Amanita gallery is delighted to host “Te Soñé Primero,” marking Mercedes Llanos’s debut solo exhibition in New York City. This compelling collection of paintings and works on paper is deeply rooted in the artist’s personal journey through pregnancy and the postpartum period. During this transformative chapter of her life, Llanos turned to the realm of dreams, viewing them as a powerful conduit for premonition and profound intuition. As she explains, “I dreamt he was here in this world, and I discovered I was pregnant just a few days later.” This intense introspection and the burgeoning life within her led Llanos to explore new artistic territories and subject matter, particularly focusing on the evolving female form.
Mercedes Llanos, Sistema solar o algo universal, 2024, Oil, charcoal and graphite on canvas, 80 x 270 in 203.2 x 685.8 cm
“The body of work I produced during my pregnancy holds a profound significance for me. It signified the dawn of a metamorphosis, a heightened sensitivity, and an evolved version of myself,” Llanos reflects. Throughout her artistic trajectory, Mercedes Llanos has consistently investigated the body, both as a tool for creation and as the central subject of her canvases. In “Te Soñé Primero,” this core theme is amplified by the artist’s conscious navigation of her own body’s dramatic transformation during pregnancy. Her engagement with expansive canvases becomes a dialogue with the solitude inherent in the painting process and the intense connection of this singular relationship, mirroring the deep intimacy of pregnancy itself. “It’s the painting and then I—it’s us until it leaves the studio,” she elaborates, underscoring the physical and emotional investment in her art. This physicality was both challenged and accentuated by her pregnancy, necessitating adaptations in her materials and artistic methods. “Painting became a more deliberate process during pregnancy… Each piece required a longer gestation period, and some were completed only after my son was born,” Llanos notes, highlighting the interwoven nature of her artistic and personal experiences.
Mercedes Llanos, Parto, 2024, Oil and charcoal on canvas, 80 x 90 in 203.2 x 228.6 cm
Color and texture are foundational elements in Mercedes Llanos’s artistic vocabulary. Her use of darker tones establishes a rich, fleshy backdrop against which ethereal and fleeting scenes unfold. Delicate, translucent halos that encircle both abstract and figurative forms evoke a sense of inner luminescence, almost a pulse of life. In Sistema Solar, amorphous shapes drift within a cosmic expanse, gradually coalescing into the form of a newborn, illustrating a process of universal gestation. As the silhouette gains definition across the diptych, we can almost perceive the infant’s first cries. In works such as Mateo Mateo Mateo, Llanos deliberately strips away color, directing focus to the raw, primal texture achieved by scratching into the canvas surface. This immediacy is also evident in her drawing practice, a medium she favors for its capacity to capture the ephemeral nature of dreams, preserving them before they dissipate.
Mercedes Llanos, Unidos por un Hilo, 2024, Charcoal on paper, 107 x 107 in 271.8 x 271.8 cm
Archetypal imagery, notably the Pietà, resonates throughout her collection, underscoring the sacred and universal bond between mother and child. In other pieces within the exhibition, the art-historical archetype of the Odalisque is reimagined within a contemporary context, depicted alongside a newborn resting tenderly upon the mother’s chest, exploring themes of maternal intimacy and vulnerability. These figures are frequently positioned against shadowy, dusky backgrounds, lending an iconographic weight to the corporeal subjects while simultaneously transforming the artworks into landscapes of the unconscious. These otherworldly qualities subtly allude to the sanctity of birth and the arcane intuitions that accompany a woman during pregnancy. Llanos fearlessly investigates the intricate dynamics between mother, creator, and painter, prophetically declaring, “I dreamt you first,” encapsulating the premonitory and deeply personal nature of her artistic vision.
Mercedes Llanos, Hijo , 2024, Charcoal on paper, 107 x 107 in 271.8 x 271.8 cm
— Isabella Tucci
Mercedes Llanos (b.1992, Mar del Plata, Argentina) is a Brooklyn-based artist in New York. She earned her MFA from CUNY Hunter College in 2021 and is a recipient of The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant for figurative painting. Her artistic practice delves into themes of the body and emotional flux, drawing inspiration from her personal experiences and relationships. Mercedes Llanos has exhibited her work at Balice Hertling, Paris; Lyles and King, New York; and the Vergez Collection, Buenos Aires, Argentina, establishing her presence in the international contemporary art scene.
