Iván Carmona
As a boy, I learned about Modernism through magazines and TV documentaries. It was there that I was introduced to the work of Isamu Noguchi and Alexander Calder, and began to recognize their forms in the natural world around me. The mountains and forests of Puerto Rico became sculptural constructions and swaying mobiles in my mind, and through my own visual language, I hope to communicate these intimate moments in a manner accessible to a larger audience. A shape, word, texture, or color can activate potent memories, and this sense of nostalgia is key to a reading of my work. The sculptures are abstracted, they aren’t one-to-one representations. Instead, each emotional memory is passed through the sieve of Modernism, creating connections between my remembrances and recollections of the past and the timeline of art history.
Looking back at a particular moment, I might remember a specific shape, color, or feeling. Through the years, these memories take on a life of their own. They expand and contract, shapes soften and blur, and colors push through to become more vibrant. By working with clay, a product of nature, I am able to make the immaterial physical. The unifying effect of flat, rich color helps to amplify the presence of even the smallest object, and serves to highlight its curves, angles, and planes. Each of my works pulls the past forward into a new body for the present to see. By creating these physical manifestations, I can remember, reflect upon, and share my histories with the world.
Iván Carmona (b. 1973) is an American artist raised in Puerto Rico. He received his BFA from the Oregon College of Art and Craft. Recalling representations of Spanish colonial architecture, dense colorful vegetation as well as complex textures and patterns, Iván draws upon a strong visual vocabulary in his work. Through the use of tropical landscape and traditional cultural idiosyncrasy, one can see how deeply Iván identifies with the structure and beauty of his home. Employing imagery, form and texture, Iván’s exploration of the relationship between human emotions, culture, identity, and geographic connections enables him to capture the complexity, personality and history of his art.
Carmona has received the Hallie Ford Foundation Fellowship from The Ford Family Foundation, the Student Scholarship Award for Outstanding Academic and Artistic Achievement, the Dean’s Scholarship, the Commitment to Craft Scholarship and the Huntley-Tidwell Scholarship. Selected collections include Boise Art Museum, Cedar Hall Seattle, Crocker Art Museum, Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation, King County Public Art Collection, Meta Open Arts, Museum of Glass, Museum of Contemporary Art in Puerto Rico, Portland Art Museum, Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, The Vanport Building, Port of Seattle and Regional Arts & Culture Council Portable Art Collection.
The Ford Family Foundation, “Iván Carmona: Hallie Ford Fellow in the Visual Arts 2020”
Iván Carmona’s hands helped his father tend to a family home in Puerto Rico. The coarse finish of cement is coded to his personal history, as are the rich pastels and modernist lines that distinguish Puerto Rican architecture. Link
KBOO, “Joseph Gallivan interviews sculptor Iván Carmona” February 5, 2019
In this new body of work I’ve abstracted the landscape of my homeland, Puerto Rico. The forms and colors are based on my memories, is a physical tactile of my experiences. Each piece is a fragment of my experience as a child in a landscape, rich with intense color shapes and textures. Link
ARTIST-AT-LARGE, “Iván Carmona and Liz Robb at PDX Contemporary” January 21, 2019
When paired and observed in groups, these vidid gestures resemble the topography of his native land, combining together the sky, flora, fauna and earth, to reimagine the landscape. Link
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