IA&A at Hillyer presents La Casa en la Montaña, an exhibition by Diana Mercado bringing together works from her two London exhibitions, Memories of the Andes (2023) and A Tale of the Andes (2025), within a new curatorial framework. The exhibition features 16 paintings, including a work that, together with a poem written for the exhibition, forms the conceptual and emotional bridge between the two original exhibitions. The title presents the house as a metaphor for the country left behind—an inner space shaped by memory, migration, and ancestral presence. Throughout the exhibition, the mountains remain a recurring symbol: constant, protective, and enduring across distance and time.

Through landscape and feminine figures, the artist explores belonging, cultural inheritance, and the persistence of identity. Past and present, homeland and diaspora, converge in La Casa en la Montaña, affirming cultural memory not as something fixed in the past, but as a living presence that continues to evolve.

Diana Mercado was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador. She left Ecuador as a child and immigrated to the United States. She received her BA and MA from ColumbiaUniversity. In 2009, she moved to London and began her formal art studies at Chelsea College of Arts and The Art Academy, London, as well as the New York Academy of Art. Her first exhibitions, Mujeres in London and Verde in New York, took place in 2021. Recuerdos de los Andes, her first solo exhibition in London, was presented in 2023, followed by Un Cuento de los Andes in 2025. She now lives in New York and London, and her work is held in private collections throughout the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe.

In my paintings, I explore identity, memory, migration, and resilience. Vibrant colors and intricate patterns are integral to my work, reflecting the richness of my heritage and the complexity of human emotion. Through painting, I seek to create connections between past and present, inviting viewers to consider their own histories and our shared human experience. The process of creation is both meditative and transformative. Painting allows me to revisit memories, uncover new perspectives, and give form to stories that might otherwise remain hidden. I believe that by sharing our stories, we create bonds that empower us, challenge stereotypes, and deepen our understanding of one another. For me, art has the power to inspire, heal, and create change. I hope my work resonates on an emotional level, celebrating the beauty of diversity while fostering a greater appreciation for the cultural histories, memories, and stories that connect us across generations.