October 4, 2023 843 PM
MARFA — HORN HOOF HALO, an exhibition featuring sculptures and paintings by local artists Jacquelin Zazueta and Zak Ziebell will open at Do Right Hall on Friday, October 6, with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m.
Artworks on view are inspired by the practice of historical memorialization through the production of religious objects of devotion. Both artists are living and working in Marfa and graduated with degrees from the Rhode Island School of Design.
Paintings made by Ziebell depict landscapes of Texas and Northern Mexico populated with memories, animals and artifacts drawn from the long history of the region. These miniature scenes offer different perspectives on the history of the wider landscape, combining layers of historical strata with imagery of the local environments to form a unique style of cartography.
Many of the images were photographed by the artist during his travels throughout Texas and Mexico, tying personal memory into the larger narratives.
Jackie Zazueta, “Rib Bone Diosa,” 3D-printed PLA and nylon powder. Photo by Elena Isabel Peña.
Similarly, Zazueta’s sculptures originate in small objects acquired through travel. The objects, which Zazueta sources from flea markets, mercados and second-hand stores, are embedded into clay and collaged into larger sculptures. These sculptures are 3D-scanned and then destroyed so that their component parts can be recycled into new pieces.
The scan, a memorialization of a temporary moment in the lifecycle of the objects, is used to make a 3D print which serves as the basis of the final piece. With a combination of airbrushing, photographic transfer and fiber particle application, Zazueta transforms the ghost of the lost form into a colorful and one-of-a-kind devotional object.
Through processes of figurative bricolage, both artists create works which ask us to consider how the remembrance of the past can transform seemingly mundane objects and places into vessels for the sacred. But perhaps more importantly, these pieces display the artists’ deep feelings for the specific places in which they live and work.
Do Right Hall is located at 110 W. Dallas. The show will be free and open to the public, running through October 15. Hours are 1 to 5 p.m. October 7 and 8 and by appointment.
