PRESS RELEASE

Primary is proud to present Vecinos / Neighbors, Lucia Hierro's first solo exhibition in Miami, showcasing work across a range of disciplines, including digital media, installation, and sculpture. Hierro explores the symbiotic relationship between personal narrative and larger economic structures, engaging the viewer in a discourse on issues of class, culture, and identity.

On this block in Little River, the immediate neighbors are Haitian and Dominican. Here, the rhythms of life permeate through the air, where the Güira from a classic bachata accompanies the aroma of our neighbor's magical sancocho. The neighborhood is familiar, made up of sounds, smells, and sights, specific to the culture, on loan from the surrounding landscape.

In "Vecinos/Neighbors," the concept not only relates to the literal connotation but also the relationship of the images within the work. Objects take the place of the figure, speaking to our connection with these objects and their respective socio-economic implications. Through similarities in these items, one can begin to relate. The viewer is no longer a spectator but a participant as to say we are all in this together.

Hierro grew up in Washington Heights, New York. "My family was always at a two-block radius, walking down the street with my mom meant stopping to talk to someone at every corner. There was a real sense that we were in on something together. I understood early on that it had to do with preserving the cultural/economic sanctuary we had created for ourselves. There was a sense of responsibility for your neighbors and loved ones."

An oversized bag of Domino Sugar is titled Can I Borrow Some Sugar? a ubiquitous question among neighbors, the irony of relationship-building via politically fraught objects. Reciprocity- as it relates to the interpersonal but hinting at the ways which the actual object it references functions economically and more importantly its means of production. 

What do these seemingly disparate, at times, hyperspecific/hyperlocal objects say about how we've learned to compartmentalize the human costs of production vs. consumption? How does the analog notion of borrowing a tool or an ingredient build community, foster connection, and counteract loneliness in this new age of digital isolation?

Opens Friday, March 13, 2020 at 6 PM

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Lucia Hierro (b. 1987) is a Dominican American conceptual artist born and raised in New York City, Washington Heights/Inwood, and currently based in the South Bronx. Lucia’s practice, which includes sculpture, digital media and installation, confronts twenty-first century capitalism through an intersectional lens. She received a BFA from SUNY Purchase (2010) and an MFA from Yale School of Art (2013).

Hierro’s work has been exhibited at venues including the Bronx Museum of the Arts, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Jeffrey Deitch Gallery (Los Angeles), Elizabeth Dee Gallery (New York), Primary Projects (Miami), Sean Horton Presents (Dallas), Fabienne Levy Gallery (Lausanne, Switzerland), Casa Quien in the Dominican Republic and Charlie James Gallery. Her works reside in the collections of the Guggenheim Museum New York, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD), El Museo del Barrio in New York City, the Perez Art Museum Miami, the JP Morgan & Chase Collection, among others. Hierro’s work is currently showing in the permanent collection exhibition “Tender Loving Care: Contemporary Art from the Collection” at the MFA Boston. Lucia has recently come together with Hermès and Petit h to re-envision their windows and in-store scenography for the Madison Avenue flagship store-up until the 26th of October. She is currently represented by Fabienne Levy Gallery in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Primary (Est. 2007) is a context and research-driven curatorial collective with an emphasis on public art. We thrive amongst the self-taught, working-class misfits, who explore the margins of a new Americana through pungent, human-focused narratives. Our program engages with the raw and uncanny, celebrating border voices, bootleg culture, and intergenerational commentary, connecting the new and unseen with broader audiences and evolving collections.

For further information, please contact info@thisisprimary.com