bio

Luis Vasquez La Roche is an artist and educator that resides between Trinidad and Tobago and Virginia. They hold an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University.

In Christina Sharpe’s book In The Wake: Of Blackness and Being she says “In the wake, the past that is not past reappears, always, to rupture the present”. Vasquez La Roche’s practice is interested in aspects of the transatlantic slave trade that repeat themselves in varying ways in present. Aspects such as labour, death, erasure, oppression, violence, and discrimination are profoundly present. Even though the slave trade dehumanised millions of Black people, with the consequence of continuing to do so in the present, we can find hope, resistance, and resilience. The work also functions as a way to explore the gaps in historical archives and as way of filling the intentional void by summoning and collapsing past, present and futures. An essential part of the research is an inquiry regarding material, space, smell and sounds in relationship to personal and historical archives. They employ these materials to articulate aspects of race, identity, culture, politics, and spirituality. These works usually take shape as performances, sculptures or videos.

They have exhibited work and performed in institutions such as Field Projects (NY), Deakin University (Australia), La Vulcanizadora (Colombia), Black Ground (Colombia), Second Street Gallery (VA), International Development Bank (DC), Alice Yard (Trinidad and Tobago), University of Chicago (IL), LACE (CA), AIR Gallery (NY), Fresh Milk (Barbados), The Carr Center (MI), the ICA (VA) and Documenta 15 in Germany. They were selected for OAZO AIR in The Netherlands (2013), Beta Local’s Itinerant Seminar in Puerto Rico (2016), Mare Residency in Puerto Rico (2021), Mar de Islas performance encounter in Puerto Rico (2021), Visible Records Airstream in Virginia (2022) and an upcoming residency at Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts (2023). They were the recipient of the Fulbright scholarship in 2018.

They are a tenure-track Assistant  Professor in the Department of Art and Design at George Mason University in Northern Virginia.

Education 

MFA Painting & Printmaking, Virginia Commonwealth University (2020)


Exhibitions // Screenings

2024

  • Ojos Caribe, Curated by Yelaine Rodriguez, Gina Goico and Patricia Encarnacion. Bronx Museum.  New York City. USA
  • Cane, Curated by Llewellyn Millhouse. Hervey Bay Regional Gallery. Queensland. Australia 
  • Ojos Caribe, Curated by Yelaine Rodriguez, Gina Goico and Patricia Encarnacion. Clavo Movimiento / Flotar. Mexico Art Week. Ciudad de Mexico. Mexico
  • Ojos Caribe, Curated by Yelaine Rodriguez, Gina Goico and Patricia Encarnacion. Centro de la Imagen Museum. Mexico Art Week. Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico

2023

  • Ojos Caribe, Curated by Yelaine Rodriguez, Gina Goico and Patricia Encarnacion. Homework Gallery, Miami Art Week. Miami, FL. USA
  • Distribution of the Sensible, Curated by Ala Dehghan, Meena Hasan and Kelley-Ann Lindo. Memorial Hall Gallery, Rhode Island School of Art and Design. Providence, RI. USA
  • Rinse and Repeat. Afrikana Film Festival, Ada gallery. Richmond, VA. USA 
  • Ojos Caribe. Curated by Yelaine Rodriguez, Gina Goico and Patricia Encarnacion. Casa Mella Russo Museum. Dominican Republic.
  • Defying the Margins, Curated by Madyln Shaw. Alic Yard. Port of Spain. Trinidad
  • My Condolences. Curated by Monsieur Zohore. M+B Gallery. Los Angeles. USA 

2022

  • Ojos Caribe. Curated by Yelaine Rodriguez. Cinemateca Nacional. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
  • How to Jump rope / The right way. Curated by Alice Yard for Documenta Fifteen. Trinidad / Kassel, Germany. 
  • On The Coastlines of a Caribbean Yet To Come. Curated by Arnaldo Rodriguez. VisArts, Rockville. MD. USA
  • InLight. Curated by Tiffany Barber and Wesley Taylor. 1708 gallery. Richmond, VA. USA
  • Conjunctions and Disjunctions/ Conjunctions y Disyunciones. Curated by Noah Simblist and Beatriz Balanta. Black Ground, Cali. Colombia 
  • Subversive Media: Materiality and Power. Curated by Haley Clouser. Second Street Gallery, Charlottesville, VA. USA 
  • Movements. Curated by Devon Narine-Singh. RISD’s Movement Lab, RI. USA 

2021 

  • Healing a Broken World, Curated by Manuela Reyes and Steven Henry Madoff. International Development Bank. Washington, DC. USA
  • Afrikana Film Festival. Richmond, VA.
  • Precarious Performances. Curated by Chelsea A Flowers. The Carr Center Contemporary. Detroit, MI. USA
  • Rest at Home, Curated by Manuela Reyes and Steven Henry Madoff. Virtual Summit. International Development Bank 
  • Slavery and Visual Culture. Curated by Danielle Roper. The University of Chicago. Chicago, IL. USA 
  • 14th A.I.R. Biennial, An A-historical Daydream. Curated by Jasmine Wahi. AIR Gallery New York, NY. USA 

2020

  • Archive Acts, Material Memory. Curated by Devon Narine-Singh. Tulsa Artist Fellowship, Archiveacts.com  
  • InLight / Afrikana Film Festival, Richmond, VA. USA 
  • Reclaimed, Reimagined. Curated by David Rios Ferreira. Field Projects Gallery. New York, NY. USA
  • Finding Necessities, Curated by Sidney Mori. ICOSA Collective. Austin. TX. USA 
  • States of Confinement, Curated by Adeline Gregoire.  Granderson Lab. Trinidad 
  • Afrikana Film Festival. Richmond, VA. USA 
  • We Are More Than A Moment. Curated by Genevieve Gaignard. MCLA Gallery 51, MA. USA 
  • New Media, Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival, Medulla Art Gallery. Trinidad 
  • Direct2Video, Curated by Dylan Languell. Institute of Contemporary Art Virginia. Richmond, VA. USA 
  • We Out Here. Curated by Tara Fay Coleman and JSTN CLMNT. Denison University. OH. USA

2019

  • Fata Morgana. Pop-up space. Richmond, VA. USA 
  • Parallel Play, Fine Arts Building. Richmond, VA. USA 

2018

  • Transoceanic Visual Exchange: Experimental. Deakin University, Melbourne. Australia 
  • Siempre hemos estado aquí ¿no?. La Vulcanizadora. Curated by Christopher Cozier. Bogotá. Colombia 
  • Heterotopias. Curated by Joanna Helfer Other Spaces, Dundee. Scotland 

2017

  • Transoceanic Visual Exchange: Experimental. Fresh Milk, Barbados 
  • Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival: Experimental films. Trinidad - Official Selection / Nominated:  Best Experimental Film

2016

  • A People’s Archive of Sinking and Melting. Curated by Amy Balkin. San Jose Museum of Art, CA. USA
  • 2 isles. Curated by Gyerlini Clarke. Y Art Gallery. Trinidad and Tobago 
  • Open Air Prisons: Las Antillas para Los Antillanos. Curated by Monica Rodriguez. Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions. Los Angeles, CA. USA 
  • Living in The End Times. Curated by Amy Balkin Zagreb. Galerija Miroslav Kraljević.. Croatia 

2015

  • (S)how, Medulla Art Gallery. Trinidad 

2014

  • Water. Transforming Spaces. Bahamas 

2013

  • CommonPlace Kingdom. Curated by Nikolai Noel. Trinidad and Tobago Art Society. Trinidad  
  • New Media, Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival, Medulla Art Gallery. Trinidad

Performances

2023

  • Do you feel the wind? Savane des Petrifications. Martinique
  • From dreams and snakes. Collège Trasteson. Martinique

2022

  • How to jump rope / The right way. Documenta Fifteen. Trinidad / Kassel, Germany. 
  • En Funcion del Interes Nacional, Along with Mariana Parisca. Documenta Fifteen. Trinidad / Kassel, Germany. 

2021

  • Half Deck - Brooks. Playa Punta Borinquen. Puerto Rico.
  • How To Jump Rope | The Right Way, at the Antiguo Molino de Caña de Azúcar de Canóvanas. Puerto Rico
  • But The Real Ones, Just like you, Just Like Me. Couva, Trinidad

2020

  • Canchas de Algodón de Azúcar. Couva. Trinidad and Tobago 
  • The Impossibility, Ancarrow's Landing. Richmond. Virginia. USA 
  • OYA-9394, Richmond's Slave Trail. Virginia. USA 

2019 

  • Cutlass in Hand, Institute of Contemporary Art. Richmond, VA. USA 
  • Epidermis glistened like a newly-blacked boot. Richmond, VA. USA 
  • Stranger in the Village. Richmond, VA. USA 
  • Forgive me. Richmond, VA. USA 

2018

  • Epidermis glistened like a newly-blacked boot. Richmond, VA. USA 

Projects // Collaborations // Research

2023

  • Cultural Constructions of Race & Racism Research Collective. Collaboration with The University of Chicago, Danielle Roper and Jessica Baker. Caribbean Collective. (Upcoming)
  • Operations of Care. Collaboration with LaRissa Rogers. Funded by Reclaiming the Monument and The Mellon Foundation. Alternative Monument at Visible Records. Charlottesville, VA (Upcoming)  

2022

  • Cautionary Tales. Collaboration with: Nikolai Noel, Wasia Ward, Taya Serrao, Amir Denzel Hall, Suelyn Choo, & Raquel Vasquez La Roche. Trinidad, Germany and USA (Ongoing)
  • En Funcion del Interes Nacional. Collaboration with Mariana Parisca. Trinidad, Virginia & Kassel (Ongoing)

2021

  • Destination Log. Collaboration with Lisa-Marie Harris and Leanne Wiggers. Collaborative Performance Installation  - Trinidad and Tobago  Log. Couva Trinidad and Tobago

2020

  • Project: Dancing in the Streets - Digital Archive (ongoing)
  • Women in Resistance: Entre Puerto Rico y Richmond - Film- Researcher, Set Designer, Prop developer, Collaborator

2018

  • La Historia se Repite, Chilean Embassy, Trinidad 
  • Junta de Libros Vecinos. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 

2014

  • 200 Drawings. Trinidad. Performative project. Extension of Art Collective See You on Sunday with Nikolai Noel and Alicia Milne

2012

  • Urban Heartbeat - De mi barrio a tu Barrio, Trinidad. Mural Project on the Grandstands at the Queens Park Savannah. In collaboration with the German Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago and the Goethe Institute .
  • Pinky and Emigrante, Trinidad. (2011-2012) Artist duo / Collaboration with Trinidad and Tobago artist Alicia Milne.

Residencies 

Bemis Centre for the Contemporary Art. Omaha, Nebraska (Upcoming 2023)

FIAP. Martinique (Upcoming 2023)

Festival del Fuego. Cuba (Upcoming 2023)

Alice Yard Residency, at Documenta Fifteen. Kassel, Germany, (2022)

Visible Records. Charlottesville, Virginia. USA  (2022)

Mar de Islas, Boriken also known as Puerto Rico. USA (2021)

Mare Residency, Puerto Rico. USA (2021)

Beta-Local Itinerant Seminar, Puerto Rico. USA (2016)

Open Ateliers Zo AIR, Amsterdam. Netherlands (2013)


Talks // Presentations

2022

  • Presentation for Undergraduates at Department of Photography and Imaging. New York University. Via Zoom
  • Panel Discussion for RISD’s Movement Lab, RI. USA 
  • Panel Discussion for Conjunctions and Disjunctions. Black Ground. Via Zoom 

2021

  • Panel Discussion for On Belonging: The Space Between, Second Street Gallery. Via Zoom 
  • Panel Discussion for Art+Activism, The Hammer Museum. Los Angeles, CA (2021)
  • Panel Discussion for Precarious Performances, The Carr Center Contemporary. Detroit, MI 
  • Panel Discussion for Slavery and Visual Culture, University of Chicago. Via ZOOM
  • Presentation for Undergraduates at New Genres. University of California Los Angeles. Via ZOOM 

2020

  • Artist Talk. Via ZOOM, Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia, US 
  • Panel Discussion For Afrikana Film Festival. Richmond. VA, US

2019

  • Artist Talk. “In conversation with…” Alice Yard, Trinidad

2018

  • Panel Discussion with Magdalena Campos Pons, Ariana Curtis, Thiago de Paula Souza, Nicole Smythe-Johnson. “Afro Latinidad”. NLS, Jamaica

2017

  • Panel Discussion with Joanna Helfer, Adam Patterson and Sandra Vivas. Transoceanic Visual Exchange. Barbados
  • Critiques Visiting Artist. Visual Arts BFA. The University of the West Indies. Trinidad

2016

  • Panel Discussion with Alex Kelly and Steve Ouditt. Y Art Gallery. Trinidad

2015

  • Panel Discussion with Jamie Lee Loy, Nikolai Noel, Alicia Milne and Tamara Tam-Cruikshank. Medulla Art Gallery, Trinidad

2013

  • Artist Talk along with Alicia Milne. P&E goes Bijlmer, Cbk Zuidoost Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  • Artist Talk along with Alicia Milne. P&E in Alice Yard, Alice Yard. Trinidad
  • Panel Discussion with Rodell Warner, Olivia McGilchrist, Richard Rawlins and Holly Bynoe. Medulla Art Gallery, Trinidad 

Collectives

Founding member of SYoS -See You on Sundays. (2013 - Present)

Pinky and Emigrante (2011 - 2013)


Grants // Awards

Catapult, Creative Caribbean Online (2020)

Virginia Museum Fine Arts Grant(2020)

VCU School of the Arts Graduate Research Grant (2020)

Fulbright IIE Foreign Student Program, Fulbright Program. Department of State of The United States of America (2018- 2020)

Ministry of Arts and Multiculturalism Grant, Trinidad. (2013)


Work Experience

Tenure Track Assistant Professor at George Mason University. Virginia (Present)

Full-time Lecturer at the University of Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad (2020-2022)

Part- Time Lecturer at the University of the West Indies. Trinidad (2021-2022)

Researcher for The Institute of Contemporary Art at VCU, Richmond, Virginia. USA (2019-2020)

Adjunct Faculty at Virginia Commonwealth University, VCUarts, Richmond, Virginia. USA (2019-2020)

Teaching Assistant at Virginia Commonwealth University, VCUarts, Richmond, Virginia. USA (2018-2019)

Full time Lecturer at the University of Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad. (2016- 2018)

Part time Lecturer at the University of Trinidad and Tobago.Trinidad. (2013 - 2016)


Bibliography

  • Documenta fifteen Handbook by Ruangrupa 
Using Format