Harris Lieberman is pleased to present El Sol de Mexico, Daniel Guzmán’s first solo exhibition at the gallery. In his drawings, sculptures, and videos, he references a wide variety of influences ranging from Aztec symbolism and Mexican muralist Jose Clemente Orozco to 1970s and 80s rock and roll and counter culture literary figures like Charles Bukowski and William S. Burroughs. Though Guzman’s work is firmly rooted in a Mexican social and cultural context, he addresses broader issues of cultural translation in search of optimism and a universal poetic spirit.

El Sol de Mexico is Guzman’s personal response to the current social and political upheaval in Mexico. A centerpiece of the exhibition is a new film, El Secreto del Mal (The Secret of Evil), a violent but humorous spoof on horror films. Inspired by Chilean writer, Roberto Bolaño’s, short history of the same name, Guzman’s video is simultaneously chaotic and philosophical. In the main gallery, Guzmán will exhibit a series of new drawings filled with images of violence and scandal taken directly from the headlines of a daily Mexican tabloid. Additionally, there will be four totemic sculptures, each comprised of a combination of found and fabricated objects. These works reference an Aztec ritual that was performed every 52 years. In this ceremony called the New Fire, one individual would be sacrificed so that the entire society could be cleansed and reborn.

Daniel Guzmán currently lives and works in Mexico City. His work has been exhibited extensively in the past decade. In 2008 he was featured in a two-person exhibition, Double Album: Daniel Guzman and Steven Shearer, curated by Richard Flood at the New Museum, New York. Guzmán was also included in this year’s Carnegie International and the Berlin Biennial. Other recent exhibitions include Escultura Social: A New Generation of Art from Mexico City, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago and Playback, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris.