Rafael Soldi | Life Stand Still Here

ClampArt is pleased to announce “Rafael Soldi: Life Stand Still Here,” the artist’s first solo show in New York City.

“Life Stand Still Here” explores internal dialogues and moments when life and its darkest facets can offer monumental symbolism. Inspired by the writings of Virginia Woolf, this body of work explores the elusive abstract space within all of us that defines the core of our psyches. Soldi examines the ambiguous and sometimes painful inner darkness in all people. The artist’s interest is in opening an interplay between the histories of his audience members and his own—a kind of dark mirroring that makes visible our shared psychic struggles.

Soldi comments: “When people [close to you] die or you go through losses or traumatic experiences, they unlock these very dark corners of your psyche, not darkness that is perverse, but darkness that is unknown. . . It makes you wonder, ‘What else is in there?’”

Conor Risch observes in a article written for PDN: “Though the work is linked to experiences from Soldi’s life—childhood memories, recurring dreams, relation-ships—he references these indirectly, questioning how what happens to us shifts our understanding of the world.”

Rafael Soldi is a Peruvian-born, Seattle-based artist and curator. He holds a BFA in Photography & Curatorial Studies from the Maryland Institute College of Art. He has exhibited internationally at the Frye Art Museum, American University Museum, and Griffin Museum of Photography, among others. Soldi is a 2012 Magenta Foundation Award Winner, recipient of the 2014 Puffin Foundation grant, 2016 smART Ventures grant, and 2016 Jini Dellaccio GAP grant. He has been awarded residencies at the Vermont Studio Center and PICTURE BERLIN. Soldi’s work is in the permanent collections of the Tacoma Art Museum, Washington; Frye Art Museum, Seattle; and the King County Public Art Collection, Seattle.