ERNESTO SOLANA
LIVES & WORKS
Based between Mexico City, MX & Houston, TX
ABOUT
Ernesto Solana (b. 1985, Guadalajara) is an artist working across photography, sculpture, and installation. His practice explores the porous boundaries between culture and the ´natural´. Drawing from botanical forms, animal traces, and human-made detritus often in states of transformation, suspension, or containment—his work reflects on the ritualization and abstraction of nature, and the delicate tension between beauty and control. Proposing a multispecies perspective that decenters the human, Solana envisions the landscape not merely as a backdrop but as a collaborator—an extension of ourselves and our desires. His work delves into themes such as extinction, scientific collections, AnArchival methodologies, and the lingering impact of anthropocentric systems. Informed by ecological thought, mythology, and material culture, his practice invites a more intimate and critical relationship with the environments we construct and inhabit.
Solana has presented his solo exhibition Instituto de la Neoprehistoria: Capítulo II at the Guachimontones Archaeological Site in Teuchitlán, Mexico, and participated in exhibitions like Eje Neovolcánico at Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City; Off to Elsewhere at Münchner Kammerspiele, Munich (curated by Çagla Ilk); Memory Shop at Casa Wabi, Puerto Escondido (curated by Nicolás Bourriaud); Entre Irse y Quedarse at Palace Enterprise, Copenhagen; As to Be Inaudible at C/O Berlin (curated by Jörg Colberg); and Transatlántico at Mana Contemporary, New Jersey.
He is also the author of Systema Artificialis, a photo book that examines the consequences of the Anthropocene and proposes new relational models between humanity, culture, and the more-than-human world. Solana holds a diploma in Forest and Wildlife Conservation, a photography degree from the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York, and an MFA in Photography from the University of Hartford in West Hartford, Connecticut.
FOR INQUIRIES
ernestosolanan[at]gmail.com
LIVES & WORKS
Based between Mexico City, MX & Houston, TX
ABOUT
Ernesto Solana (b. 1985, Guadalajara) is an artist working across photography, sculpture, and installation. His practice explores the porous boundaries between culture and the ´natural´. Drawing from botanical forms, animal traces, and human-made detritus often in states of transformation, suspension, or containment—his work reflects on the ritualization and abstraction of nature, and the delicate tension between beauty and control. Proposing a multispecies perspective that decenters the human, Solana envisions the landscape not merely as a backdrop but as a collaborator—an extension of ourselves and our desires. His work delves into themes such as extinction, scientific collections, AnArchival methodologies, and the lingering impact of anthropocentric systems. Informed by ecological thought, mythology, and material culture, his practice invites a more intimate and critical relationship with the environments we construct and inhabit.
Solana has presented his solo exhibition Instituto de la Neoprehistoria: Capítulo II at the Guachimontones Archaeological Site in Teuchitlán, Mexico, and participated in exhibitions like Eje Neovolcánico at Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City; Off to Elsewhere at Münchner Kammerspiele, Munich (curated by Çagla Ilk); Memory Shop at Casa Wabi, Puerto Escondido (curated by Nicolás Bourriaud); Entre Irse y Quedarse at Palace Enterprise, Copenhagen; As to Be Inaudible at C/O Berlin (curated by Jörg Colberg); and Transatlántico at Mana Contemporary, New Jersey.
He is also the author of Systema Artificialis, a photo book that examines the consequences of the Anthropocene and proposes new relational models between humanity, culture, and the more-than-human world. Solana holds a diploma in Forest and Wildlife Conservation, a photography degree from the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York, and an MFA in Photography from the University of Hartford in West Hartford, Connecticut.
FOR INQUIRIES
ernestosolanan[at]gmail.com
SOLO SHOWS
2023 – Quema Vol. 4, Lago Algo, Mexico City, MX
2023 - Un ojo que no siente, Aparador EDA, Mexico City, MX
2021 – Instituto de la neoprehistoria: Capitulo II, Guachimontones Archaeological Site, Teuchitlan, MX
2021 – Sympoietic, USSR, Mexico City, MX
2021 – Instituto de la neoprehistoria Capitulo I: Despertar entrópico, guadalajara90210, Guadalajara, MX
2020 – Ecología feral, Casa Wabi Santa Maria, Mexico City, MX
2020 – Transformarse en objeto, Proyecto Arte, Guadalajara, MX
2019 – Primal Reflex, PEANA, Monterrey, MX
2018 – Taxon Drift, Non-fiction Gallery, Savannah, US
GROUP SHOWS
2025 – Kimcheenicuil, curated by Abraham Cruzvillegas, CROMA, Mexico City, MX
2025 – PhotoVogue Festival 2025, BASE Milano, Milan, IT
2025 – Salón ACME Nº12, Mexico City, MX
2025 – Mecánica Vegetal Vol. 7: aproximaciones matéricas de una fábrica, Espacio Báltico + guadalajara90210, Mexico City, MX
2024 – Start Sniffing, Kunsthalle Exnergasse (WUK), Vienna, AUST
2024 – Off to Elsewhere, curada por Çagla Ilk, Münchner Kammerspiele, Munich, DE
2024 – Emergencias -WIT Festival, Demetria, Guadalajara, MX
2024 – RUMBO, PAC ART PUBLIC, Guadalajara, MX
2024 – ESTUDIO ACME, Museo de Arte de Zapopan, Guadalajara, MX
2024 – Moon Eats The Sun, Laura Gallery, Houston, US
2024 – Salón ACME Nº11, Mexico City, MX
2024 – Construir, Habitar, Crear: 10 años de trabajo en comunidad Fundación Casa Wabi, Colegio de San Ildefonso, Mexico City, MX
2024 – Hibridaciones / ORLAN, Terreno Baldío, Mexico City, MX
2024 – Semana del arte: La reserva en Laguna, Laguna, Mexico City, MX
2023 – CUARTEO: Contemporary Mexican Ceramics, Ballista / Cumpanio, San Miguel de Allende, MX
2023 – Eje Neovolcánico, Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City, MX
2023 – Superficies de revolución, Galería Karen Huber, Mexico City, MX
2023 – LOOP, CAL COOP, Guadalajara, MX
2023 – Plantrópolis, Croma Studio / guadalajara90210, Mexico City, MX
2022 – PhotoVogue Festival 2022, BASE Milano, Milan, IT
2022 – El aliento de los materiales, Festival Internacional de Arte Contemporáneo (FIAC) + guadalajara90210, León, MX
2022 – Guest Room, curated by Diandra Donecker, Der Greif, Munich, DE
2022 - Formas silenciosas, guadalajara90210, Guadalajara, MX
2022 – Kolapse: Imaginar desde el colapso, Machete Galeria, Mexico City, MX
2022 – Bitácoras: Colección Fundación Casa Wabi, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Querétaro, Queretaro, MX
2022 – Ancestral Echoes: A Decade of Bio Art, SVA Gramercy Gallery, New York City, US
2022 – Inmortalizando al cangrejo, guadalajara90210, Mexico City, MX
2022 – Material Art Fair Vol.8, Machete Galeria, Mexico City, MX
2022 – Yacimientos, guadalajara90210, Mexico City, MX
2022 – Salón ACME Nº9, Mexico City, MX
2022 – Entre Irse y Quedarse curated by Mario Navarro, palace enterprise, Copenhagen, DK
2021 – Vasijas/Vessels, Garage Dos Casas, San Miguel de Allende, MX
2021 – Bajo el sol de Jalisco, Galería Machete/Galería CURRO, Guadalajara, MX
2021 – Capitaloceno, LAAA/Casa Wabi, Mexico City, MX
2021 – Memory Shop curated by Nicolás Bourriaud, Casa Wabi, Puerto Escondido, MX (Currently)
2021 – Practicas imaginarias de Astronomía, Biología y Botánica, guadalajara90210, ZONA MACO, Mexico City, MX
2021 – Aire libre, Cultura Jalisco, Guadalajara, MX
2020 – Capitaloceno, LAAA Móvil, Mexico City, MX
2020 – Arte Vivo CDMX 2020, Museo Jumex, Mexico City, MX
2020 – TRANSATLANTICO, Mana Contemporary & Palazzo Monti, Jersey City, US
2020 – Guest Room, Der Greif, curated by Gomis-Trezise, Munich, DE
2020 – Inmanente: Disoluciones en el paisaje, OPC, Puerto Vallarta, MX
2020 – Pájaro piedra, kino, Cine Tonalá, Mexico City, MX
2020 – Plaza de la informalidad, guadalajara90210, ZONA MACO, Mexico City, MX
2019 – Mercurio retrógrado, guadalajara90210, Guadalajara, MX
2019 – Arte Vivo CDMX 2019, Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City, MX
2019 – El castillo de los ladrillos rotos, guadalajara90210, Mexico City, MX
2019 – Guest Room, Der Greif, curated by Emma Bowkett, Munich, DE (Online)
2019 – Sympoiesis, SVA Bio Art Lab, NYC, US
2019 – Our Environment : Our Common Core, SXSE PhotoGallery, Molena, US
2019 – BREAK A LEG, sUgAR, Fayetteville, US
2018 – Prima Materia, LaCasaPark, Gardiner, US
2018 – Sustained Pause, Joseloff Gallery, West Hartford, US
2018 – Salon Emergente, Guadalajara, MX
2017 – NET 2.6: What does natural look like…?, Oranbeg Press, US
2017 – As to Be Inaudible, C/O Berlin, curated by Jörg Colberg, Berlin, DE
2017 – Salon ACME, Ciudad de México, MX
2017 – Indocumentados, Guadalajara, MX
RESIDENCIES
2022 – LACASAPARK, Gardiner, US
2022 – Voice x PhotoVogue NFT Residency, US
2021 – USSR, Mexico City, MX
2019 – Palazzo Monti, Brescia, IT
2019 – SVA Bio Art Residency, School of Visual Arts NYC, New York City, US
2019 – Sindicato, Guadalajara, MX
2018 – Casa Wabi, Puerto Escondido, MX
AWARDS
2021 – Estímulos Económicos CECA, Consejo Estatal para la Cultura y las Artes, Guadalajara, MX
2018 – Fellman Award, University of Hartford, West Hartford, US
PUBLICATIONS
2024 - DG x MK: Off to Elsewhere special poster publication, Der Greif
2020 – Der Greif #13 »Surplus Management« (In and Out of Order), Der Greif
2019 – Photobook Vol. 3, Fisheye
2018 – Systema Artificialis, Self Published
2017 – NET 2.6: What does natural look like…?, Oranbeg Press
All images © Ernesto Solana 2025