Three Stunning Past Exhibitions at Transformer Station

Narrative facets of the installation were informed by de Nieves’s experience of Mexican cultural traditions, considered through the lens of this moment in history. These unfolded in relation to the particular architecture of Transformer Station. As a whole, the installation was characterized by the artist’s ongoing interest in transforming humble materials into spectacular objects that alter the spaces around them.

De Nieves, who lives in New York, traces his artistic practice back to his childhood in Mexico: at school and alongside family members, he learned traditional Latin American sewing and beadwork that now permeate his art in multiple ways. At the age of nine de Nieves immigrated to San Diego with his mother and two brothers. Later he moved to San Francisco and finally to New York, where his multimedia practice, including painting, sculpture, and performance, has taken shape.

Surface Tension encourages us to see our relationship with everyday technology in unexpected ways by highlighting the marks we leave on glass screens we routinely ignore or erase. The subjects pictured beneath the surface of her photographs reflect our culture, whereas the smears and markings of fingerprints record our physical movements and fleeting attention.

Surface Tension, Soren’s first solo museum exhibition, traveled to Transformer Station in October 2019 following its debut at The Davis Museum at Wellesley College. Transformer Station presentation included a number of new artworks created specifically for the space.

This work was commissioned by Transformer Station and conceived and installed by the artist during a three-month residency with Creative Fusion. Prohaska’s work often uses found materials re-purposed with transgressive humor. This sculptural installation overturns our notions of sculpture and demonstrates the power of art to question our assumptions about the urban landscape and public space.

Rainer Prohaska (b. Krems/Donau, Austria) is a conceptual artist who lives and works in Vienna. Rainer studied Experimental Design at Art University Linz, Experimental Media Art and Digital Art at University for Applied Arts in Vienna and Academy of Fine Arts Krakow. Prohaska has been invited to residencies around Europe, Asia and North America.