Enrique Rueda Artist Statement:
I am engaged with the multiplicity of interactions between the human body and the objects we have come to call “musical instruments.” I am fascinated by the possibilities that are offered by objects crafted mostly out of organic materials, with the capacity to produce sound. These objects can represent many aspects of human cultural expression. Such objects can also present many questions to stimulate our innate curiosity as social and artistic beings.
I, then, as craftsman and admirer of the role of these sounding devices, do not pretend to give answers. Instead, I pose more questions and enlarge the blank spaces of our imagination. When you see my work, feel free to dream, calculate and imagine the sound they can produce, how they are played or in what context they are used. Make them part of your own mythological culture. After all, they were created from my research about and the admiration of the many cultures all over the world that found a way to produce sound to make their lives more interesting and expressive. These sound sculptures are my tribute to their past, and our present, if we dream.
I was born in the Andes mountains in Columbia, South America. I come from a family where music was very important and very fun. I emigrated to the United States, and got a Master of Fine Arts degree working with professor “Skip” Johnson at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As a freelance artist and musician, I have survived all these years and still keep creating, hoping everyone sees and listens to my work.
