Parallel to developing their individual bodies of works, which have gained significant recognition, Herrera and del Río started collaborating under the name Trulalala in 2006. Their premise is to produce their projects working with traditional Argentinean industries and craftspeople which still employ technologies from the past, and to articulate contemporary art practices with production technologies related to design. Trulalala closely interacts with the workers during the process of production.

This exhibition presents six carved glass sculptures, hand painted in gold leaf, made at the glass factory San Carlos, located in the Argentinean province of Santa Fe. It was founded by Italian immigrants who imported blown and carved glass techniques in the early twentieth century. In each sculpture/vase there are handfuls of rice and they are decorated with small gold skulls.

The theme of these works is imbued by a deep romanticism: it is about love and death, weight and emptiness. The artists even see a romantic dimension within the industries they work with: The industry is romantic, we are passionate about traditional crafts … It connects us to a past world, intermittent and often on the road to extinction.

The exhibition will also include a series of drawings by Claudia del Río made with linseed oil and graphite on paper, accompanying the mysterious and subjective atmosphere of the work of Trulalala.

(Carlos Herrera, courtesy Ruth Benzacar Gallery)