albertz benda is proud to present Gift Horse, ceramicist Sydnie Jimenez’s first solo exhibition with the gallery, on view from September 6th – October 1, 2024. The Chicago-based artist is known for her sensitive portrayals of Black and Brown youth embedded in the margins of contemporary American society. Her meticulously crafted figures forge new dialogues centered on personal style and self-expression, as well as the realities of surveillance within the context of post-colonial society.
The exhibition title, Gift Horse, is intended to prompt a reexamination of the familiar idiom “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth,” which cautions against scrutinizing the value of a gift. Jimenez, however, argues that this optimistic perspective limits our ability to confront and address the reality of everyday challenges. Works like Caution tackle this issue directly. The work features a melancholic female figure in ornate garments seated on a green electrical box, referencing memories from Jimenez’s childhood in a low-income apartment complex where similar features were repurposed as makeshift playgrounds. While we may admire the children’s ingenuity in the face of adversity, Jimenez reaffirms the importance of critiquing the conditions that require such resourcefulness.
Jimenez’s figural sculptures juxtapose comfort with discomfort, and beauty with hardship. Her work reveals the bittersweet nature of life’s myriad moments, each warranting thoughtful reflection. After all, what if the gift horse isn’t a gift at all? Wouldn’t it be wise to inspect its teeth first?
