Alternative past and possible future

We learn history at school and are dependent on texts in books. And trust that the facts are correct and the presentation is complete. But it is incomplete and often told from only one perspective, the western white one. For two decades, the artist Firelei Báez (*1981) has dedicated herself to a more complex view of the past. Her focus is on American colonial history: for example, she paints over old maps with almost forgotten mythological creatures of indigenous peoples. However, her paintings, drawings and installations also feature alternative visions of the future that are not influenced by the Western science fiction canon. Báez is considered one of the most important voices of the present. In Firelei Báez, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston presents an overview of the artist's work to date. The exhibition runs from April 4 to September 2.

Báez was born in the Dominican Republic and has lived in the USA since the age of 9. Her focus is on Dominican history and folklore, working within the tensions of feminism, race, power and nature. She has won numerous awards and has exhibited in New York, Miami, New Orleans, Los Angeles, London, Rotterdam, Shanghai and Tokyo, among others. Báez has been represented by Galerie Hauser & Wirth since 2023.