rafa esparza: Temple of Boom

The Henry will close at 3 PM on FRI, FEB 3 to prepare for the opening of Thick as Mud! ➞

rafa esparza making adobe bricks with his father, Ramón Esparza

Pier 62

Fall 2023 - Spring 2024

rafa esparza (b. 1981, Los Angeles) is a multidisciplinary artist whose work explores themes around memory, family, and community, and frequently includes collaborative elements. Esparza’s recent projects consider labor and land, and are grounded in adobe-making, a skill learned from his father, Ramón Esparza.

For his commission, Temple of Boom, rafa esparza will create an interactive sculptural work sited at Seattle’s Waterfront Pier 62. Adobe, obsidian, and water will comprise the installations key components. Referencing the shape of a conch shell, Temple of Boom will be a multi-sensory structural experience that functions like a sound chamber and will host a series of site-specific music and sound performances. Adobe speaker boxes will line the interior, surrounding a central pond flanked by integrated seating. A conduit to the water below will connect the temple pond directly to the ocean tide. Serving as a community gathering space, Temple of Boom will invite DJs, singers, songwriters, experimental sound makers, poets, and writers to collaborate within its uniquely sound-responsive structure, specifically prioritizing artists who identify as Indigenous, Black, Brown, Queer, Trans, and other artists of color.

rafa esparza: Temple of Boom is a Henry OffSite project. Through exhibitions and programs, Henry OffSite extends our organizational mission of centering contemporary art and ideas and building dialogue with communities across the region. Integrated with our vision for in-museum programming, these projects are developed in partnership with artists and partner organizations, leveraging art to develop and support meaningful encounters, relationships, and activities beyond the museum's walls. Simultaneously, Henry OffSite provides support for artists whose vision is best fulfilled in sites and formats that resonate with their intentions and broad range of practices.

Artist Bio

Born in 1981 in Pasadena, CA; lives and works in Los Angeles, CA

rafa esparza has exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions in North America. He has had solo exhibitions of his work at Artpace, San Antonio, Texas; Ballroom Marfa, Texas; and MASS MoCA, North Adams, Massachusetts; among other institutions. Additionally, he has participated in group exhibitions at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Moody Center for the Arts, Rice University, Houston; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tucson, Arizona; Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami; San Diego Art Institute, California; and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; among other venues. esparza has performed at a variety of venues, including The Bowtie, Los Angeles; Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions; REDCAT, Los Angeles; and Vincent Price Art Museum, Monterey Park, California. He has been an artist in residence at Artpace, San Antonio, Texas; Occidental College, Los Angeles; Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibition; and Clockshop, Los Angeles. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award, Lucas Artist Fellowship, Perez Prize, and U.S. Artists US Latinx Artist Fellowship, among others.

CREDITS

Henry OffSite — rafa esparza: Temple of Boom is organized by Shamim M. Momin, Director of Curatorial Affairs, in collaboration with Friends of Waterfront Seattle. Lead sponsorship is provided by VIA Art Fund.