Celeste | What shall I take with me?

About

A couple in life and work, María Fernanda Camarena and Gabriel Rosas Alemán began working collaboratively under the name Celeste in 2020 for their first museum show at the Zapopan Museum in Mexico. Their practice is characterised by a meeting of the pair’s aesthetic sensitivities and encompasses a diverse range of materials and disciplines. From monumental textile works and outdoor installations to drawings, prints and sculpture, their work invites the audience to contemplate the dynamics of relationships, both personal and collective.

What shall I take with me? is an exhibition of new monoprints by Celeste, which are inspired by a poem of the same name by Aztec philosopher Nezahualcóyotl. The poem recognises the finite nature of life and reflects upon the idea of legacy, proposing that if nothing else, we should use our time on earth to create beauty. Supplementing their large-scale textile works, this series of unique works on paper convey Celeste’s signature visual language on a smaller, more intimate scale.

Motifs such as vessels, volcanic landscapes and celestial bodies appear in oil on the surface of the page, each referencing a specific theme within Celeste’s practice. The vessel has held an important symbolism for Celeste since their formative exhibition in 2020, and it appears throughout their work as a metaphor for the necessity of creating space for one another and for those who encounter their work. The image of the volcano functions as a pictorial representation of transition and imminent change that is evocative of the process of artistic production: the eruption is followed by a moment of darkness, the soil soon becoming increasingly fertile.

What shall I take with me? is the first exhibition that focusses solely on Celeste’s practice on paper, and their second solo exhibition with Canopy Collections who first introduced their practice to Europe in 2022. The pair has since achieved international recognition for their monumental installations and participatory artworks. Their forthcoming show at the Royal Society of Sculptors will open on the 5th October alongside a presentation of the work of Abraham Cruzvillegas. The exhibition is supported by Canopy Collections in collaboration with Thomas Dane Gallery.

Celeste is an artist duo from Mexico comprised of María Fernanda Camarena (b. 1988) and Gabriel Rosas Alemán (b. 1983). They live and work in Mexico City. Celeste’s inaugural exhibition took place in 2020 at the Zapopan Museum in Mexico. They have exhibited with Museo Amparo, Mexico; The Contemporary Austin, Texas; MAĀT Gallery, Paris; Pangée Pangée, Montreal; Art Paris, Paris; and The Shepherd Art Center, Detroit. In January 2023, they had their first solo exhibition in Europe, entitled Celeste: A Portable Landscape and organised by Canopy Collections, London.