Blum & Poe is pleased to announce an exhibition of the work of Ana Mendieta.  

Transformations 1972-1973 will run from January 17 through February 14, 1998.

The exhibition will focus on a selection of student works completed at the University of Iowa in 1972. In the series Facial Hair Transformations, Mendieta documents the exchange of facial hair with a male student, during which she plays with gender transformation by applying his facial hair to her face. Referring to the ceremonial importance hair has had in Egyptian, Native American, and other cultures, she wrote:  "What I did was transfer his beard to my face. By transfer I mean to take an object from one place to another because I think it gives me that person's strength."

In a group of self-portraits entitled Facial Cosmetic Variations, Mendieta disguises and alters her appearance with the use of cosmetics, wigs, and prosthetic devices. Foreshadowing the work of Cindy Sherman, the artist willfully and theatrically distorts her face, going against all conventions of feminine beauty.

Mendieta's work was the subject of two European retrospectives in 1996-97 organized by the Centro Galego de Arte Contemporaneo and the Helsinki City Art Museum. In 1997, Mendieta's work was included in the 5th International Istanbul Biennial: On Life, Beauty, Translations, and Other Difficulties, curated by Rosa Martinez; and the 2nd Johannesburtg Biennial: Alternating Currents.  Forthcoming exhibitions include Desde el cuerpo: alegorias de lo femenino, organized by the Fundacion Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas; Out of Actions: Between Performance and the Object 1949-1979; traveling exhibition organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Women, Surrealism, and Self-Representation, organized by the MIT List Visual Arts Center, scheduled to travel to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.