Marisol (Marisol Escobar)

Marisol (Marisol Escobar)

Venezuelan American

Born 1930 in Paris, France; died 2016 in New York, NY

From artnet. com:

Marisol Escobar, later known as simply “Marisol,” was an American artist best known for her carved wooden sculptures, which often incorporated photographs and painted elements. Escobar’s work was largely influenced by pre-Columbian artwork, incorporating materials such as terracotta and wood elements while using geometric abstraction. The artist is most commonly associated with her installation The Last Supper (1982–1984), in which she recreates da Vinci’s famous painting through sculptural assemblage. Born on May 22, 1930, in Paris, France to Venezuelan parents, she moved with her father to Los Angeles when she was 16 years old. During her teen years, her mother passed away and she relied on religious objects as a source of comfort, which she later incorporated into her sculpture. The artist studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, the Art Students League in New York, and at Hans Hofmann’s private school in Provincetown. After completing her education, Escobar fell into the milieu of Pop artists like Andy Warhol, who included her in two of his films. Marisol died on April 30, 2016, in New York, NY. Following her death, a retrospective of her work was held in her honor at both the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art and El Museo del Barrio in New York. Today, her works are in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Dallas Museum of Art, among others.