installations
Major themes of this exhibition include: the relationship between private and public spaces, the role of the artist, and the interplay of different parties involved in the production of culture: institution, patron, viewer, or curator/producer. Castañeda’s earliest installations were ephemeral interventions in the landscape, group performances choreographed by and for the artists alone. A number of these land works were made in the 1980s with Humberto Castro, Antonio Eligio, AKA Tonel, Abigail Garcia, Sebastian Elizondo and Maria Elena forming the Hexágono Group. They documented them for display in gallery spaces. In the 1990s, Castañeda began a decade-long collaboration with the artist Quisqueya Henriquez. Together they developed a language and format for their installations, which were conceived as objects for the public to visit. For instance: Metastasis (1996) and Airbags (1996). It was not until after 2000 that Castañeda began to build environments contingent on the public and their desire for interaction, voice and presence. A pivotal example is the Cybernetic Information Center at the Miami Art Museum (2000).
(from “A Map Of Four Decades” by Yasmeen Siddiqui to ” For Rent: Consuelo Castaneda” Exhibiton at Americas Society. 2011)
