|
Written by Neil Myers
|
|
Page 1 of 2 The element of mystery has always been an integral part of the art world, The disappearance of Fernando Garcia is one of those mysteries in that world that cries out for resolution. His voluminous body of work, the joy of viewing it and it's potential influence on generations of artists has slipped away, mysteriously.
 Fernando Garcia. Making Purple. Neon. 1986. Detail
We have lost the opportunity to know the artist and the man, himself. It is that intimacy with the artist what generally forms the adhesive that binds us to a work of art. But the artist has physically disappeared and for the time being, the torch has been extinguished.
Garcia was a most influential contemporary artist. He was incredibly prolific - leaving a legacy of thousands of pieces, in a wide variety of mediums. Much of his art was multidimensional and ground-breaking, setting precedents for the Miami arts, but without attribution because, mysteriously - he has disappeared.
In order to solve the mystery of his disappearance, we must follow a trail that starts in 1961, the year when he entered the United States from Cuba. After his extremely sheltered existence in his homeland, he arrived in America as a modern version of "Pedro or Peter Pan." He would remain throughout his life forever young, forever free and always clapping his hands through his art to dispel all things negative. He even found a Wendy to tend to the child in him; his closest friend for 17 years, Nancy Clark.
It is clear that from the beginning of his new life in America, Fernando was regarded as a very special person. His physical beauty and never ending laughter; the intelligence shining in his eyes, and his boundless joy of life and love touched everyone he came in contact with.
He attended the University of Georgia, graduating at the top of his class, with a degrees in physics and mathematics. His exceptional ability in these areas was to be expressed most strongly in his art.
It was in Atlanta that his powerful artistic talent roared to the surface. David Heath, of Heath Galleries, recognized his raw potential and urged him to legitimize his work by pursuing a fine arts degree. He graduated from Georgia State University with honors and began his first series of art installations at Heath Galleries. It was here that his fascination with time and mathematics started to appear in his work. His "Calendar" series was a brilliant, personal diary of his day to day life - a coded record that revealed all.
Fernando viewed Miami as a stifling place of Cuban asylum early in his life. But. when he returned, after partying and painting in Atlanta and playing the starving artist in New York, it seemed to him to be a place of unlimited possibilities.
At this point in our story several deductions can be made. First, Fernando Garcia was blessed with the gifts of a charismatic personality and great talent. Second, he regarded himself as above the rules that governed the less gifted. Third, combining his Peter Pan aura, his Pan-like seductiveness, his mischievous nature and his powerful command of mathematics and physics, he could play at a higher level than most others. And, he used his art to beguile, but not to enlighten.
Now suddenly, here in Miami, there came an epiphany moment when the seducer became the seduced. We can speculate that it was the power and depth of his multidimensional creative skills, combined with the vastness of his medium of expression, that finally enfolded and intoxicated him. His art took on a new urgency and level of commitment and began to flow in copious proportions. His gifts seemed to coalesce, and what had previously been a game became his life's work.
<< Start < Prev 1 2 Next > End >>
|
