Articulations of Care
Articulations of Care
Ana González Barragán
On view June 26 through August 7, 2026
The idea that geological materials participate in ongoing processes of transformation and interdependence has been central to cosmologies outside the Western worldview since ancient times. Rather than being inert, geological materials are regarded as active agents in processes of change and relationship. The materials in this exhibition not only carry their own histories but also bear the marks of Ana González Barragán’s sustained engagement across time and geography.
From this perspective, the underlying structures of the extractive industry, which drive industrial capitalism, become subjects of critical inquiry. In Articulations of Care, González Barragán employs her sculptural practice to interrogate the gendered and capitalist systems that inform extraction, particularly mining. For the artist, excavation extends beyond the removal of minerals from the earth; it also serves as a method for recovering forms of knowledge rooted in relationships with what the Western worldview defines as “nature.”
This body of work addresses the urgent need to reconsider extraction, highlighting the implications of working with and caring for stones and minerals that have been commodified to justify the transformation of the landscape. Such alterations reflect patriarchal frameworks that position nature as an entity to be exploited, impacting land, bodies, and the communities that depend on both. González Barragán’s sculptural practice serves as a means to explore the intersection of gendered power structures and extraction.
The artist retrieved these stones from a previous public art commission and brought them back to the studio for further intervention. Her practice is grounded in care, understood as an ongoing process rather than a singular act. Each engagement with the material challenges the assumption that extraction, use, and abandonment are inevitable stages. Conceived as support systems, these works place meticulously carved marble and obsidian stones in dialogue with steel pipes, replicas of drill bits used by heavy machinery to extract coal, chains, and molybdenum lubricant. These components are interconnected by a network of hoses and tubes that circulate a mixture of water, marble, and molybdenum dust throughout the installation.
This exhibition assembles materials that have recurred throughout González Barragán’s practice for over a decade, reflecting a sustained investigation into processes of degradation.
Rather than depicting materials as passive resources, Articulations of Care encourages viewers to recognize them as active participants in ongoing narratives and relationships.
Ana González Barragán is the Singer Visiting Professor and Artist in Residence, 2026.
Articulations of Care is on view in the Vicki Myhren Gallery alongside buried in petals & thorns by Abbey Peters, Phipps Visiting Professor and Artist in Residence.