Marela Zacarías showcases past, present, and future through abstract sculptures in a new exhibit at SLOMA 

Marela Zacarías is a time traveler.

She creates cloth-like abstract sculptures that traverse the sands of time—bringing back portions of important history through her research to translate for the rest of the world and pave a path to the future.

"Humans have been using abstractions since the beginning of time," Zacarías said. "Abstraction is a language used by everyone everywhere around the world."

The universal language of abstract art is on full display in Zacarías' new exhibit, Storytelling, featured at the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art until July 7.

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• Photos Courtesy Of Heraldo Creative Studios
• UNIVERSAL UNDERSTANDING The centerpiece of Storytelling is Coaticue's Return, which draws on the history of the Aztec people and represents a cycle of growth and destruction in the past, present, and future.

"While they are sculptures, they have this soft appearance to them, almost reminiscent of nature," she said. "It is definitely different from the mural work I spent many years doing, but I think that's what makes the pieces so expressive."

The winding sculptures that line the walls and floor of the museum's main hall invite visitors to explore the open nature of her work and begin to craft their own stories inspired by the unusual style of the art.

"That was my main goal in creating the pieces for this exhibit," Zacarías said. "I am interested in finding out what is next in the world, and to do that sometimes you have to stretch your imagination to find the path forward."

While time traveling certainly is a benefit to Zacarías' art, she knows her work in Storytelling offers something else that's equally important.

"There are so many things going wrong with the world—so much despair and anxiety—so in the language I create in my art I try to invoke this feeling of warmth and hope," she said. "It's indirect and not outright playing to what people want to feel in the moment, and I think that's what makes these sculptures so important."

Storytelling is also part of SLOMA Executive Director Leann Standish's continued mission to expand the museum's boundaries while also keeping the work it displays accessible to visitors.

"Marela's work moves beyond the traditional realm of sculpture—it's playful, unusual, beautiful, and technically impressive as well—all while still being approachable," Standish said. "There's something in the exhibition sure to delight everyone who visits."

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• Photos Courtesy Of Heraldo Creative Studios
• CREATIVE COMBO SLOMA Chief Curator Emma Saperstein (left) and sculptor Marela Zacarías (right) worked together alongside other staff members to create a one-of-a-kind experience in the Storytelling exhibit.

The show has its roots in Zacarías' lifelong fascination with the role that abstract art and cloth textiles serve in preserving aspects of history throughout the world, particularly the history of Indigenous groups like the Mayans and Aztecs.

She credits this fascination to her time growing up in Mexico City, where her mother worked as an anthropologist and exposed a young Zacarías to the significance that abstract art and textiles had in preserving Mexican history.

"Some of the symbols in these clothes throughout history tell the story of the person—where they are from, what they do, what they love," she said.

Those symbols, as Zacarías found, are present throughout not just Mexican history but the entire world, leading her to make them the focal point of her work.

"Indigenous communities across the world were forced to leave their religion, amongst other things that came with colonization," she said. "But the one thing they were allowed to do was keep weaving their colorful garments because they were just colorful and abstract, so they learned to pass their legacy along with those patterns."

click to enlarge

• Photos Courtesy Of Heraldo Creative Studios
• TELLING A STORY Alongside showcasing her work at the Storytelling exhibit, Marela Zacarías gave a talk on March 12 about her artistic vision and process at an event held at the Palm Theatre before the exhibit officially opened.

With Storytelling, Zacarías gets to honor those who lived on the land before her and in the process also create art that feels new and exciting.

"Abstract art gives me the freedom to find my own voice," she said. "It became a way of putting all of that history and research into it—and really just creating my own new language from that universal nature."

That isn't to say she doesn't want her work to be open to interpretation; rather, by crafting a new language from her abstract art, she is opening up her own method of time travel to viewers, encouraging them to search the past to find hope for the future.

"Storytelling allows me to put all of this together in a way that doesn't feel didactic—opening my art to people that might not normally be interested in abstract work," Zacarías said. "Obviously, they are not going to tell you what the future is outright, but because they are the product of all this history, they can reach anyone regardless of age, gender, culture, or time." Δ

Freelancer Adrian Vincent Rosas is getting inspired by the past and planning his future with a new perspective. Reach him at [email protected].