Raul De Lara
he/him Sculptor New York, NY
About The Artist
Raul De Lara is a sculptor who practices storytelling through woodworking, exploring Mexican/American iconography, queer identity and the immigrant experience. De Lara’s research preserves, honors and propels forward traditional uses of wood while combining them with new developments in the global industry of woodworking.
De Lara received his MFA in Sculpture + Extended Media from Virginia Commonwealth University (2019), and a BFA in Studio Art from the University of Texas at Austin (2015). His selected awards include the NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship in Craft/Sculpture, Art in America Magazine’s Top 20 Global New Talent to Watch, Hermès Paris Inaugural Aspen Installation, Penland Distinguished Artist Winter Fellowship, Silver Art Projects Residency, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Residency, Haystack Mountain School of Craft Open Studio Residency, the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown Fellowship, The National Park Services OCARC Residency, Ox-Bow School of Art Fellowship, a Chicago Artists Coalition HATCH Residency, a Queens New Arts Grant, a New York City Arts Corps Grant, and the International Sculpture Center Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award.
About The Work
In my practice, I research how cultures have imbued wood with meaning throughout history. I am particularly interested in preserving, honoring and propelling forward traditional Mexican and American woodworking techniques while simultaneously combining them with new developments in the global industry of woodworking. Exploring the visual language of mask making, furniture design, architecture and nature, I practice traditional hand carving and power carving techniques to imbue social, cultural and spiritual qualities into wood - as I see it, storytelling via woodworking.
Raul De Lara, Soft Chair Series, 2022—ongoing. Mesquite, Siberian Elm, Walnut, Lacquer, dimensions variable. Photo courtesy of the artist.
Raul De Lara, Lotion In Your Lungs, 2019. Pine, oak, wood glue, sand from Mexico/US border, acrylic, lacquer, 72 × 24 × 50 inches. Private Collection. Photo courtesy of the artist.
