Carmen Argote

Lot #8
Quantities Listed, 2020
Protein bar oil and crayon on paper, frame
32.25 x 24.75 x 1.5 in.
Courtesy of the artist and Commonwealth and Council, Los Angeles. Photo: Ruben Diaz

About the Artwork

Embarking on a series of transfer prints, Carmen Argote pressed onto paper numerous RXBAR protein bars (popular for their simple ingredients: egg whites, cashews, almonds, dates), creating a near-linguistic syntax manifesting the residue of daily sustenance. The nut oils seeped into the paper, creating abstract blooms which Argote then traced in crayon. The oil blots continue to spread beyond the traces, indexing the passage of time. Argote has had recent solo exhibitions at Commonwealth and Council, Los Angeles; Clockshop, Los Angeles; Visual Arts Center, University of Texas, Austin; New Museum, New York; PAOS, Guadalajara, Mexico; and Ballon Rouge Collective, Istanbul, Turkey and New York; among others. She is a recipient of the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award, an Artadia Los Angeles award, an Artist Community Engagement Grant from the Rema Hort Mann Foundation, and a California Community Foundation Fellowship for Visual Artists. Argote's work is in the collections of the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

Retail Value: $4,500