Indecent Exposure is a blunt statement on guns. The flocked and gold elements make the sculpture visually seductive and elegant toning down its sexual presentation. The object poses questions on humanity’s approach to guns as an object that physiologically enforces a sense of power to the holder while also addressing cultural elements of aggressive masculine identity. Lastly, even though the abuse of power by guns is not just a USA problem, USA culture and politics are inundated with a fetish type of lust for guns that can be used to exemplify the global context.
Bernardo Vallarino is a Colombian-American mixed-media sculptor and installation artist interested in geopolitical issues of violence and human suffering. His works reflect his observations on the hypocrisy he perceives existing between the rhetoric of human life and the violent behavior of humanity. With his artworks, Vallarino strives to engage his audience visually but also morally and philosophically, finding inspiration in history, the media, his personal experiences, and his lifelong interest in insects and entomology. Vallarino, a NALAC (National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures) fellow, graduated with a BFA in sculpture from Texas Christian University, an MFA in the same field from Texas Woman’s University, and is the current coordinator of the Fort Worth Art Collective and an artist in residence at Love Texas Art. He has exhibited widely at galleries and nonprofit spaces in Texas, Oklahoma, York, England, and Barcelona Spain. Vallarino received the 2020 SMU’s Moss/Chumley North Texas Artist Award from the Meadow’s Museum of Art and has displayed artwork at the Amarillo Museum of Art, Arlington Museum of Art, and the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas.