Harold Mendez: one way to transform and two and three

Spanning two galleries, Mendez’s exhibition offers visitors a first look at a collection of new sculptures, large-scale mixed-media works, and assemblages. The title, from a poem by Canisia Lubrin, emphasizes states of flux and continuous becoming.

Mendez is a first-generation American of Mexican and Colombian descent. His experience being raised in multiple places informs his carefully researched projects. This exhibition encourages viewers to think about multiple perspectives and influences. Mendez continues to explore the historical narratives that have shaped the Americas by reflecting on familial memories and personal stories. Collected from various sources and places, Mendez alters and arranges his materials with poetic precision.

Themes you’ll encounter in the work include ceremony, ritual, symbolism, and systems of knowledge and marking time. This union of ideas is reflected in By which to be embodied, a large-scale wall work. Against a deeply saturated indigo surface conjuring celestial or topographical formations, Mendez has placed carpenter’s rulers to symbolize his parents’ migration. A new sculpture titled Mundos, on view for the first time here at the Wexner Center, is a grouping of ceramic forms that resemble cloth bundles used to carry belongings. In the exhibition’s titular piece, a trio of silver-leafed arepas made by the artist’s Colombian mother represent familial care and longing. Traversing histories, cultures, and continents, Mendez examines cultural inheritance with a panoramic perspective.

The exhibition features work realized through partnerships with Cerámica Suro in Guadalajara, Mexico, and the Center for Contemporary Ceramics at California State University, Long Beach.