Nicola López, Ideal Structures for a Dubious Future (1)
To create these explosive intaglio prints, Nicola López placed hand-cut stencils on copper plates which she then subjected to explosive blasts, imprinting the images onto the surface of the plates. The buildings depicted in the prints are fusions of existing, imagined, and historical examples of unrealized architecture. By creating them in a moment of violent transformation, the buildings embody their possibility and destruction simultaneously. The prints were made possible with a grant from the New Mexico Small Business Assistance program which connected López with technical support from Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Nicola López
born Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1975; lives New York, New York
Ideal Structures for a Dubious Future: Pyramid Temple, Globe Sprawl, Tallest Tower
2012
explosive intaglios
16 7/8 x 16 ¾ in., 17 x 17 in., 27 x 11 in.
Albuquerque Museum, museum purchase and gift of the artist, © 2020 Nicola López
photos courtesy of the artist