Portals presents the concept that industry, nature, and humanity can live cohesively by inviting viewers to imagine the potential of reconsidering the value of waste materials. This body of work is inspired by the artist's admiration for Atlanta's efforts to preserve and protect its green spaces, a sentiment that resonates with the local community of artisans that contributed to the project— Robert Downing (photography contribution), The Neon Company (neon), Fred Martin Welding (steel fabrication), ATL PrintMasters (printing and vinyl), Full Bloom by Lauren (floral design) and AKR Productions (photography contribution).
Photo by Theo Preiswerk
Photo by Theo Preiswerk
INFORMATION
Pilar’s “Portals” create contemplative spaces, connecting viewers to nature through advertising the importance of thriving flora, fauna, and communal green spaces. It boldly juxtaposes distinctly manufactured materials with elements of nature begging the viewer to explore and travel through portals of possibilities.
This conceptually based and philosophy-infused visual art encourages alternative definitions of nature, challenging norms of overproduction, consumerism, and materialism. Pilar’s use of industrial materials such as plastic and steel alongside natural elements like wood and petrified moss creates a dialogue about the evolving state of our environment. Pilar posits that human ingenuity and labor are integral parts of this natural world and can strike a balance together. She refers to this combination of resources, ideation, and manufacturing that have created new materials and production methods as "second nature."
These works were activated inside the inaugural Atlanta Art Fair hosted in October 2024, in the Atrium of Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, and The Millennium Gate Museum.
This project features Atlanta-based artist Pilar, in collaboration with curators Shannon Morris from The Curator’s Studio LLC, and Kate Chesnut from Labyrinth Curation.
Shannon Morris is a curator and writer specializing in globally relevant topics. Her art consulting firm, “The Curator’s Studio, LLC,” assists artists, collectors, and institutions in successfully implementing their visions and achieving their goals. Currently, she serves as Director of Spruill Gallery, an entity of Spruill Center for the Arts.
Kate Chesnutt is an art consultant and curator who specializes in contemporary art, ancient objects, and antiquities. Kate works with individuals and corporations find works that speak to them, their values, and fulfil their aesthetic dreams. In the past year, Kate curated "Material Influence" with Maune Contemporary, Lainey Papageorge's "Radiance Embodied" and "Art Above All" at Rooftop LOA. Kate is the founder of Labyrinth Curation, LLC.
“The Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson airport is welcoming a new installation by Atlanta based artist and designer Pilar. Her exhibit is titled Portals, and combines materials found in nature, industry, and photography. The optical illusions transport the viewer’s senses and imagination before they embark on their physical journey.”
- Summer Evans, WABE City Lights, Sept 2024
“PORTALS, the series of pieces that were on exhibit at Hartsfield-Jackson, was a year-long experiment for Pilar. A declaration of love to Atlanta, PORTALS — of large steel structures, adorned with dried flowers, bricks, and blue neon — was meant to transport the viewer to different sites throughout Atlanta. Alongside the structures, on four large concrete columns, were select prints adorned onto 3mm brushed silver aluminum. Together the pieces reflected a consistent theme throughout her work, the mixing of industry and nature, the natural and unnatural. For Pilar, there those terms are one-in-the-same…
PORTAL 01, the piece featured at the airport exhibition, is a window to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, a similarly green spot in the middle of a sea of steel, that she mentioned shares an arm with other urban vegetation — Piedmont Park. “The two concepts working together, industry and nature, being able to exist in a thriving way, in a powerful way, on the same acreage.” she explained.
Pilar credits the airport team with helping stir up the the idea of the PORTALS series, having conceptualized it while in discussion about what their arts program means. “It was really a love letter to working with this institution, as well as Atlanta. What does this airport bring to Atlanta? People. What does Atlanta bring to the people? Green spaces.” …”
- Mathew Warhol, Creative Loafing, Mar 2025