MSA-X 2019 coverage of Kendall Art Center / Rodríguez Collection
Kendall Art Center / Rodríguez Collection, 2019 We thank, Leonardo Rodríguez and Henry Ballate, and the gallery staff for there kind help, we also thank the artist for there creative phenomena.
The Repeating Island / Contemporary Art of the Caribbean, Kendall Art Center, 2019
Kendall Art Center in collaboration with Presencia Projects, The Mestre Family Collection and The Rodríguez Collection presents, “The Repeating Island: Contemporary Art of the Caribbean”. Curated by Roxana M. Bermejo, ...the exhibition examines particular artistic practices in Cuba, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. For this edition of Miami Art Week 2019, Presencia arrives at Kendall Art Center with more comprehensive projects that explore contemporary Insular Caribbean Hispanic art, either produced on the islands, or in diaspora. “The Repeating Island” demonstrates the rich and diverse cultures of the Hispanic Caribbean Islands with works by, Henry Ballate, José Bedia, Toni Capellán, Miguel Conesa-Osuna, Antonio Cortés, Bladimir Díaz, Pedro Ávila, José Tomás Ares Germán, Antonio Guadalupe, Ivonne Ferrer, Moises Fragela, Clara Ledesma, Edwin Maurás, Edwin Maurás Jr, Abdías Méndez, Manuel Mendive, Hiram Montalvo, José Félix Moya, Ramón Oviedo, José Perdomo, Aimee Perez, Ciro Quintana, Naimar Ramírez, Lisyanet Rodriguez, Annie Y. Saldana, Irene Sierra, Reynerio Tamayo, Rosa Tavarez, José Torres and Rubén Torres-Llorca.
Special Presentation: Aimée Joaristi “MANIFIESTO PÚBICO MP” Introduced by Andrés Isaac Santana, MP is presented as a collective act executed by women who intervene in the city marking a static territory, structural axis of society.
Live Music: NEGRONI’S TRIO
Three-time Grammy nominees and Sony Music Latin artists…The Negroni’s Trio is an intimate ensemble that performs on stages throughout the world including many U.S. and international Jazz festivals as well as numerous key Jazz venues throughout the United States, Japan, Spain, Italy, South America, the Caribbean, Latin America.
Friday, Nov 29, 2019 6:00PM-11PM
The exhibition will continue until Jan 31, 2020[+] Show More
The Repeating Island / Contemporary Art of the Caribbean, Kendall Art Center, 2019
Kendall Art Center in collaboration with Presencia Projects, The ...
Kendall Art Center in collaboration with Presencia Projects, The Mestre Family Collection and The Rodríguez Collection presents, “The Repeating Island: Contemporary Art of the Caribbean”. Curated by Roxana M. Bermejo, ...the exhibition examines particular artistic practices in Cuba, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. For this edition of Miami Art Week 2019, Presencia arrives at Kendall Art Center with more comprehensive projects that explore contemporary Insular Caribbean Hispanic art, either produced on the islands, or in diaspora. “The Repeating Island” demonstrates the rich and diverse cultures of the Hispanic Caribbean Islands with works by, Henry Ballate, José Bedia, Toni Capellán, Miguel Conesa-Osuna, Antonio Cortés, Bladimir Díaz, Pedro Ávila, José Tomás Ares Germán, Antonio Guadalupe, Ivonne Ferrer, Moises Fragela, Clara Ledesma, Edwin Maurás, Edwin Maurás Jr, Abdías Méndez, Manuel Mendive, Hiram Montalvo, José Félix Moya, Ramón Oviedo, José Perdomo, Aimee Perez, Ciro Quintana, Naimar Ramírez, Lisyanet Rodriguez, Annie Y. Saldana, Irene Sierra, Reynerio Tamayo, Rosa Tavarez, José Torres and Rubén Torres-Llorca.
Special Presentation: Aimée Joaristi “MANIFIESTO PÚBICO MP” Introduced by Andrés Isaac Santana, MP is presented as a collective act executed by women who intervene in the city marking a static territory, structural axis of society.
Live Music: NEGRONI’S TRIO
Three-time Grammy nominees and Sony Music Latin artists…The Negroni’s Trio is an intimate ensemble that performs on stages throughout the world including many U.S. and international Jazz festivals as well as numerous key Jazz venues throughout the United States, Japan, Spain, Italy, South America, the Caribbean, Latin America.
Friday, Nov 29, 2019 6:00PM-11PM
The exhibition will continue until Jan 31, 2020[+] Show More
Retratos en chino summarizes the art-work of Aldo Menéndez, Kendall Art Center, 2019
OPENIG: Friday, Sep 6, 2019 6:00PM-11PM Curated by Henry Ballate, ...
OPENIG: Friday, Sep 6, 2019
6:00PM-11PM
Curated by Henry Ballate, Retratos en chino summarizes the art-work of Aldo Menéndez (Cienfuegos, Cuba, 1948), during the last 20 years and propose a reflection about ...the confusion and uncertainty in our time.
La presente exposición del Kendall Art Center, resume el trabajo pictórico de Aldo Menéndez (Cienfuegos, Cuba, 1948), durante los últimos 20 años, además la misma tiene lugar en el marco de la celebración de su 70 aniversario, en las salas de una institución con la que está estrechamente ligado casi desde sus inicios, en particular por la estrecha amistad que lo une a su fundador Leonardo Rodríguez, a su prestigiosa colección, a su familia y equipo de colaboradores.
La propuesta de Menéndez incluye una instalación compuesta por 70 piezas en tela, de un mismo formato, cuyo título ha pasado a ser el de toda la muestra: Retratos en chino, muy a propósito de la confusión e incertidumbre que provoca nuestra época, para la que vale aquello de que lo indescifrable es como escrito en chino. Igual se exponen 12 obras de gran formato y otras 12 seleccionadas entre cuadros que participaron en distintas exhibiciones importantes de la etapa 1999-2019.
Junto con la presencia del tema Cuba y del género retrato se destacan numerosos asuntos de palpitante actualidad: Los avances de la tecnología, las modas, el consumismo y sus efectos sobre el habitante de las grandes metrópolis y el homo tribal, la fragmentación y la globalización, el empoderamiento de la mujer, las fusiones de lo antiguo y lo moderno, las apropiaciones de la propia historia del arte, el vicio, el sexo, la violencia, etc.
En esta ocasión el maestro Menéndez parece querer reunir y mostrar los resultados de gran parte del bagaje artístico y cultural retenido, que lo ha acompañado hasta aquí a lo largo de su vida. Como el arrastre de elementos de la abstracción gestual, el pop art, el conceptualismo y el foto-realismo; o la fotografía en si, alrededor de la que gravita su obra, partiendo del collage, el fotomontaje y la experimentación con diferentes procedimientos y técnicas de reproducción. Lo mismo que en sus trabajos anteriores, continua explotando lo alegórico, lo aleatorio, lo lúdico y lo irónico, pero en especial el humor y la crítica.
Menéndez es sin dudas un protagonista que conjuga al intelectual y al cronista comprometido con una etapa histórica que cambió por completo su patria, un experimento fallido que acabó traicionando los mas puros y bellos ideales revolucionarios de libertad y justicia de su generación, decenios que a pesar de los quebrantos fueron en lo personal de enormes esfuerzos por desarrollar el arte y la cultura dentro de la isla, que terminaron sin embargo en 1990 con el arribo al destierro.
Estoy convencido de que esta exposición sorprenderá y dejará una huella exitosa. Se trata de un repertorio que refleja la infatigable labor de un autor, prácticamente convertida en obsesión creadora, que recuerda la de Monet y sus Nenúfares. A la edad de Menéndez diría que mantiene intacta la frescura en lo que hace, quien en pleno dominio de su arte, no adquiere una fórmula complaciente y repetitiva, sino que mantiene su universo en constante acción de búsqueda.
Samuel Beck
The exhibition will continue until Oct 4, 2019
This exhibition is made possible in part by The Rodríguez Collection and Contractors Electrical Services.[+] Show More
"Lágrimas negras" Kendall Art Center, 2019
"Lágrimas negras" Kendall Art Center, 2019 curated by Isabel Perez ...
"Lágrimas negras" Kendall Art Center, 2019
curated by Isabel Perez
Kendall Art Center presents Lágrimas negras, a Photography Exhibition Curated by Isabel Perez with Nadal Antelmo, Willy Castellanos, Rogelio López Marín (Gory), ...Ana Olema, Mel Rossitch.
LÁGRIMAS NEGRAS
Fotografías en el Kendall Art Center
La fotografía en arenas movedizas, en franco desacato a las convenciones. Imágenes provocadoras que se conectan en una narrativa común, alusiva a la pérdida y la fragmentación de la memoria. Historias detonadas en la transgresión de los metarelatos, derivando códigos arbitrarios y personales. Lo público y lo íntimo estampan un concierto transfronterizo de lágrimas negras.
El conocido bolero de Miguel Matamoros acota crónicas ajenas. Subversivas en su pretensión de vulnerar el continuum discurrir de los acontecimientos cotidianos. Cinco artistas que se reúnen tras la licencia que les confieren sus aparatos de registro digital o analógico, para radiar sus obsesiones, urdiendo tramas concomitantes. Maniobras especulativas donde transcurre la exención –temporal o definitiva– de una región ilusoria que cada uno de ellos creyó alguna vez haber conquistado y hoy solo pueden avistar desde el silencio y la luz.
Isabel María Pérez Pérez
The exhibition will continue until Aug 30, 2019[+] Show More
SOFLO South Florida New Art , Kendall Art Center, 2019, Miami
SOFLO New Art South Florida New Art April 5 - May 10 Kendall Art ...
SOFLO New Art
South Florida New Art
April 5 - May 10
Kendall Art Center is proud to present “SOFLO New Art” an exhibition of Miami contemporary artist: Julio Figueroa, Allison Kotzig ...and Adrián Menéndez.
SEX DESIGN METONYMY, at Kendall Art Center, Miami 2019
SEX DESIGN METONYMY Rubén Rodríguez, Ivonne Ferrer y Jorge Rodríguez ...
SEX DESIGN METONYMY
Rubén Rodríguez, Ivonne Ferrer y Jorge Rodríguez Diez (R10)
FRIDAY
Feb-15-2019
6 PM -11 PM
It is essentially the norm, that the brochure meant for the public, include a critical ...essay or an analysis of the exhibitions carried out simultaneously within the different spaces of the Kendall Art Center, transforming into something that is practically the same as what is posed later in the catalog text; well then, this time permit me to prioritize the individual aspects of a simple presentation of the project that I have to curate, in the company of Henry Ballate; curator and permanent designer of the Leonardo Rodríguez Collection and the KAC. Starting by reviewing that when it comes to three personal displays, of three artists in distinct rooms, the standard is for the trio to be united, more than anything, by two conditions: the first, being friends, which moreover involves a liking for the works of the others, and secondly, wanting to share—together albeit not disheveled—, the most recent of their productions. Subsequently, the figure of the curator—in this case myself, colleague and friend of theirs—, must act as an orchestra conductor who tries to avoid discord, trying to ensure an acceptable degree of harmony between the pieces of one another and in the general atmosphere.
The former is only achieved by finding a concurrent thread, which in this event, from my perspective, is design, all of the expressions are highly fashioned: those of Rubén Rodríguez (Santa Clara), pending on the rhythm, of almost choreographic movements of the human body, and at the other end Jorge Rodríguez Diez (R10), Havana), succeeding the design of posters, consumer advertising, their forms and written messages. While Ivonne Ferrer (Havana), redesigns environments and characters using a large bank of graphic images in order to build their allegories, their metaphors. The latter encourages me to recognize among them, another common factor, the handling of metonymy, the use of tropes, which always refer me to the essays of Ricardo Pau-Llosa about our current visual arts, plagued by this literary figure.
Another prevalent ingredient in the work of these artists is the sensuality present in addressing issues that refer to everyday realities, in relation to consumption, politics, money, sex, art etc. Sex is predominant in Rubén, art in Ivonne and consumption in R10, where eroticism is center, in his companions sensuality is a condiment that enters the scene in certain proportions. The meeting of individuals from three adjoining developments in a century-old movement is striking, trying to delve beyond the postmodern joker placed there as a provisional bridge: Rubén of the 80s, Ivonne of the 90s and then R10, is revealed at the start of the new century (XXI), when the aforementioned ones were already consolidated. Rubén, is part of the New Figuration, without undermining originality, the signature style, the finish and an elegant and fine ornamental sense. For Ivonne, it is about going beyond the Extensions of Pop and the brand-new Neo Pop wanting, more and more, to generate an indirect narrative from photography, manipulated and transformed into suggestive objects/subjects. While R10 remains identified with a proven conceptualist discourse that eludes personal style; which seems to propose us with Pop Art techniques in mimesis with propaganda, parodying commercial orientations and slogans of media machineries. Rubén is pictorial passion, masterful hand; Ivonne and R10 are open to mixing traditional resources with renewed means and emerging technologies.
They are three well-conceived expressive methods, apart from some handiwork, of a texturality, that although alien to virtuosity, are pronounced with the wisdom and quality of good goldsmiths and better creators.
“Artists and friends” in the Hamlet Collection, Kendall Art Center, Miami, 2018
“Artists and friends” in the Hamlet Collection is the second ...
“Artists and friends” in the Hamlet Collection is the second exhibition presented by The Rodríguez Collection in collaboration with other private collections as part of the program to unveil ...art that was produced in Cuba and today is preserved outside the island.
As Long as the Sky Whirls, Hamlet will be remembered by his artists and friends. The peculiarity of a vision and an aesthetic taste is what today makes up the magnificent collection. This collection represents more than an identity, but an affirmation of the island’s long tradition of creativity and venerable reputation in the international world of fine arts. The exhibition showcases the work of 25 artists who have reached beyond the boundaries of Cuba. Similarly, the gallery will have a special area dedicated to a group of works by Tomás Oliva (Hamlet’s stepfather), artworks that have never been exhibited before and are a part of this great collection. Through “Artists and friends” we can recognize artwork that spans over 40 years and includes a diversity of styles and media, by some of the artists that have established a new course of modernism in the country, to the most outstanding artists of the present day.
These are Hamlet’s friends:
Alejandro Aguilera, Ana Albertina, Glauber Ballesteros, Mario Bencomo, Carlos Cárdenas, Consuelo Castañeda, Humberto Castro, Arturo Cuenca, Tomas Esson, Florencio Gelabert, Javier Guerra, Nicolás Guillen, Vladimir Llaguno, Alonso Mateo, Aldito Menendez, José Mijares, Noel Morera, Tomas Oliva, José Orbein, Jorge Perugorría, Carlos Quintana, Cuty Ragazzone, Zaida del Río, Jorge L. Trinchet, Sergio Vardi.
D FINE Artists and Exhibitions in the Rodríguez Collection, Kendall Art Center, Miami, 2018
An excellent show!!! D FINE Artists and Exhibitions in the Rodríguez ...
An excellent show!!!
D FINE Artists and Exhibitions in the Rodríguez Collection
An all-inclusive book on the works, artists, and exhibitions of The Rodríguez Collection, with more than 50 superbly reproduced artworks ...from one of Miami’s foremost collectors of Cuban contemporary art. This title is dedicated to showcasing the unique visual traditions of the island, spanning decades of styles and subjects, culminating in a volume sure to be an indispensable addition or introduction for any art enthusiast. With more than 20 of Cuba’s internationally recognized modern artists illuminated through an important compilation of critical essays by prominent art critics, including: José Ramón Alonso, Gary Anuez, Gabriela G. Azcuy, Janet Batet, Samuel Beck, Roxana M. Bermejo, Willy Castellanos, Elvia Rosa Castro, Raisa Clavijo, Carol Damian, Orlando Hernandez, Dennys Matos, Aldo Menéndez, Hortensia Montero, Gerardo Mosquera, Píter Ortega, Ricardo Pau-Llosa, Jesús Rosado, Andrés Isaac Santana and José Veigas, this title presents an ideal tour and scholarship on some of the best this comprehensive collection and Miami, has to offer.
Artist:
JOSÉ BEDIA
MANUEL MENDIVE
PEDRO ÁVILA GENDIS
VICENTE DOPICO LERNER
SILVIO GAYTON
HENRY BALLATE
RUBÉN TORRES LLORCA
IVONNE FERRER
LISYANET RODRIGUEZ
CIRO QUINTANA
REYNERIO TAMAYO
JORGE SANTOS
NOEL DOBARGANES
FLANDEZ
TONY RODRÍGUEZ
RAÚL PROENZA
ALDO MENÉNDEZ
RENÉ PORTOCARRERO
ADRIANO BUERGO
CARLOS ESTÉVEZ
NÉSTOR ARENA
ANGEL DELGADO
MAGÍN PÉREZ
MANUEL ARENAS
ALEJANDRO ARRECHEA
ERNESTO ARENCIBIA
MAIKEL DOMÍNGUEZ
YOURDEN RICARDO
AIMEE PEREZ
ANGELA ALÉS
MILENA MARTÍNEZ
PEDRO DE ORAÁ
SANDÚ DARIÉ
LOLÓ SOLDEVILLA
JOSÉ VILLA
PEDRO VIZCAINO[+] Show More
Kendall Art Center present Four Artists One Generation, Miami, 2018
Kendall Art Center is pleased to present Four Artists One Generation. ...
Kendall Art Center is pleased to present Four Artists One Generation.
Four individual art exhibitions:
FULL OF POLLEN by Maikel Domínguez
PILGRIM’S AXIOMS by Yourden Ricardo
AMERICAN RURAL IDYLLS by Miguel Saludes
ECHOES OF ...SILENCE by Alvaro Labañino
An exhibition that examines the work of four young local artists who use a traditional medium to express themselves in surprising ways. In the age of multimedia and conceptual art, taking up brushes and easel is a radical step, but when it is achieved with high aesthetic values it is a reason for recognition.[+] Show More
“3W Womens view” at Kendall Art Center, 2018
Kendall Art Center is proud to present “3W,” three individual art show ...
Kendall Art Center is proud to present “3W,” three individual art show where women are the focal point, both as subject matter and as artist. “3W Women’s view” features the ...work of Aimee Perez, Angela Alés and Milena Martínez Pedrosa. Each woman presents an individual show that collides and highlights the complexities of being a woman in art, with all the passion, struggles and joy therein. Critical analysis of these unique show is presented by the art critics and curators Yanet Batet, Roxana M. Bermejo and Odette Artiles.
Aimee Perez
(b in Havana, Cuba in 1955). Artist, sculptor and ceramicist, she left for the United States when she was twelve with her family through the Freedom Flights and grew up in Miami; a Cuban immigrant community. As a young adult, she won the Gold Key Award in painting and several honorable mentions as she continued her pursuit of the arts during her college years. In 1989, she moved to Mexico City and continued painting and exhibiting with Cuban and Mexican artists. She returned to Miami in 2006 and continued her work, winning several awards for her figurative ceramics in the state of Florida. Perez has been praised for her command of gestures, making her sculptures expressionistic and powerful which, combined with the juxtaposition to found objects, creates an organic symbiosis.
Angela Alés
is an artist born in Barranquilla, Colombia, of Andalusian and Lebanese descent. Alés moved to the United States in 1984 and graduated from Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, in New York City. She received her MFA from the Miami International University of Art and Design. She is a dedicated student of philosophy and world religions, her spirituality emerging as central themes in her work. She has participated in over 30 collective and individual exhibitions in the US and Central and South America. For most of her artistic life, Angela’s art work has been the story teller of spiritual search. Since 2010, her work has gradually moved towards a more carnal expression. She explores not just the flesh, but that of the canvas as well. The figure is still present in a more abstract way.
Milena Martínez Pedrosa
(b. Havana, Cuba, 1971) is a Cuban visual artist currently residing in Miami, Florida. She graduated from the Escuela Elemental de Artes Plasticas (Havana, Cuba) in 1986, before continuing her training at the Academia de Arte “San Alejandro” (Havana, Cuba). She graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Arts from the Instituto Superior de Arte (Havana, Cuba) in 1995. Pedrosa’s unique style stems from her pride of being Cuban; her background and history of her native Cuba acting doubly as her muse and artistic inspiration, resulting in mysterious collages of realistic and surrealist figures or kaleidoscopic genre scenes depicting the hustle-bustle of her Havana city. She has participated in several groups and solo exhibitions in Cuba, Latin America, and the USA.
(KAC) Kendall Art Center is dedicated to promoting the work of contemporary artists, and to the exchange of art and ideas throughout the Miami region and internationally. Through an energetic calendar of exhibitions, programs, and its collections, KAC provides an international platform for the work of established and emerging artists, advancing the public appreciation and understanding of the art. KAC vision is to be an active participant in the art community of South Florida and abroad while providing education and awareness in the visual arts.
We aim to educate and create an ongoing dialogue with the public in the concepts of
contemporary art and its role in society.
Join us on Friday, August 10, 2018, from 6pm-11pm.
The exhibition will continue until September 14, 2018.
For more information email us at info@kendallartcenter.com
"3 Concrete" & "Across Time, Cuban abstractions", @ Kendall Art Center, 2018
“An abstract artist perceives and deciphers reality as interiorization ...
“An abstract artist perceives and deciphers reality as interiorization and not as environment and surface. Reality is changing and relative, but the object of abstraction is to fix it in ...its invisible aspect. The abstract object is installed in the space of reality—whether painting, sculpture, or other created form—and becomes an unknown object, but real and concrete in its space.”
-Pedro de Oraá1
The irruption of abstraction radically transformed the course of 20th-century art. The eradication of illusionistic referents inaugurated a universal language ruled by laws of arts rather than those of nature achieving the long promised goal of modern art as an autonomous practice.
In Cuba the entrance of abstraction implied -for the very first time- the synchronization with international isms and a revolution itself within the Cuban art history. Nucleated around two fundamental groups (Los Once and Pintores Concretos), abstract artists in 1950s Cuba coexisted with two earliest avant-garde generations (Generación del 27 y Generación del 40). Even tough, cosmopolitan modern architecture in Havana in the 50s appears as the perfect backstage for abstraction, the reticence to accept this new avant-garde turn of Cuban art that renounced the well-served precept of national identity (cubanidad) set the tone of criticism about Cuban abstract art.
Seeds of connection Kendall Art Center in collaboration with Florida ...
Seeds of connection
Kendall Art Center in collaboration with Florida International University (FIU) and Miami International University of Art & Design presents Seeds of connection. This exhibition features watercolors, ...assemblages, sculptures, and fiber artworks by Dianna Grace, Karla Kantorovich, Leka and Evelyn Politzer. Curated by Paola Sierra and Arasay Vazquez.
This exhibition features artworks by
Henry Ballate. M.F.A.
Kendall Art Center
Art Director Chief Curator of The Rodríguez Collection
David Y. Chang. M.F.A.
Chairperson
Florida International University
Bryan Hiveley. M.F.A.
Chairperson
Miami International University of Art & Design
SEEDS OF CONNECTION
We are living in a time and place when disconnect and distance from others are recent shared experiences. Seeds of connection considers the practice of four local artists to survey the ways in which connections are deliberated and approached in artwork. These links can be realized in how the artist chooses to generate meaning through material choice, shaping of narratives, and formal qualities of the work. In this curatorial exercise, artists Leka, Dianna Grace, Karla Kantorovich, and Evelyn Politzer, display unique approaches to their source of relation through watercolor, sculpture, assemblage, and fiber arts.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines “connection” as: of immaterial union or joining together [1]. This exhibition stemmed from bridging connections between the artists chosen for this post-MFA show. Miami is a city familiar with movement, change, and is often considered a point of destination or site of departure. Located less than two miles from Miami Executive Airport, Seeds of connection at Kendall Art Center (KAC) ties participants through different immigrant experiences and a collective desire to bring disconnected parts together. It is worth looking at how connections are made in these artworks, which were created pre-pandemic and during. The works transform boundaries by exploring how reaching inward and outward can unfold as energy, physical transcendence, color, introspection, or a geographical location.
Leka’s work reaches within the interior to find relations with the exterior world. She uses color to communicate the work’s underlying disposition. Dianna Grace’s work looks to physics and metaphysics to unravel the universal experience of the unknown. Her work often explores the circular form to investigate the overlap between science and imagination. Evelyn Politzer’s work is inherently tied to her home through the materials. She uses hand dyed merino wool produced by women who live in rural parts. Her work transcends boundaries, forges connections, and brings awareness to issues that stem from disconnect. Karla Kantorovich makes assemblages with found organic and inorganic materials and textiles. Her work accepts the passing of time, honors death and rebirth, and celebrates the ephemera of all things alive on earth.
The Kendall Art Center is an active and appealing place in South Florida’s art community. Home of the Rodriguez Collection, they are committed to promoting and preserving contemporary work through exciting programs and exhibitions. Seeds of connection is part of KAC’s collaboration with Florida International University (FIU) and Miami International University of Art & Design presenting recent Master of Fine Arts (MFA) graduates in Visual Arts. Each year, KAC launches curatorial projects exclusively for women artists as part of their Women in the Arts program. In doing so, they support visibility for emerging and mid-career creators and provide a broader scope for womens’ artwork.
[1] “connection, n.”. OED Online. June 2021. Oxford University Press. https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/39356[+] Show More
FINE ARTS ON THE PLATE curated by Carol Damian
FINE ARTS ON THE PLATE Some of the artists that make up this ...
FINE ARTS ON THE PLATE
Some of the artists that make up this exhibition will be:
• GUSTAVO ACOSTA • JOSÉ RAMÓN DÍAZ ALEJANDRO • MARIO ALMAGUER • GARY ANUEZ • ...NESTOR ARENAS • PEDRO ÁVILA • LUIS CRUZ AZACETA • JOSÉ BEDIA • JULIO FIGUEROA-BELTRAN • FRANCISCO BERNAL • CARLOS CARDENAS • HUMBERTO CASTRO •NOEL DOBARGANES • MAIKEL DOMÍNGUEZ • CARLOS ESTÉVEZ • IVONNE FERRER • SHEILA FRAGA • JOSE FRANCO • GILBERTO FROMETA • LIA GALLETTI • AIMEE GARCIA • FLORENCIO GELABERT • AISAR JALIL • ALVARO LABANINO • ALEXIS LAGO • EVELIO LECOUR • RAYNIER LLANES • GLORIA LORENZO • CARLOS LUNA • LAURA LUNA • RIGOBERTO MENA • ADRIAN MENÉNDEZ • ALDO MENÉNDEZ • MILENA MARTÍNEZ PEDROSA • CARLOS MONTES DE OCA • AIMEE PEREZ • GUILLERMO PORTIELES • CIRO QUINTANA • YORDEN RICARDO • LISYANET RODRÍGUEZ • PATRICIO RODRÍGUEZ • TONY RODRÍGUEZ • MIGUEL ÁNGEL SALVÓ • MIGUEL SALUDES • CARLOS SANJURJO • JORGE SANTOS • ALFREDO SOSABRAVO • REYNERIO TAMAYO• RUBÉN TORRES-LLORCA • PEDRO VIZCAÍNO • RAMÓN WILLIAMS — FINE ARTS ON THE PLATE —
by Carol Damian, Ph.D.
The word "ceramic" comes from the ancient Greek "kéramos," meaning "potter soil," a clay made of inorganic composite material. The clay is very malleable in its natural form but becomes stiff after drying or firing. The technique of firing clay began with utilitarian objects for prehistoric society. Over the years, people learned that clay could change color depending on the mixture's different oxides and that it could be coated (glazed) and decorated. Soon, crude pottery was transformed into more substantial objects of varied shapes and suitable for painting. Decorated pottery was probably initially used for ritual purposes or as receptacles for offerings for the dead. The designs were simple markings, perhaps made with a stick into wet clay for purely aesthetic effects. With the growth of complex societies, the necessity for ceramic objects increased and moved beyond the utilitarian. Makers became more skilled at shaping and painting. People associate their designs with a symbolic language that reflected a spiritual belief system and cosmic worldview. Over time, the purpose of objects made from clay changed to become independent works of art. In Cuba, ceramics were produced on and off the island beginning in the 19th century to highlight the natural beauty and illustrate its history and culture. Today, they continue to reflect society's complexities as artists move beyond the merely decorative, joining the island's renowned artistic practices with generations of superb ceramic craftsmanship and integrating a modern vision into the media.
This exhibition of ceramic plates by more than 50 Cuban artists accomplishes many things. It marks a continuation of Cuban ceramic traditions achieved by various artists in different stages of their careers and levels of experience. They all respect the media and use the many techniques involved in shaping and firing to create unique pieces, often experimental. The artists' aim was to use ceramics to continue a personal aesthetic and style while integrating the familiar into new circular forms. For generations, artists have realized the change from images on flat surfaces to working in the round was challenging. Losing the frame required a new perspective on compositional formatting and design arrangement. The circle also necessitated a certain amount of visual control as the eye tends to move away from a central focal point. How the artist deals with such formal elements in creating his/her work results in an exciting exhibition.
The KAC vision is to be an active participant of the art community in South Florida and abroad while provide education and awareness in the visual arts.
PERMANENT COLLECTION
The Rodriguez Collection is privately funded by Leo Rodrigues and he’s family. It is one of the Miami’s largest, privately owned Cuban contemporary art collections. Leo began buying and selling works of art from the last decade of the 20th century, and established its Permanent Collection in 1994 and now numbers approximately 200 works. The collection reflects significant artistic developments in contemporary art by established artists from Cuba, U.S. and abroad.
The collection is constantly expanding and features such well-known artists as Cundo Bermúdez, Jose Bedia, Pedro Vizcaíno, Néstor Arenas, Manuel Mendive, Silvio Gaytón, Vicente Dopico Lerner, Aisar Jalil, Pedro Avila Gendis, José Orbeín, Ahmed Gómez, Geandy Pavón, Angel Delgado, Ciro Quintana, Jose María Mijares and Gina Pellón.
