Libbi Ponce first came to Ox-Bow as a student in 2018. Since then they’ve taken to the road, on the adventure known to artists as residency hopping. They’ve participated in residencies and research at ACRE, Bemis, Yale Norfolk, Ox-Bow’s Longform, the Chrysler Museum, as well as a Fulbright in Ecuador.
To explore Libbi Ponce’s studio is to wander into a menagerie equal parts enchanting and bizarre. There you will encounter cyborgian spiders, bats with pink saucer eyes, and a unicorn with a candle-wick horn.
These creatures are founded from the associative freedom that Ponce derives from dream logic as well as the reflective attention they give to historical artifacts, specifically those connected to their Ecuadorian roots. While some might mistake Ponce’s work as imitations, that word strikes as far too limiting. Instead, Ponce imbues their attention to the past with a palpable longing for what could be in the future, which consequently instills a potency in the now. If all this rings as too abstract, you might better appreciate the fact that Ponce’s practice combines ceramics, steel, glass, grout, beeswax, and even pink himalayan salt. Thus, their practice is expansive not only conceptually, but in Ponce’s material prowess as well.
I personally was intrigued by the prospect of dream logic. When I inquired at its origin, Ponce elaborated on the term: “I don't necessarily feel a need to justify things in a way that makes sense.” Instead, they attempt a logic “parallel to the way that dreams work,” as seen in the sculpture gato brujo, an 8’ cat with overstretched legs that tower above a couch.
gato brujo; 2023; steel, styrofoam, polyurethane, joint compound, paper mache, grout, concrete, pigment
Each of Ponce’s abstract zoomorphic sculptures are rooted in an altered sense of time. Ponce views these differentials as a representation of animals' propensity to adapt and change. “Its not real animals right now that we know of,” Ponce specifies. They’re supposed to evoke an other worldly or other timely sensation. Still, these sculptures hold a sense of familiarity. While instyler calls to mind a Jurassic era in which bugs outsized humans, the metal sculpture also resembles a hair iron, lending a cyborgian feel similar to the space spiders. Instyler reminds viewers of this dependency the present has on both past and future. Ponce recognized “the finish is a bit different” between instyler and gato brujo, but a similar intent can be detected.
instyler; 2022; metal, pvc, paint, fiberglass, resin, concrete, pump, tubes, lechugines, plexiglass, silicone, plasma cut sheet metal, broom bristles, silicone make up applicators; 1m x 1m x 2m
In Ponce’s most recent work, they lean heavily into steel. The sculptures again reveal Ponce’s attention to both artifact and futurism. Sculptures such as halo and time repeating once, evoke a portal that could lead to an alternate dimension or an age-old afterlife. Variations on their artec space spider of my nightmares lends itself to a playful horror that also feels slightly humored. Over our interview Ponce laughed as they described this “nightmarish” sculpture. In their exploration of futurism, they are fixated on ensuring each sculpture sits contrary to the colonialist overtones that sci-fi has historically relied on. Their meditations on Latinx Futurism, reminds us that the artifact Ponce draws inspiration from aren’t merely pieces of the past, but essential ingredients for dialogue that could lead to a better future.
Libbi Ponce sits on their sculpture gato brujo. Image courtesy of the artist.
Libbi Ponce (they/them, she/her) is an Ecuadorian artist, born in 1997 to a family of musicians, making sculptures, 360-degree videos, installations, and performances. Ponce explores themes of Latinx-Futurism through a sculptural practice of world-building incorporating an ambitious range of materials including steel, bronze, resin, polyurethane, mortar, grout, terracotta, and glass. Inspired by the erotic and anthropomorphic motifs from ancient Andean ceramics, Ponce constructs tactile sculptural objects which probe discourse on grief, intimacy, and historic folklore.
They have attended the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists' Residency, Yale Norfolk Undergraduate Residency, and ACRE. Exhibitions include terciopelo at Selenas Mountain, BASE REMOVED at the Museo Antropologico y de Arte Contemporaneo, and Skyway 20/21 at the Tampa Museum of Art. They hold a BFA in Studio Art and BA in Philosophy from the University of South Florida. In 2021, Ponce completed a Fulbright Creative Research Fellowship in Ecuador. In 2023, they completed an ArtTable research fellowship at the Chrysler Museum Of Art. Libbi is the founder/director of galeria juniin in Guayaquil, Ecuador and Co-Director of Coco Hunday Gallery in Tampa, FL. Libbi is currently based between Ecuador and the United States.
This article was written by Engagement Liaison & Storyteller, Shanley Poole and was based on an interview conducted by the author.