The mosaic series Alice: The Way Out, installed at the 50th Street New York City subway station in 1994, serves as a primary example of Liliana Porter’s public art interventions. Born in 1941 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, she maintains dual citizenship in Argentina and the United States, operating as a multidisciplinary practitioner within contemporary visual arts.
Early Training and Migration
As a teenager, Porter attended the Ibero-American University in Mexico City. Her initial education included instruction from Guillermo Silva Santamaria and Mathias Goeritz. Following this period, she returned to Argentina to finish her formal studies at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires. In 1964, she relocated to New York City, where she co-founded the New York Graphic Workshop alongside Luis Camnitzer and José Guillermo Castillo.
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Porter spent significant time in higher education, serving as an instructor and professor at various institutions. Her teaching history includes positions at the Porter-Wiener Studio, the Printmaking Workshop, SUNY Purchase, and the State University of New York at Old Westbury. In 1991, she joined the faculty of Queens College, City University of New York, where she held a professorship until 2007. Additionally, she participated in the founding of Studio Camnitzer near Lucca, Italy, in 1974.
Artistic Focus and Public Projects
Her practice traverses photography, painting, illustration, printmaking, and installation, often engaging with themes of entropy and the relationship between reality and the image. Her public work includes the 2012 collaboration Untitled With Sky at the Scarborough station, created with Uruguayan artist Ana Tiscornia. Her installation El hombre con el hacha y otras situaciones breves was a central project for the Pérez Art Museum Miami in 2018.
Institutional Presence
Porter is a member of the National Academy of Fine Arts in Argentina. Her works are held in the permanent collections of numerous institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Whitney Museum of American Art, TATE Modern in London, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., and the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires. Her broader exhibition history spans international galleries and biennials, including the 2017 Venice Biennale.
Fast facts
- Born: 1941, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Citizenship: Argentina and United States
- Primary Occupations: Painter, Photographer, Installation Artist
- Education: Ibero-American University
- Notable Public Work: Alice: The Way Out
- Significant Fellowships: Guggenheim Fellowship (1980)
- Professional Membership: National Academy of Fine Arts (Argentina)
Questions readers ask
Which public transit systems feature Porter's work?
She created installations for the New York City Subway, specifically the 50th Street station and the Scarborough station.
Where did Liliana Porter teach?
She taught at several institutions, including SUNY Purchase, the State University of New York at Old Westbury, and Queens College.
Achievements
- Notable work: Alice: The Way Out
