International Cultural Exchange Exhibition Miami/Valencia
April 13th through May 4th, 2012.
Artists from Valencia, Spain, join local artists from Miami, to present the 2nd part of this International Exchange Exhibition. The show features the diverse creative expressions of 18 artists.
When a group of people with diverse backgrounds is given an opportunity for dialogue, investigation, and openness, the ease with which a common ground is encountered sometimes appears magical. For the co-curators of the Artist Invites Artist project this is not surprising, it is their objective. We all seem to have some small molecule of a connection to each other, and even when several artists, working in a variety of media, exhibit their work side by side, similarities become evident.
The connections can be made on many levels, and researching artists’ resumes and their personal directions would yield remarkable commonalities. But, looking to the more immediate experience, if we focus solely on the work we find concrete, visual connections. Above all we can note that a majority of the artists are strongly involved in the exploration and experimental use of materials. They also employ the power of repetition and pattern, creating an inherent visual quality achieved by a shared interest in assembling “things”. This takes place with decidedly different yet compelling outcomes in Phillips’s endless piles of folded sheets; Sanchez-Calderon’s significantly scaled, mixed-media and Xerox based works on paper; Martinez’s joining together of smaller parts to make one larger whole; and Brant’s “waste not-want not” stacking of thrown pots. And, in regards to the artists’ objectives, you’ll find that many of these physical manifestations also share allusions to social structure, either as indicators of the disintegration of the norm, or as a document to it. In “Common Ground” the works have ingenious ways of coming into being, and they remain sincere when interpreted through each artist’s intention.
“Common Ground” features eleven artists from Valencia, Spain that will exhibit work next to eight artists from Miami, Florida. This exhibit is the second presentation of Artist Invites Artist: Miami/Valencia, an International Artistic Exchange. The first presentation took place in October of 2010, when the work of ten Miami artists traveled to Valencia and exhibited along with artists from that city. The event was hosted in Valencia by Councilor Miguel Gago Albert, and the Ministry of Culture of Godella, along with the exhibition’s co-curator, Cristina Ghetti director of Red Nómade and producer of Artist Invites Artist.
From the selected group of accomplished artists we expect an exhibition of diverse creative expressions. We anticipate that visitors will experience a palpable undercurrent of concept that unites one work with another, one artist with another, and ultimately one city with another. A common ground exists between us all, and through communication and collaboration, strangers become friends, doors open, and long distances diminish.
From Valencia:
Elizabeth Aro, Josep Escuin, Cristina Ghetti, Vicent Insa, Moisés Mañas, Javier Marisco, Claudia Martínez, Sebastián Miralles, Elías Pérez, Ima Picó, Andrea Racciatti
From Miami:
Duane Brant, Natasha Duwin, Andrés Ferrandis, Donna Haynes, Kerry Phillips, Sara Rytteke, George Sanchez-Calderon, Alette Simmons-Jimenez.
Event Schedule:
VIP Preview: Friday, April 13th, 2012, 6 – 9 p.m.
with a short presentation for guests from:
Maria Palacios, Director: Centro Cultural Español, Miami
Miami-Dade County Official Representatives
Cristina Ghetti, Co-Curator “Common Ground”
Alette Simmons-Jimenez, Co-Curator “Common Ground”
Opening: 2nd Saturday Art Walk, April 14th, 2012, 7-10 p.m.
Show Dates: April 14th – May 4th, 2012
Buena Vista Building, Suite 120
180 NE 39th Street
Miami, FL 33137
Be the first to comment