Colorful landscape of green and red snowy peaks against a lush orange sky
Image Credit

Sandra Vàsquez de la Horra, Los Nevados (The Snowy Peaks), 1992. Graphite pencil and oil paint
on paper; 5 × 13¾ in. © and courtesy of the artist. © Documentation Trevor Good.

Sandra Vásquez de la Horra

The Awake Volcanoes
Now On View

Sandra Vàsquez de la Horra, Los Nevados (The Snowy Peaks), 1992. Graphite pencil and oil paint
on paper; 5 × 13¾ in. © and courtesy of the artist. © Documentation Trevor Good.

Sandra Vásquez de la Horra: The Awake Volcanoes is the first solo show in a US museum for the Chilean artist, known for her recent participation at the Venice Biennale and being the recipient of the prestigious Käthe Kollwitz Prize for 2023.

Vásquez de la Horra was born in 1967 in Viña Del Mar, Chile, growing up during Augusto Pinochet’s 17-year military regime and leaving her home nation to study in Germany in the 1990s. Her drawings often include symbols from different cultures, and her female figures perform contrasting roles in narratives that deal with freedom, spirituality, and nature. Vásquez de la Horra’s works frequently show female bodies melding with surrealistic landscapes, and her practice is known for its poetic and artistic experimentation that weaves the absurd with the affirmation of affection and pleasure.

The Awake Volcanoes highlights paintings, drawings, and prints by Vásquez de la Horra, exploring notions of fantasy, desire, fear, and pleasure to explore the relationship between the human body and the world around it. Drawing is central to her practice, reminding viewers that it is a flexible and dynamic medium that is still essential to contemporary art making.

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Watercolor abstract artwork depicting volcanoes erupting

Sandra Vásquez de la Horra, Erupciones (Eruptions), 2019. Graphite pencil, watercolor, gouache (opaque watercolor), and wax on paper; 27¾ × 19 in. © and courtesy of the artist. Photo © Eric Tschernow.

Abstract watercolor artwork depicting volcanoes erupting and a larger-than-life figure overseeing it

Sandra Vásquez de la Horra, El despertar de un volcán (The Awakening of a Volcano), 2019. Graphite pencil, watercolor, gouache (opaque watercolor), and wax on paper; 40½ × 26 in.
© and courtesy of the artist. Photo © Eric Tschernow.

Abstract drawing of a rabbit and human like figure

Sandra Vásquez de la Horra, Presentado (Presented), 1997. Graphite pencil, crayon, and wax on paper; 19½ × 13 in. © and courtesy of the artist. © Documentation Trevor Good.

Wax sculpture house with red leaf patterns adorned all over

Sandra Vásquez de la Horra, El sueño del árbol rojo (The Dream of a Red Tree), 2016. Graphite pencil, watercolor, and wax on paper; 16 × 16 × 23¼ in. © and courtesy of the artist. Photo © Eric Tschernow.

Abstract graphite pencil drawing of a stacked tier of six circles

Sandra Vásquez de la Horra, Seis simbiosis (Six symbioses), 1998. Graphite pencil and oil paint with sand on paper; 10 × 7¾ in. © and courtesy of the artist. © Documentation Trevor Good.

Drawing of an adult animal-like human on all fours with a younger figure riding on its back

Sandra Vásquez de la Horra, El ideal de un Calavera (The Ideal of a Skull), 2012. Graphite
pencil, watercolor, and wax on paper; 39 × 27 in. © and courtesy of the artist. Photo © Cordia Schlegelmilch.

Watercolor pencil drawing of a woman figure holding out a ball of light against a sky blue background

Sandra Vásquez de la Horra, Saludos a Olorum (Greetings to Olorum), 2021. Graphite pencil, watercolor, and wax on paper; 84¼ × 61 in. © and courtesy of the artist. Photo © Eric Tschernow.

Graphite pencil drawing of a figure holding up another figure in their arms, making a celebratory pose

Sandra Vasquez de la Horra, El pueblo unido jamas sera vencido (The People United Will Never Be Defeated), 2020. Graphite pencil, gouache (opaque watercolor), and wax on paper; 93 × 42¾ in. © and courtesy of the artist. Photo © Eric Tschernow.

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Sandra Vásquez de la Horra: The Awake Volcanoes is organized by the Denver Art Museum. Support is provided by the donors to the Annual Fund Leadership Campaign and the residents who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). Promotional support is provided by 5280 Magazine and CBS Colorado.