Hander Lara

[…] Even when the present series Art in Theory enjoys the benefits of the careful production, of the simplicity of constructed forms, its main contribution takes place probably in the field of most apparent tension since the second half of the 19^th Century: the conflicting relationship between institution and art. Just as the pioneers of Dadaism of the early 20^th Century and their conceptual heirs, Hander Lara presents a kind of work in which the idea occupies the main place, and not only that, but also the subversion of the kind of relationship to which it is opposed. Selection is essential here. Not only specific encyclopedias have been chosen –Taschen, Illustrated Atlas of Contemporary Map–, but also this process has been operated twice, since the list represented artists is minimum and very significant.    

Selected pages of creators like Piet Modrian, Jasper Johns, Murakami, Anish Kapoor, and Damien Hirst, cut into pieces installed one on top of the other, in some occasions, in others, leaving blank spaces, propose multiple readings. At first, there is a process of synonymy or correlation between the artist’s ex profeso selection and that of those publications –allegedly encyclopedic. How Art History presents events? What is its action ratio? Who receive the “grace” of being part of these compilations? In a world in which pluralism is used as a flag, in which, for decades, standard paradigms have been subverted and a wide variety of artistic procedures are accepted, is it pertinent to continue working on the basis of exclusive strategies? […]. ¹