about the exhibition
Window Works
Franco Mondini-Ruiz
San Antonio, TX
September 20–November 25, 2007
about the artistFranco Mondini-Ruiz's whimsical installations mediate the disparate worlds of the street vendor and the fine art collector. The artist works with concepts of accessibility, portability, and spontaneity to transform the Mexican-American sale of ritual objects into context-specific social sculpture. Whether constructing an assemblage from kitschy knickknacks, distorting Helsinki glass to reference the less-finished Tijuana equivalent, or selling reproducible paintings for $99 a piece, Mondini-Ruiz humorously tips the balance-blurring the boundaries between high and low art.
Franco Mondini-Ruiz has had solo projects at Newark Museum of Art, Newark, New Jersey (2007); Light Box Gallery, Los Angeles, California (2006); and Frederieke Taylor Gallery, New York (2005). His work has been included in exhibitions such as Ulterior Motifs: A Celebratory Art Extravaganza, Arlington Museum of Art, Texas (2007); and Transitional Objects: Contemporary Still Life, Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College (2006). Mondini-Ruiz recently released his first book: High Pink: Tex-Mex Fairy Tales (2007).
about the exhibition
Franco Mondini-Ruiz's WindowWorks project, Modern Piñatas features a series of hand-made, Paper Mache replicas of seminal paintings and sculptures from the modernist era. The floating piñatas, modeled after works by artistic greats such as Piet Mondrian, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, and Jeff Koons, reference the commercialization of popular icons. Through the use of the piñata, Mondini-Ruiz resituates the works in a Latino context, alluding to the cross-cultural appropriation of images. The installation comically combines the gallery atmosphere with a fiesta ambiance to question the reverence of high art. The artist's use of children's party accessories, built to be filled with candy and beaten apart with a stick, further the distinction between precious material and everyday object.
