José Antonio Hernández

JOSÉ ANTONIO HERNÁNDEZ-DÍEZ (Caracas, Venezuela, 1944).
Untitled.
5 acrylic nails.
Measurements: 400 x 180 cm (total).

Five large format acrylic nails exemplify the ostentation of banality in the work of José Antonio Hernández-Díez. They allude to the beauty contests that, year after year, take place in Venezuela, where this type of competition becomes one of the most important events, moving large amounts of money and even bringing stardom to the winners of the contests. However, beneath the apparent trivial meaning of the installation, the truth is that the work is a denunciation of society's aesthetic demands on women: nails that are always perfect, polished and polished, represent the ideal woman who takes care of her appearance, putting it before the important needs of her life simply because of the social pressure to which she is subjected. Hernández-Díez's language resorts to everyday objects and accessories to construct works of great sarcasm and social criticism.
A multidisciplinary artist who creates sculpture, photography and installations under a theoretical approach that reflects on identity in a globalized world, José Antonio Hernández-Díez trained at the Centro de Formación Cinematográfica in Caracas. He bases his language on inequality, violence or consumer culture, always treated from a young urban aesthetic. He currently lives and works in Barcelona.