William Cordova
Lima,Peru / Miami, FL / New York, NY
ARTIST STATEMENT
My work attempts
to reconcile ideas of displacement and transition through the use of alchemy,
ephemeral residue and vernacular architecture that continually shifts and
shapes what could be described as our contemporary situation.
Influences are key to my relationship with present and past environments. Films like Nostalgia by Andrei Tarkovsky, The Horse by Charles Burnett and Nicolás Guillén Landrián’s Ociel De Toa often address topics concerning the effects brought on through physiological transitions that occur in various locations throughout the world. The writings of Nicomendes Santa Cruz Cumanana, Toni Morrison’s Playing in the Dark and Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of The Earth are likewise an asset to my comprehensions on cultural identification/ representation/ abstract & concrete space and time. Going far beyond obvious expectations found in visual art alone through their subsequent and logical inclusion to bring about a broader understanding of culture.
Influences are key to my relationship with present and past environments. Films like Nostalgia by Andrei Tarkovsky, The Horse by Charles Burnett and Nicolás Guillén Landrián’s Ociel De Toa often address topics concerning the effects brought on through physiological transitions that occur in various locations throughout the world. The writings of Nicomendes Santa Cruz Cumanana, Toni Morrison’s Playing in the Dark and Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of The Earth are likewise an asset to my comprehensions on cultural identification/ representation/ abstract & concrete space and time. Going far beyond obvious expectations found in visual art alone through their subsequent and logical inclusion to bring about a broader understanding of culture.
BIO
Moving from his hometown of Lima to Miami at an early age, and briefly living in Houston, Chicago, and New York City, Cordova integrates the cultural nuances and histories from these environments within his work. Afro-Peruvian cosmology, Andean architecture, and metaphysics deeply influence Cordova’s work, intersecting and merging with contemporary visual languages. Cordova earned his BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1996, and his MFA from Yale University in 2004. He has participated in numerous artist residencies including Artpace, San Antonio, TX; The Core program, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX; Woodstock Center for Photography, NY, The Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, CA; The Studio Museum in Harlem, NY; Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, Maine; and American Academy in Berlin, Germany.