"De Lara transforms everyday tools, plants, and furniture into anthropomorphic and surreal forms. These works act as vessels of memory, resilience, and humor, but also as pointed reflections on the immigrant experience, queer identity, and the liminal space of DACA status, the temporary US policy that offers young undocumented immigrants protection from deportation and the ability to work legally, though without a path to permanent residency or citizenship."
"Trained in Austin and later at Virginia Commonwealth University, he honors traditional woodworking while experimenting with scale, humor, and magical realism. His sculptures range from saints conjured out of branches to furniture reimagined with uncanny detail. 'Growing up, I would see craftsmen carve these saints out of branches,' he recalls. 'I always wonder, like, at what point does the branch become a saint?' he wonders."
An exhibition at the Contemporary Austin runs through January 11, 2026, presenting the first solo museum show in Texas of sculptor Raul De Lara, who employs a highly technical approach to woodworking. He transforms everyday tools, plants, and furniture into anthropomorphic, surreal sculptures that serve as vessels of memory, resilience, and humor while reflecting immigrant experience, queer identity, and the liminal conditions of DACA status. Rooted in Mexican and American making, his practice honors traditional carving techniques learned in Austin and at Virginia Commonwealth University while experimenting with scale, humor, and magical realism. Seven new mesquite, walnut, cedar, and oak sculptures reference Texas and northern Mexico wildflowers such as Damianita, Indian Blanket, and Sleepy Daisy, embodying cultural hybridity and contested belonging.
Read at designboom | architecture & design magazine
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