Dispatch:
November 5, 2022
San Juan, Puerto Rico
We
were there (Fuimos alla)
by
Jan Galligan
Christopher Rivera and Manuela Paz, can be thought of as San Juan's answer to the storied New York art couple Leo Castelli and Ileana Sonnebend, who founded the Leo Castelli Gallery in the 1960s.
Like many enterprises here on the island, owing to covid and especially a succession of tropical storms, Embajada closed their storefront gallery in Hato Rey a while back. But unlike many, they continued operations by way of something they called La Oficina de Embajada doing popup exhibitions, exploring the emerging market for NFTs, collaborating with galleries outside of Puerto Rico and participating in international art fairs.
At the same time they searched for a new headquarters in which to continue those activities and which would be their base of operations. They found their answer in an old mansion in the heart of San Juan's Hato Rey financial district, which they have refurbished and where they are now celebrating their reopening with an exhibition titled Tamo aquí (We are here). They describe it as: a group exhibition marking the launch of our new location on the occasion of the gallery’s seventh anniversary. On view November 5–January 15, 2023, this exhibition includes over 40 artists working in multiple mediums, including sites-specific works which respond to the building's architecture.
By now, twelve years into our residence here on the island, we are quite familiar with the Hato Rey business district which includes my favorite stop on the Bayamon to San Juan inter-urban train, the Roosevelt Station, a favorite because it houses a world-class work of art. The rail line was constructed in 2004 and shortly after, each of the 16 stations received art works under a program called Arte Publico de Puerto Rico. Roosevelt station is graced by Sobre la traducción: El Tren Urbano an installation by Antonio Muntadas, an artist originally from Barcelona, now living in New York. This work is his contemporary homage to the historic photographs of the now defunct San Juan to Ponce railroad line, originally made by Jack Delano. Here, Muntadas presents Delano's photos as huge murals hanging from the ceiling at the entrance to the station, along with kiosk-size photos presented as backlit transparencies in the same manner as the advertising kiosks found in other stations along the line.
The Hato Rey, Roosevelt station is located around the corner from Embajada, a perfect conjunction for me as I now anticipate traveling to the gallery by way of the train, admiring the Muntadas/Delano photographs, then checking in on what is new at Embajada. There is also a resonance between the Muntadas work and what is to be found at the gallery: interesting, serious contemporary art, exactly what you might hope to find when making a creative excursion.
None the less, this time we came by car,
and when Lillian and I arrived just a few hours after they had opened
for business, we were struck by the look of the residence
that houses the gallery. A bit unassuming from the outside, located
directly beside a tall new office building,
Embajada does in fact look like an embassy. Dating probably from the
1920s, this small building still commands a presence in the
neighborhood. Two stories with a flat roof projecting on all sides,
the top floor is open to the air, as is typical here on the island.
The ground floor which has been designed as the gallery space, can be
entered either by way of an arched doorway or via a side portico which previously functioned as the
“garage” for the owner's automobile.
Embajada
gallery, 354 calle Fernado Primero, Hato Rey, San Juan, PR
A quick note on typical island architecture. It is common that older buildings are open to the air for both practical and aesthetic reasons. There is always a breeze to cool the interior, so there is no need for the glass typically found in residental windows. Instead, windows have metal louvers than can be closed in case of a storm. This is true of our small house located in the countryside south of Bayamon. It is necessary to have plenty of shade around a building, thus porticos, verandas, and other areas that are open to the weather but protected from the sun. This is especially true here at the Embassy and this provides an interesting, possibly challenging venue for displaying art. For the inaugural exhibition they have given some artists the opportunity to make use of spaces for site-specific installations. They are able to do this since their building has been cleaned up but not completely restored. Raw space is ideal for presenting experimental artworks.
In the back of the house
is a small room which probably served as a child's bedroom or maid's
quarters. This room has been left untouched, a truly raw space. On
the floor in a tiny closet Claudio Pena Salinas has installed a
sculpture titled KAN. It comprises a four foot neon tube connected to
a 12 inch brass carving that appears to be the Aztec head of a
figurine, likely a snake. That is exactly what it looks like, an
electric snake depicting Kukulkan (the amazing Serpent) a deity
worshipped by the Mayans.
Dominating the room is an installation by Guadalupe Maravilla. Mounted on the wall is a large
flatscreen TV showing her video entitled Una limpia a I.C.E.
(Getting cleaned by Immigration
and Customs Enforcement, in English). The room has been
left darkened and the video soundtrack has been turned up to maximum
volume.
On the floor of the room is what
appears to be a homemade projector consisting of, in order: a light
source, lens, a transparency sandwitched between glass, and three glass
lenses – all mounted on a six inch wide four foot long plank.
Together they project an image of a strange
totem-like structure onto the adjoining wall.
In the narrow hallway leading to that backroom are two large works hanging on the wall across from each other: a painting by Rademes Juni Figuroa, titled El Chivo Pepe de Ponce, un alcholico querido por todos visitando la barra “El Progreso del Jibarito” junto a Hector Lavoe (in English: El Chivo Pepe of Ponce, an alcoholic loved by all, visiting the bar "El Progreso del Jibarito" with Hector Lavoe) which is exactly as described by the title (Hector Lavoe being one of Puerto Rico's most famous and beloved bolero and salsa singers from the 60s to the 90s, Lavoe meaning “the voice”). El Chivo is a self-portrait of Figuroa, while Lavoe is seen feeding a bottle of rum to a nearby goat.
Hanging
on the opposite wall is one of Chemi Rosado Seijo's skateboard
paintings, made by laying giant sheets of gessoed plywood on the
ground and skateboarding across the surface many times, in different
directions. A veritable action painting. Seijo is also known for the
skateboard bowls he has constructed, here on the island and
elsewhere. One example is found in La Perla on the outskirts of Old
San Juan. In that case the bowl serves for both skateboarding, and
when filled with water on especially hot days, a swimming pool.
Hallway
with paintings by Chemi Rosado Seijo and Rademes Juni Figuroa.
El Diario: a composite showing: a view of the landscape near our home in Santa Olaya, and an overview of our inaugural visit to the Embajadada art gallery on the occassion of the grand opening exhibition and celebration.
In all, it was a very interesting and succesful event toasting Embajada, their new gallery space and the numerous artists on exhibit, and it bodes well for the future. As ambassadors for the artists of Puerto Rico and for a broader group of associated artists, we can look forward to more interesting events and exhibitions hosted by Embajada.
In the meantime you can
connect to the gallery via their website: embajadada.com
; Instagram: @Embajadada and on Facebook: embajadada.
Be sure
to stay tuned for updates on all their various upcoming activities