Ciertas tardes me salen al paso presencias insólitas. 
                          Basta rozarlas para cambiar de piel, de ojos, de instintos. 
                           Entonces me aventuro por senderos poco frecuentados. 
                          A mi derecha, grandes masas de materias impenetrables; 
                                          a mi izquierda, la sucesión de fauces. 
                                   Subo la montaña como se trepa esa idea fija 
                        que desde la infancia nos amedrenta y fascina y a la que, 
                          un día u otro, no tenemos más remedio que encararnos. 
                 El castillo que corona el peñasco está hecho de un solo relámpago. 
                           Esbelto y simple como un hacha, erecto y llameante, 
                 se adelanta contra el valle con la evidente intención de hendirlo. 
                      ¡Castillo de una sola pieza, proposición de lava irrefutable! 
                                                   ¿Se canta adentro? 
                                                ¿Se ama o se degüella? 
            El viento amontana estruendos en mi frente y el trueno establece su trono 
                                                       en mis tímpanos.
               Antes de volver a mi casa, corto la florecita que crece entre las grietas, 
                                       la florecita negra quemada por el rayo. 

                                 Some afternoons strange beings cross my way. 
              A mere brush against them is enough to change skin, eyes, instincts. 
                                       And then I venture on unbeaten paths. 
                            To my right, great masses of impenetrable matter; 
                                        to my left, a succession of gullets. 
                        I climb the mountain the way you climb that fixed idea 
                    that since childhood has terrified and fascinated you until, 
                        one day or another, you have no choice but to face it. 
        The castle that crowns the peak is made from a single flash of lightning. 
                              Thin and simple like an ax, erect and flaming, 
      it advances against the valley with the apparent intention of splitting it in two. 
                       Castle of a single piece, proposition of irrefutable lava! 
                                                 Do they sing inside? 
                                             Do they love or destroy? 
    The wind piles clamor on my head and the thunder roots its throne in my ears. 
         Before going home, I cut the little flower that grows between the cracks, 
                                   the black flower burned by the ray. 

Artwork
Fantasma en Llamas 2020
36 x 36 x 12 inches
Unfired clay and vinyl
Monica Juarez @monimonimonimonimoni_

Poem
CASTILLO EN EL AIRE 1951
Octavio Paz

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Artists and Poems: Los Angeles 2020

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Exhibition Team
Steven Wolkoff
Alexandra Wiesenfeld
Jenny Hager

Artists
Eugene Ahn, Lisa Anne Auerbach, Carlos Beltran Arechiga, Arezoo Bharthania, Jorin Bossen, Debra Broz, Nancy Buchanan, Gavin Bunner, Ismael de Anda III, Jacci Den Hartog, Yasmine Diaz, Tomory Dodge, Tom Dunn, Roni Feldman, Yrneh Gabon, Bia Gayotto, Mark Steven Greenfield, Kio Griffith, Gronk, Jenny Hager, Katie Herzog, Geraldine Hudson, Phung Huynh, Carmine Iannaccone, Bryan Ida, Ichiro Irie, Ben Jackel, Monica Juarez, Alexander Kroll, David Leapman, Constance Mallinson, Dakota Noot, Sean Noyce, Claudia Parducci, Lara Porzak, Rebecca Ripple, Gabby Rosenberg, Christopher Russell, Liza Ryan, Roland Seto, Theodore Svenningsen, Holly Tempo, Doug Wichert, Alexandra Wiesenfeld, Steven Wolkoff, Torie Zalben

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