Throughout much of her existence, Teresita Fernández had witnessed in person as many creations by Land Art pioneer Robert Smithson as most individuals had—which is to say, none.
“For the majority of us, the limited knowledge we possess of Robert Smithson revolves around that poor-quality image in art-history textbooks of Spiral Jetty, which is quite small and in fuzzy black and white,” remarks the Brooklyn-based creator regarding Smithson’s influential site-specific 1970 earthwork in Utah’s Great Salt Lake, which has come to symbolize Land Art. “We are unaware of how the piece was constructed. We do not see what it appears like from various perspectives. And that was my experience as well. It was not until much later in my life that I encountered one of his artworks.”
This is partly because Smithson’s most significant pieces are site-specific earthworks, made to be reclaimed by time and nature in regions far from major art-world centers, such as Kent, Ohio, and the northeastern Netherlands—and because his life was tragically shortened at age 35 by a light-plane accident while surveying a location for another artwork in 1973.
Presently, as co-organizer of a pioneering display that pairs his historical art with hers, Fernández has encountered more of his creations than ever before—and so can those visiting “Teresita Fernández/Robert Smithson,” showcased at Site Santa Fe until October 28.
Designed as an intergenerational dialogue between a duo of artists, the exhibition examines themes of location, site, and autonomy. Along with co-organizer Lisa Le Feuvre, executive director of the Holt/Smithson Foundation (committed to preserving the legacies of Smithson and fellow Land Art artist Nancy Holt, his spouse), Fernández not only highlights formal, material, and conceptual connections but occasionally challenges Smithson’s art and adds complexity to his legacy.