Damián Ortega

Mexican artist Dami n Ortega (born 1967) is well known for his sculptures that literally deconstruct and reconfigure commercial products, like Coke bottles or, in one of his most celebrated works, a Volkswagen Beetle. In a new body of sculptural work, documented in Dami n Ortega: Reading Landscapes, the artist turns his deconstructive impulses toward natural, geologic forms. Inspired by ideas of "deep time," a geological concept of how the earth documents its own history in layers of rock deposited over some 4.6 billion years, Ortega explores how basic concepts of geology--like the phenomenon of sedimentary layers--can be used as a formal approach to making sculpture. Dami n Ortega: Reading Landscapes, published to accompany the artist's first solo show in Korea, includes an interview with the artist conducted by Clara Kim and a text by Gabriel Kuri.