A torrential downpour puddled the streets, its ripples and vibrations pummeling the sidewalks, running unevenly over the asphalt of the street: a tell-tale sign, an expression of water’s potentially devastating force. Did the water remember its course? Emanating from meandering sources like headlights, lanterns, or the on-and-off power grid, the dim light heightened the water’s threat—it refracted, reflected, and stressed its unpredictable path. As untethered and volatile as the water, light became a tool to make time briefly visible, allowing these experiences to converge into image.

Elle Pérez (b. 1989, Bronx; lives and works in New York) received an MFA from Yale University (2015) and a BFA from Maryland Institute College of Art (2011). Solo exhibitions have been held at 47 Canal, New York (2023, 2018); MASS MoCA, North Adams (2023); Baltimore Museum of Art (2022); Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh (2021); Commonwealth and Council, Los Angeles (2021); Public Art Fund, New York (2019); and MoMA PS1, Queens (2018). Selected group exhibitions have been held at 59th Venice Biennale (2022); Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2022, 2019); Fotomuseum Winterthur (2022); Galerie Neu, Berlin (2021); Renaissance Society, Chicago (2020); Barbican Centre, London (2020); and Brooklyn Museum (2019). Pérez is a recipient of Abigail Cohen Rome Prize (2023), Vermont Studio Center Civil Society Institute Fellowship (2015), Theo Westenberger Foundation Photography Prize (2014), and Bronx Recognizes Its Own Grant (2012).

Pérez’s work is in the collections of and Aïshti Foundation, Beirut; Baltimore Museum of Art; The Block Museum of Art, Evanston; The Brooklyn Museum; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Rhode Island School of Design Museum; The Studio Museum in Harlem; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; and Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown.

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Un diluvio torrencial inundó las calles: las ondas y vibraciones generadas en el agua azotaban en las aceras, corriendo erráticamente sobre el asfalto de la calle. ¿Recordaba acaso el agua su trayecto? Su movimiento era un indicio, una señal de su fuerza potencialmente devastadora. La luz tenue que emanaba de forma serpenteante de linternas, faros de automóviles o de la red eléctrica intermitente intensificaba la amenaza del agua, la refractaba y reflejaba conforme marcaba su cauce impredecible. Tan desenfrenada y volátil como el agua, la luz se transformó en la herramienta necesaria para visibilizar el tiempo así fuera por un instante, haciendo posible que las experiencias vividas se conviertan en imágenes.

Elle Pérez (n. 1989 en el Bronx; vive y trabaja en Nueva York) recibió una maestría en Bellas Artes por la Universidad de Yale (2015) y la licenciatura en Bellas Artes por el Maryland Institute College of Art (2011). Sus exposiciones individuales han tenido lugar en 47 Canal, Nueva York (2023, 2018); MASS MoCA, North Adams (2023); Baltimore Museum of Art (2022); Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh (2021); Commonwealth and Council, Los Angeles (2021); Public Art Fund, Nueva York (2019) y MoMA PS1, Queens (2018). Ha participado en exposiciones colectivas entre las que destacan la 59º Bienal de Venecia (2022); Whitney Museum of American Art, Nueva York (2022, 2019); Fotomuseum Winterthur (2022); Galerie Neu, Berlín (2021); Renaissance Society, Chicago (2020); Barbican Centre, Londres (2020) y Brooklyn Museum (2019). Pérez ha recibido el Premio Abigail Cohen Rome (2023), la beca de investigación del Vermont Studio Center Civil Society Institute (2015), el Theo Westenberger Foundation Photography Prize (2014), y la beca Bronx Recognizes Its Own (2012).

Su trabajo se encuentra en las colecciones de Aïshti Foundation, Beirut; Baltimore Museum of Art; The Block Museum of Art, Evanston; The Brooklyn Museum; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Rhode Island School of Design Museum; The Studio Museum in Harlem; Whitney Museum of American Art, Nueva York; y Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown.