exhibitions
Feeling Green, New York City, April 25th — May 25th, 2024.
New York, NY — Studio Marlow is pleased to present Feeling Green, an open studio with a selection of works by Maria Elena Valdes. Feeling green reminds us that renewal and rebirth are possible.
The following selection of photographs from María Elena spans a timeline from 2017 through 2024. Analog 35 mm scans, green hues printed in cotton paper. Documentary style images that cultivate a narrative of colorful forms.
Grounded in daily experiences and encounters around the world and mainly in Mexico, her birth country. Maria Elena’s work confronts profound questions of existence and proposes to embrace wonder in the mundane.
Paraiso by Concordia, New York City, September 21st — October 27th 2023.
New York, NY —The first edition of Concordia Art Show presents Paraíso—a group exhibit featuring works by artists María Elena Valdés (Puebla), Rodrigo Chapa (Monterrey), Salome Coronel (Quito), and Alex De la Torre (Barranquilla).
Curated by Danielle Juliao, the exhibit taps into a sensitive journey to decode
an amalgam of raw, intricate, warm, unprecedented ideas and visual stories, all connected by one very genuine and recurrent principle – a pursuit of joy, and
how it is approached by Latin artists of different mediums and backgrounds.
By shifting away from the world’s predominant examinations of politics in the region, this exhibition looks to shed light upon Latin America’s quotidian beauty, liberties and complexities.
Una loca de remate, New York City, August 22nd — August 25th, 2023.
New York, NY —We kick off the end of summer with Concordia’s first showcase. This private exhibit features a selection of works from Maria Elena Valdes’ extensive series of documentary photography.
Expect a collection of visual experiences, documented in a quirky manner that is reminiscent of childhood memories. María Elena Valdés, the artist, and Danielle Juliao, founder of Concordia, creatively collaborate with the purpose of opening up the space for new conversations.
This exhibition directly supports the making of Concordia Art Show, opening its first edition this Late September in Manhattan - (more details to come on this!).
Muxelandia at Tagle 47A, CDMX. February 8th — March 23rd ,2023.
CDMX – February 2023. Tagle 47A is very excited to open its doors with a photography exhibition. This space serves as a design and collective art gallery in San Miguel Chapultepec, CDMX. Its first collaboration is with Muxelandia, a project by artist and photographer María Elena Valdés
Muxelandia is the Platonic idea of freedom, brought to life through the photography of María Elena, who captures the everyday beauty, diversity, and vibrancy of Juchitán, Oaxaca with striking detail and color. Each image builds an experimental narrative shaped by practices such as journalism, fashion, illustration, and graphic design.
Muxelandia x Tumbao, Brooklyn, NY. May 21 - June 30, 2021.
Brooklyn, New York — TUMBAO is a New York City retail and event space dedicated to creating unique, beautifully executed and playful fashion, while also designing immersive experiences, all with a strong focus on emerging Latin American creatives.
For its inaugural exhibition, TUMBAO proudly presents Muxelandia, a photographic project by artist and photographer María Elena Valdés. The project was born out of fieldwork conducted in Juchitán, Oaxaca, with the muxe community—a group that plays a vital role in Mexico’s landscape of sexual and gender diversity.
Their expression of identity goes far beyond sexual orientation; it is a way of life and a form of indigenous Zapotec cultural expression. The existence of muxes traces back to pre-Columbian times in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, rooted deeply in tradition and community.
The exhibition's opening featured a powerful drag performance by Zavaleta, who performed the song “Derecho de Nacimiento” by Natalia Lafourcade, as all attendees stood together in a circle it was a moment of unity, pride and resistance.
Ruth, Mexico City, November 22nd — December 1st, 2018.
Mexico City, November 2018 — "Ruth" is a photographic project and exhibition opening this month in Mexico City.
These photographs are part of a project that began during the first year of President Donald Trump's administration. Through playful and poetic scenes that could only happen during the tour organized by Ruth in Sandwich, Massachusetts and its surroundings this project expresses the final moments of the American Dream, at least in its original form.
Ruth was born and raised in the 1930s in Harlem, New York, and it seems she still lives there, inside a bubble amid the chaos of the 21st century. “This is the day the Lord has made” is Ruth’s favorite phrase and a well-known saying within Pentecostalism, her religion.
Ruth has been a part of the Grand Refuge Temple since birth. Every Sunday, she goes to Church to hear the Gospel, the Good News with the hope of achieving her own salvation. Spontaneity is a fundamental trait of the movement, in the way songs and prayers are created during worship and it is also a fundamental trait of Ruth, which she expresses through her clothing and accessories.
She considers herself her favorite fashion icon.
