Bio
Donna Huanca’s artistic practice investigates aesthetic rituals, arrangements and displays to construct hyper-real narratives. Her installations, sculptures and collages compose multiple simulacrums with discarded materials; such as, clothing, shoes, and ephemera. Although embodied in a wide variety of media, her work expresses a thorough engagement with linguistic experimentation. While delving into one of the most primordial and complex systems of communication, that of clothing, Huanca conveys distinctive and precise observations on the function of the garment, as an ever evolving manner of language production and a traditional form of cultural transmission.
Born in Chicago, Huanca received BFA from the University of Houston (2004). Studied at Städelschule, Frankfurt, Germany (2009-10). Awards include: DeGolyer Grant (2004), Dallas Museum of Art. DAAD artist grant (2009-10) Bonn, Germany, Art Matters Grant, NYC, NY (2010) and a Fulbright Scholarship (2012) to create a new body of work in Mexico City. Residencies include: Skowhegan (2006) Maine, LMCC Workspace and SwingSpace Residency (2007-09) New York, NY, Art OMI (2008) Hudson, NY and the Headlands Center for The Arts (2008) in San Francisco, CA.
Publications of her work have been featured in DazedDigital, Wire, British VOGUE, F5 Moscow, NY Arts, ARTINFO.com, Art in America, and the Younger than Jesus Artist Directory published by the New Museum, NY amongst others.
Lives and works nomadically.
Solo Exhibitions
2013 MAENAD CYMBALS, KSF BERLIN
2012 PANIC FEAR CRYING FITS, PRETEEN Gallery, Mexico City
2012 THE MYTH....CCS BARD, Annadale on Hudson, New York
2011 POP UP SHOP, PG Gallery, Houston, Texas
2008 Secret Museum of Mankind, Women and Their Work, Austin, Texas
2007 Philosophy of The World: New York, Susan Inglett Gallery, New York, New York
2005 Warscapes, Plush, Dallas, Texas
Selected Group Exhibitions
2013 ELEVATION, Arnhem Fashion Biennale, Arnhem, Netherlands
2013 Pioneer Voices, Gallery of Northern Norway, Harstad, Norway
2013 RAW MATERIAL, Malmö Konsthalle, Sweden
2013 BRAIDS, Access Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2013 BREAKING POINT, CTSQ, NYC, New York
2013 Social Fabric, CAFAM, Los Angeles, California
2012 SADE on DMT, KEX Kunsthalle, Vienna, Austria
2012 Reduction of Form, Exile, Berlin, Germany
2012 Lightness of Being, Present Company, Brooklyn, New York
2012 LOL, Truck 72, Madrid, Spain
2012 Baby, I lost my Hand Shoes, Fórum da Maia, Maia, Portugal
2011 Baby, I lost my Hand Shoes, Kurant, Tromsø, Norway
2011 Yo Era Tu y Nunca lo Supe, PUNO MoCA, Puno, Peru
2010 Festive Anthropophagy through Reflected Imagery, Winkleman Booth, Miami Basel, Florida
2010 SKELETON, (with Rachel de Joode) Brigit Ostiemer Gallerie, Berlin, Germany
2010 ☿ ♀ ♁ ♂ ♃ ♄ ♅ ♆☿ ♀ ♁ ♂ ♃ (with Rachel de Joode) HBC, Berlin
2010 RUNDGANG, Städelschule, Frankfurt, Germany
2009 Incehon Biennale, Incehon Art Platform Incehon, Korea
2009 Exhibition, 211 Elizabeth, New York, New York
2009 Global Fabrics, Common Threads, ISE Foundation, New York, NY
2008 Etapa #2, Network of Love (with AIDS-3D), Exit Art, New York, New York
2007 Philosophy of the World: Houston, Lawndale Art Center, Houston, Texas
2007 World View, Dallas Contemporary, Dallas, Texas
2007 Jerusalem 2012 (with AIDS-3D), Program, Berlin
2006 Manic and Wasted,LMCC Swing Space, New York, New York
2006 Flex Your Textiles, John Connelly Presents, New York, New York
2006 STOP TRASHING HOUSTON, VersionFest, Chicago, Illinois
2006 Sampler Stitch, Dam, Stuhltrager, Brooklyn, New York