Buenos Aires - Havana
dal 5/5/2006 al 30/6/2006
Segnalato da
5/5/2006
Buenos Aires - Havana
Andlab Gallery, Los Angeles
Atilio Pernisco images of generals and politicians comment on the absurdities of state power unsupported by the masses, and of ideology void of human reason. Havana's cultural intensity has turned Ivan Abreu's reality into an abstract world of forms.
Political Expressions and Aesthetic Choices. Works by Atilio Pernisco and Ivan Abreu
The politicization of art in twentieth century Latin America remains an important
factor as the new century moves forward. In an effort to explore the vast and
diverse landscape of Latin American art Andlab presents: Buenos Aires - Havana:
Political Expressions and Aesthetic Choices: Works by Atilio Pernisco and Ivan
Abreu.
The political, social, and cultural realities of Atilio Pernisco's Argentina
and Ivan Abreu's Cuba are worlds apart. The open contemporary society of
Buenos Aires, colored by its dark history of militarism, and the influence of
European artistic forms, spurred Atilio Pernisco to create his own history.
His images of generals and politicians comment on the absurdities of state
power unsupported by the masses, and of ideology void of human reason.
Pernisco's history urges a younger generation to look back at the past
in order to understand the roots of their society, and he counters the
fear-mongering of contemporary politicians by clothing their ilk in magical, absurd
garments.
Havana, in contrast, has been a more closed and politicized society, with heavy
influence from its African heritage in art and culture of the island. This cultural
intensity has turned Ivan Abreu's reality into an abstract world of forms and
textures. They are the forms and textures of an ever present nostalgia for his
decaying city by the sea. Ivan was born in Manhattan, where he lived until the
age seven. The next two formative decades were spent in Havana, followed by
his return to the United States. Being from both Cuba and the U.S.
automatically places a person into a politically conflicted state of being. Is it
then surprising that this sensitive artist moved away from this reality towards the
textured and magical abstractions of his remembered Havana?
It is to these aesthetic differences that we speak in this exhibition.
Contrasts that make the vast Latin world so rich and colorful are found in the
works of Atilio Pernisco and Ivan Abreu. Through the recognition of their
individual political voices, and the realization that their aesthetic choices mirror
their life experiences, two seemingly disparate Latin artists find common ground.
Opening reception: Saturday, May 6, 2006, 7-9 pm
Andlab Gallery
600 Moulton Ave. - Los Angeles