From July 12 to August 10, a bronze boy wept in the Hood Museum of Art.
The statue was a part of artist and Montgomery Fellow Enrique Martínez Celaya’s exhibition “Burning As It Were a Lamp.” Along with the statue, the exhibition included fragments of a mirror and two paintings of angels, one captioned “I remember nothing” and the other captioned “I remember everything.”
The combination of different mediums and themes in the exhibition gave it strength, said Hood deputy director Juliette Bianco ’94.
“I think what was unique about the exhibition was that as an installation it had multiple components and elements,” she said. “You had this multimedia presentation that worked as one installation, and I think it was nice to be able to focus on one piece and enter that space.”
Bianco said that she and Hood Museum director Michael Taylor first saw Celaya’s work in Miami at the end of 2011 and for the next two years worked to nominate him as the Montgomery Fellow. “Burning” is Celaya’s most recent exhibition, and premiered at the end of last year.
“We were really struck by how so many different disciplines are synthesized in his work,” Bianco said. “We knew the multidisciplinarity of his work would be perfect for Dartmouth students to be able to relate to because he brings together so many ideas in his artwork.” The exhibition contains four primary pieces, each one representing the overall theme of self-reflection, represented in the mirrors and the pool of tears at the feet of the bronze statue. The mirrors in the exhibition are fragmented, which Bianco says refuses the viewer the possibility of viewing themselves in one complete image. These questions of personal identity and isolation run throughout each of Celaya’s pieces.
The variety of disciplines and knowledge reflected in Celaya’s work come from his background in science, Bianco said. Before becoming an artist, Celaya worked as a physicist.
During his residence, Celaya met with two introductory drawing classes and two government classes.
Celaya interacted with students by maintaining an open studio in the Hop Garage so that students could come by and ask about his work.
“We pick fellows based on how they present or talk about what they do. It’s very important that their work is accessible,” Montgomery Fellows program director Christianne Wohlforth said. “One of the things we want to do with the program is provide students with examples of successful, creative individuals that lead full lives. Having them here in person, the students really get to see them as a full person.”
Art history professor Mary Coffey said she was also struck by the intellectual nature and teaching potential within Celaya’s work. She noted the artist’s background in poetry, philosophy and science sets him apart from many contemporary artists.
“His paintings are very serious and his installations are dealing with larger cultural and political forces and the relationship with the mundane and more meaningful questions like ‘who am I?’ and ‘how does my personal and cultural history impact my identity’” Coffey said.
Celaya was born in Palos, Cuba, and spent several years in Spain and Puerto Rico before eventually coming to the U.S. as a physics student.
This idea of mobility and the importance of physical space is played out through several of Celaya’s works, said Wohlforth. “He doesn’t just create paintings, he creates environments,” she said. “The more time you spend with it and see the juxtaposition of the sculptures to the paintings and read about his intentions behind it and what influenced it, the more you understand the experience of the works.”
While the bronze statue and the paintings of angels command attention when walking into the exhibit, the full effect of the exhibition cannot be revealed to the viewer until they are surrounded by the fragmented mirrors in the exhibit.
“Burning” incorporates a participatory aspect, where the viewers must interact with the images of their own reflections.
Bianco said the exhibition was well received and that viewers could connect to both Celaya’s artistic approach and the way he openly discussed his work.
“Our main criteria for exhibitions are those that contain those great moments for teaching and learning for both students and professors,” Bianco said. “A work like Enrique’s that spans so many different disciplines is a winner for us. It helps complement a diverse schedule.”
While meeting with students, Celaya discussed his decision to leave his career as a physicist and pursue art professionally. Wohlforth said that in this discussion, Celaya spoke about the pressure to do what you’re good at and how he felt trapped by his success in physics.
“I felt that students really connected with that pressure to do what you’re good at,” Wohlforth said. “We’re all told to ‘play to our strengths’ and Enrique was saying that you have to ask yourself if you’re doing what you’re doing because you’re good at it or because you truly love it.”
