Two exhibitions
dal 24/2/2012 al 26/5/2012
Segnalato da
24/2/2012
Two exhibitions
MoLAA - Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach
A retrospective exhibition of Argentinian/Spanish artist Esteban Lisa: from the restrained gradations of abstract form and color of the 1930s paintings, to the surprisingly vivid explosions of color marks across the pages from the 1950s to 1970s. 2iPM009 is an installation by Magdalena Fernandez; light and movement, optical and geometric abstraction, are fundamental aspects of her work.
Esteban Lisa
Playing with Lines and Colors
Curated by Barbara Bloemink and Jorge Virgili
This retrospective exhibition of Argentinian/Spanish artist Esteban Lisa marks the first time his abstract works have been shown in a museum in the United States. It is rare to "rediscover" an important modernist artist, particularly one whose work is as fully realized through five decades of painting. Although small, his works are subtly beautiful, from the restrained gradations of abstract form and color of the 1930s paintings, to the surprisingly vivid explosions of color marks across the pages from the 1950s to 1970s. Little is known about the artist's life or development as Lisa largely matured in isolation. He never exhibited his work during his lifetime since he was surrounded by Argentinian artists and collectors with a preference for figurative work. Instead, through extensive reading and studing, Lisa explored the ideas and theories of abstraction, mysticism and cosmology that were being investigated by contemporary European artists. It is clear from his work, his teachings and his writing, that Lisa was among the avant-garde modernist artists who saw abstraction as a sign of impending global change. This exhibition is organized by the Museum of Latin American Art in association with the Fundación Esteban Lisa in Buenos Aires and is curated by Barbara Bloemink and Jorge Virgili.
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TEMPORARY GALLERY B
Magdalena Fernández
2iPM009
Curated by Julia P. Herzberg
This exhibition features an installation by artist Magdalena Fernández. The work of Magdalena Fernández has been associated, not without reason, to one of the most effective Venezuelan artistic traditions: that of optical and geometric abstraction. The similarity between some of her seminal works and such precedents as the works of Jesús Soto, Gego, and Alejandro Otero inhabits the beautiful echoes of her creations, and while it is true that she is determined to inscribe them within the traditions that these artists have founded, it is also true that she has transformed them subtly but drastically. Light and movement are also fundamental aspects of Fernández's work. In some of her work, it is light which draws the geometric shapes and projects volumes that are neither static nor clearly delimitated. In some of her videos, the sharpness and definition of the geometric shapes is dissolved by the inner movement of those same lines, which transforms them into delicate, living, organic threads.
PANEL DISCUSSION
On Abstraction
Sunday, February 26, 2012
2:00 - 4:00pm
Balboa Events Center
Moderator: Cecilia Fajardo-Hill. Panelists: Magdalena Fernández, Marco Maggi, Selene Preciado, Barbara Bloemink and Jorge Virgili.
Three exhibitions will be under discussion:
Project Room: Marco Maggi: no idea
Temporary Gallery A: Esteban Lisa: Playing with Lines and Colors
Temporary Gallery B: Magdalena Fernández: 2iPM009
Artists: Magdalena Fernández and Marco Maggi; curators: Julia P. Herzberg, curator of Magdalena Fernández: 2iPM009; Barbara Bloemink and Jorge Virgili, curators of Esteban Lisa: Playing with Lines and Colors; curator Selene Preciado of Marco Maggi: No Idea and MOLAA Chief Curator Cecilia Fajardo-Hill as chair, will participate in a round table discussion on issues pertaining the three exhibitions. The focus of discussion will be the shared and contrasting abstract traditions in Latin America from the 1930s to the present. In recent years, geometric abstract art from Latin America has come to stand as an expression of modernism and cosmopolitanism. Esteban Lisa, rooted in Argentina, is one of the precursors of abstraction in Latin America, nevertheless, his work was unknown until recently and his signature style is not abstract. How do we insert a singular artist such as Lisa in the history of modernism in Latin America? Magdalena Fernández’s recent abstract work using technology is in direct dialogue not only with the kinetic tradition in Venezuela, her country of origin, but with Brazilian and European geometric abstract art of artists such as Hélio Oiticica and Piet Mondrian. Marco Maggi, from Uruguay, is the heir of a strong abstract tradition in artists such as Joaquin Torres-García. He produces works on disparate formats and forms, always creating complex and overloaded structures that may or may not refer to the configurations of metropolis, architecture and impossible constructions. Marco Maggi, for example, is invested in a conceptual art practice which was initially borne out of a critique of abstraction as a canonical universal art language. In this panel discussion the question of how these three exhibitions intersect and dialogue with past and contemporary abstract traditions, both Latin American and European, formal and conceptual, will be discussed.
ART CH@T
Thursday, April 12, 2012
7:30 - 9:00pm
Charter Screening Room
Join chief curator Cecilia Fajardo-Hill in a discussion about the work of Esteban Lisa and Magdalena Fernández.
In collaboration with The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum, Florida
Image: Magdalena Fernández (Venezuela). Video installation, 1:56 min. Dimensions variable
Media Contact: Susan Golden 562.216.4117 sgolden@molaa.org
MOLAA, Museum of Latin American Art
628 Alamitos Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90802
Hours
Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Thursday 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Monday and Tuesday Closed
General Admission $ 9.00
Seniors $ 6.00
Students $ 6.00
Children under 12 years free