Back to the Source

Marian Goodman Gallery is delighted to present Back to the Source, our inaugural exhibition of the work of Ana Mendieta (1948-1985). Back to the Source presents seminal works from 1972-1985, a prolific period of Mendieta's work, spanning stages of time spent in Iowa, Mexico, and Cuba, including seven digitally remastered films, photographic works, newly available photographic prints and drawings, and ephemeral sculpture. Creating a rich and diverse body of work that included ephemeral sculptures, Mendieta, in her film and photographic works, captures time and process through direct actions which transport her beyond conventional materials to the realm of the intangible and impermanent, using nature as a collaborator. With her body as material, and driven by nature's symbolic meaning, she sought to integrate power, magic and knowledge into her work, using natural materials as well as the four elements - earth, air, fire, water. Feathers, flowers, branches, moss, fireworks and gunpowder were easily accessible and were often part of ritual practices to return her to the land and connect her to the universal.