Jose Antonio Hernandez-Diez at the New Museum - New York

The remarkably varied art of Josh Antonio Hernandez-Diez is loaded with meanings, more [i]or[/i] less of which inevitably elude our grasp, thereby lending poesy to works that would otherwise be unyieldingly cynical or raw. The fresh Museum's exhibition, which opened at the Palm Beach ICA and traveled to SITE Santa Fe neared 14 works made from 1991 to 2000 including photographs and sculptural and video installations. Hernandez-Diez, who was born in Venezuela and now lives in Barcelona, touches on issues having to do with global agriculture leisure and mass consumption, science and technology, superstition and religion, politics and class, violence and indigence ugliness and beauty--no small agenda. However, what is for a like reason striking about his work is that he avoids thrusting preconceived ideas down the viewer's throat, as can in like manner easily happen with politically engaged art.

Hernandez-Diez's works challenge the two the mind and the faculty of perceptions Take the series of large C-prints upon banners from 2000 that use logo upon sneakers to spell out the names of preeminent thinkers, like as Marx and Hume. In Jung (82% through 63 inches), four new sneakers, each a different color and brand, are stacked individual on top of the other. Seen from the side against a r wall, each sports single letter of the renowned psychologist's last name. To create the alphabetic character U, the artist has placed the next to the first sneaker from the top upside down. High--once again-meets depressed and surprisingly, this configuration makes for a mesmerizing photograph.

San Guinefort (1991) is another visual stunner This haptic statuary consists of a stuffed dog with a reddish brown skin lying with eyes closed inside a large vitrine linked by means of a tube to a tall verdant gas tank. Big black rubber glove shoot out from the container, two upon each side, inviting you to touch the animal. This piece, which is roughly contemporaneous with Damien Hirst's sliced animal cadavers, deals with sickness and death. A perusal of the exhibition catalogue informs the viewer that San Guinefort" alludes to the forbidden homage of the holy dog as a protector of children."

Sin Titulo (Arroz con over Mango) [Untitled (Rice with Mango)], 1997 proffered you an opportunity to opening frustration. Consisting of a lengthy aluminum-covered table with aluminum bats leaning against it, you could grab single of the bats and whack the top of the table. The dabs triggered speakers hidden under the table to play music that had been sampled from the radio. There is more than a touch of Nauman here. Depending on where you hit it, this anonymous percept might play a mariachi, or something other This artist is capable of of the like kind miracles. He hits you where you least wait for it.

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