by Jan Galligan &
Lillian Mulero
Santa Olaya, PR
“You know, we've been on this island for almost four years,” says Lillian. “When do you think you'll finally begin to understand Spanish?” she asks. She is correct. The conjugation of Spanish verbs is like a forbidden jungle to me. “I'm working on it. Poco a poco,” I tell her.
Now is, however,
a good moment to recognize that during that time we have met many
artists, visited studios, galleries and museums, and seen a
considerable amount of art. In trying to take some measure of what
has proven to be a vibrant and energetic art scene, we have witnessed
a continued growth in activity and support for local art and artists.
The inclusion of San Juan in the recently published Phaidon art book,
Art Cities of the Future: 21st Century
Avant-Gardes confirms that island artists are gaining in
international exposure and reputation. At the moment, Pedro Velez and
Rademes Juni Figueroa are included in the Whitney Museum's 2014
Biennial exhibition. Rafael Trelles, Hector Mendez Caratini, Enoc
Perez, Charles Juhasz-Alvarado, and the duo Jennifer Allora and
Guillermo Calzadilla will be represented at the Perez Art Museum in
Miami with works selected by curator Elvis Fuentes from Caribbean
Crossroads, the 2012 blockbuster survey which was shown at three
New York City museums.
Attending the opening reception at one of our favorite art venues, the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture's Antiguo Arsenal de la Marina Espanola, we were pleased to encounter many artists we have come to know, and delighted to see many art works which we now like to think of as “new old friends” in three simultaneous exhibitions curated by Abdiel Segarra, director of Programa de Artes Plásticas at the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture.
A
15-year survey of work by Rabindranat Díaz Cardona entitled “imagin
r survivor” includes a
series of cartoon-like drawings of boxers, which we first saw in
2011 at the former cArtWatch gallery in Santurce. They are
accompanied by drawings of legendary salsa musicians, exhibited last
fall in La Cerra All-Stars: un tributo a la Fania at
20/20 gallery in Santurce. In addition, there are large paintings,
diptychs and triptychs, accompanied by very small paintings on wood
panels that could be studies for the large paintings. The exhibition
concludes with recent large scale portraits. Deviating from the
cartoon-like, narrative style of the other works, these images appear
computer graphic, and seem to derive from the flattened
pseudo-realistic paintings of Alex Katz.
The second Arsenal exhibition, ¡Vidente desde niño! features the work of José Luis Vargas. Organized in three parts, the first presents twenty paintings, originally created by Haitian artisans and made to sell in hotel gift shops. Vargas has added small details to the palm tree landscapes, and given them captions like ¿Quien Sera Hoy? and Todavia Soy La Misma. We saw these paintings recently at Roberto Paradise gallery's newest location on Ave. Ponce de Leon in Santurce.
Rabindranat Díaz Cardona, (left, detail) I am Puerto Rico, (right) Aaron
In
an adjacent room, Vargas presents drawings on large sheets of heavy
paper. One group is a series of dream-like images which we first saw
in 2010 at LA15 Contemporary Art Space in Santurce. They tell the
story of Toño
Bicicleta, Puerto Rico's notorious criminal, whom legend says, could
escape from any jail that tried to hold him. The other drawings are
abstract. The title cards suggest they are intended for children, and
the only recognizable image is a recurring portrait of Albizu Campos.
The final part of Vargas' exhibition features monumental paintings on
unstretched canvas, dramatically installed on both sides of a long,
narrow, high-ceilinged passageway. Painted in a style echoing the
drawings, they also tell a story, probably about Toño
Bicicleta. The show culminates in three brightly colored pictures
that look like posters from a Mexican circus. At the far end of the
hall, hanging on a wall facing the viewer, rises JOSE EL TERRIBLE,
like a fish emerging from the water. The phrase NO TE LO PIERDAS
slashes in from his right. Below in very large letters is written:
¡VIDENTE DESDE NIÑO!
José
Luis Vargas, Un
viaje interrumpido (the interrupted voyage)
Renuncias y
adopciones, the third Arsenal
exhibition, is also the name given to a group of 18 Puerto Rican
artists, described by curator Abdiel Segarra as artists whose work
comments on the creative process and the status of contemporary
painting, by means of formal explorations of the materials and
methods used in their creation. The Institute says they see this as
“the beginning of a new cycle of ICP exhibitions in which they want
to provide a platform to promote discussions about contemporary
painting on the island.”
For
us, this exhibition serves as a reunion, as we now know the work of
most of these artists, and it includes many works that we've come to
appreciate. Those artists and the venues in which we first
encountered their work include: Jonathan Torres' wonderful, small
sleeping dog was delicately created from the flowering parts of
elephant grass, (Roberto Paradise). Michael Linares' large all white
painting were created by thickly pouring gesso directly onto the
canvas, (Walter Otero Contemporary Art, Puerta de Tierra). Angel
Otero's heavy, impasto-layered-paint-skins could be an updated
version of Jackson Pollack, (Walter Otero).
(left)
Michael Linares, Imprimación, (right)
Angel Otero, Untitled
Omar Obdulio Peña Forty's series of delicate drawings have been computer generated, (2BLEO gallery, Santurce). Javier and Jaime (J2) Suarez's small plastic recycling bin is filled with art materials and mounted on top of a kitchen stool, (2BLEO). Easily overlooked, is a bright, primary color geometric abstract painting by Ivelisse Jimenez, which has been installed at floor level in a corner of the gallery, (UPR's Galeria Francisco Oller). Chemi Rosado Seijo's very large abstract painting titled, 365 días en el bosque tropical lluvioso. was created by placing a clean, freshly primed canvas on the floor of the jungle and leaving it there for a year to collect the tracks of animals and insects and develop a wonderfully complex patina of dirt and mold, (Roberto Paradise).
Chemi
Rosado Seijo, 365
días en el bosque tropical lluvioso (365 days in a tropical rain forest)
Myritza
Castillo's video projection shows her cutting and slashing a group of
paintings, as if she might be a ninja warrior, (METRO:
plataformaorganizada). José Lerma's monumental, 20-foot tall
paint and office carpet collage, El Pendejo has never
previously been exhibited in Puerto Rico, but was part of his recent
one man show at Loock Galerie in Berlin, (courtesy, Roberto
Paradise).
Hector
Madera Gonzalez's three large photographic portraits of famous
artists appear to be covered
in surgical tape so that the men look as if they might have suffered
some terrible accident. (Chemi
Rosado Seijo's Chemi Room exhibition space, Santurce).
Hector
Madera Gonzalez, Pablo, (detail)
Rafael J. Miranda's post-painterly abstract paintings were first shown in an exhibition called Don’t Fuck with Post Painterly Abstraction, (Art Lab 753, Miramar). Finally, we were pleased to have gotten reacquainted with Zilia Sanchez's 1975 shaped painting from her Erotic topologies series. In one of our first ARTISTA EN PERFIL articles, we wrote, “At first this looks like a classic example of 1960's minimal art. A simple, clean, white rectangle that has something projecting from behind the surface. Something appears to have been trapped inside and seems to be trying to get out. 'This is really beautiful,' says Lillian. 'We need to find out more about this artist.'”
COVER ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN EN ROJO -- APRIL 23, 2014
CULTURAL SUPPLEMENT TO CLARIDAD, PUERTO RICO'S WEEKLY NATIONAL NEWSPAPER
ARTICLE AS PUBLISHED (IN SPANISH)