Artist Leonardo Madriz presents his solo exhibition 'Do Not Be Afraid' at Parent Company, featuring five totemic sculptures constructed from rope, resin, and found objects. These works, which Madriz calls 'sentinels,' use materials like rebar, barbed wire, a fake Rolex, and a fragment of a US flag made in Vietnam to create anthropomorphic forms that appear weary and burdened.
The exhibition situates Madriz within a lineage of artists like Louise Nevelson, Joan Miró, and Simone Leigh who have used assembled objects to create symbolic monuments. His work specifically critiques contemporary American life, portraying a fragile equilibrium defined by the downward pull of economic precarity on the working class and an elusive grasp for wealth, making it a poignant commentary on the current social and political moment.