Hauser & Wirth Now Represents Adobe Artist Rafa Esparza

(MENAFN- USA Art News) Hauser & Wirth has announced its representation of Los Angeles-based artist rafa esparza, known for his installations, sculptures, and paintings made from adobe. This representation will occur in collaboration with Commonwealth and Council, esparza's longtime gallery in Los Angeles.

This move positions esparza among a select group of living Latinx artists represented by a major international gallery; Hauser & Wirth also represents Firelei Báez and Angel Otero. esparza's first solo exhibition with the gallery is scheduled for fall 2027 at one of its New York venues, and he will unveil a new work at Hauser & Wirth's Art Basel Miami Beach booth next month. Additionally, Zolo Press will publish his inaugural monograph, titled“rafa esparza: Works on Adobe,” in February.

Since 2014, esparza has utilized adobe, a building material composed of loam, straw, manure, and water, typically formed into sun-baked bricks. He acquired this technique from his father, whose family has generations of experience with adobe in Durango, Mexico. esparza initially crafted adobe bricks to reinterpret and challenge traditional art spaces, using the organic properties of adobe to contrast with strict museum climate controls and confronting“white cube” galleries with what he terms“brown architectures.” Many of his installations allow visitors to walk directly on the adobe, which naturally degrades throughout an exhibition.

Notable presentations of these works include the 2016 Made in L.A. biennial, where he exhibited on an outdoor terrace, and the 2017 Whitney Biennial. For the Whitney Biennial, esparza created an adobe rotunda, inviting Latinx artists not officially participating in the biennial to exhibit or perform. Collaborators included Beatriz Cortez, Gala Porras-Kim, Eamon Ore-Girón, and Nao Bustamante. Following the biennial, the Whitney installation's bricks were relocated to Marfa, Texas, and integrated into the facade and interior of Ballroom Marfa.

More recently, esparza has expanded his practice to include painting directly onto adobe, producing intimate portraits, medium-sized interpretations of historical photographs, and large-scale sculptures featuring visible metal armatures for support. For instance,“Tratos: Después de Pedro Valtierra Entre Redadas” ( 2025–26 ) incorporated a US flag within its metal structure, supporting a painting depicting a police officer apprehending a protester.

His extensive exhibition history includes solo shows at the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles ( 2018 ), the Institute of Contemporary Art Los Angeles ( 2018 ), Performance Space New York ( 2019 ), and Artists Space ( 2023 ). In collaboration with Beatriz Cortez, he has presented two-person exhibitions at the Americas Society in New York ( 2025 ) and the Museo Anahuacali in Mexico City ( 2026 ). His work has also been featured in significant group exhibitions such as“Xican-a.o.x Body” at the Cheech ( 2023 ),“At the Edge of the Sun” at Jeffrey Deitch in Los Angeles ( 2024 ), the Prospect.6 triennial in New Orleans ( 2025 ), and the Latinx painting survey“Let us Gather in a Flourishing Way” at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum ( 2026 ).

Marc Payot, President of Hauser & Wirth, stated:“We are thrilled to join Commonwealth and Council in representing rafa esparza, an artist of profound humanity and dedication to community. rafa brings real warmth to a conceptual practice that is enormously rigorous and disciplined, drawing the earth quite literally into works that mark time and the human hand while harkening to centuries of challenging questions about ownership, agency and belonging. It will be an honor to share his art with increasingly international audiences and new generations.”

Source: ARTnews

MENAFN11112026005694012507ID1111949925