotional support is provided by 5280 Magazine and CBS Colorado.