Miguel Horn
My contribution to the FLOW exhibition examines memory and impermanence through a deeply personal lens. The piece expands on previous works that obscure or alter the likeness of sculpted portraits through various media and digital production processes. The subject of this portrait is my father, endearingly called Abu (short for Abuelo) by my children. For this installation I’ve scaled his likeness to monumental proportions, capturing the great presence he holds in our family’s lives. The artwork’s surface is made up of layers of translucent acrylic sheet, stacked topographically to create his image. The fractured surface of this material reflects light from the surrounding environment, and can muddle the overall image. The sculpture is partially submerged in the river with the water level cresting at various layers of the surface at different times of the day. I’m interested in the effect of the tidal change on his portrait capturing the illusive nature of memory and presence, at times so clear and others so murky.
About the Artist
Miguel Antonio Horn is a sculptor from Philadelphia with Colombian and Venezuelan roots. He received a certificate in 2006 from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and apprenticed for five years with Mexican artist Javier Marin. He creates large-format sculptures using digital and analog processes in a variety of media. His artworks have been exhibited at the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Tamaulipas, Brownsville Museum of Fine Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art,University of the Arts, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and as part of the Vancouver Biennale. He has several permanent public installations in thePhiladelphia region, Canada and Mexico. He has received grants for workshops and artworks locally and internationally. From 2011 to 2019 he contributed to exhibitions programming and public outreach for the west Philadelphia artist-run Traction Company. He founded El Cubo in the Parkside neighborhood of Philadelphia in 2019 as a space for experimental projects and programming. He is the father of two young children whom he raises with his wife and community in South Philadelphia