Why can plants be considered native to more than one nation while people can’t? This line of inquiry grounds a large-scale exhibition by Raul De Lara in which he presents his surreal sculptures that merge flora and furnishings.
HOST, on view now at The Contemporary Austin, brings together a collection of works that call into question belonging and identity and rejects the idea that state borders are fixed and natural. Using wood endemic to Texas and Mexico, De Lara sculpts potted monsteras sprouting from chains, a schooldesk covered in long spines, and a cactus disguised as a child’s rocking horse.
The resulting pieces translate what should be a common object—a shovel, for example, or an enormous cluster of daisies in a vase—into the strange and uncanny. Many works are also rendered unusable, including a spiked ladder even the bravest among us would hesitate to climb.
Now based in Ridgewood, Queens, De Lara grew up near Austin as a child of Mexican immigrants. He first learned woodoworking in his family’s shop, which he describes as “a world where each tool has its own language, each piece of wood shows the passing of time on its skin, and where one is able to communicate through their hands.” A strong belief in animism, luck, and the paranormal pervaded this sacred space and taught the budding artist that he could harness the energy of a particular material to create beautiful objects.
Today, he sees woodworking as a mode of storytelling, one in which magical realism flourishes. “I welcome the idea that artworks can hold their own spark of life and extend it to us,” De Lara says, adding:
When I make my work, I remember childhood memories of when I would see local carvers turn branches into saints. I always wondered at what point in
the carving process does the ghost enters that piece of wood. I strive to make works that invite a certain kind of trust and acceptance from the viewer, that let them live without our realm.
As global concerns about immigration and human rights intensify, De Lara’s work is all the more relevant. The artist has DACA status and knows firsthand the precarity and swift change that comes with a new administration.
lacquer, 72 x 24 x 50 inches
His sculptures capture a sense of whimsy and play that might seem in opposition to this reality, but for De Lara, woodworking, and traditional craft more broadly, is a superpower. “It cannot be taken away from you as it is not tied to location, politics, or laws. You carry it with you and can practice anywhere, with anyone, and oftentimes, it disarms differences amongst us,” he says.
See HOST through January 11, 2026. Keep up with De Lara’s work on Instagram.
