The Kendall Museum of Contemporary Art of the Americas (MoCA-Americas) will present on Friday, November 24, the book 'Carlos Albert, Towards the Unknown' by Alfonso de la Torre.
This volume was previously introduced to the public on April 26, 2023, at the Sabatini Auditorium of the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid, featuring its author Alfonso de la Torre and the artist himself. The book has been sponsored by NG Gallery, Aquilaluna Gallery, and MoCA-Americas. Also present at the launch were Cécile de Froidmont, Director of Aquilaluna Art Gallery, Leonardo Rodríguez, Founding President and CEO of MoCA-Americas Kendall, and Nivaldo Carbonell, Director of NG Art Gallery.
With this project, the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Americas continues a purpose that has been repeatedly interrupted by the coronavirus crisis and the war in Ukraine: the creation of MoCA-A Editions. Having its own publishing house has been a long-considered project aimed at publishing educational monographs on key artists from its collection, as well as specific topics of artistic and community interest. In the same vein, MoCA-Americas is also working on the creation of the editorial profiles for a visual arts magazine that will initially be published biannually, starting in the second half of 2024.
Within the esteemed milieu of Art Basel, the illustrious Bernardo Medina, known professionally as BeMe, will grace the Aldo Menéndez Permanent Hall at the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Americas with the presentation of his tome, 'The Sofrito Manifesto', a work that proudly encompasses two volumes. In the foreword of the second volume, dedicated to the cocktails and libations commonly savored in Puerto Rico, Joaquín E. Bacardí III penned: "It is a source of great pride for me to speak on a subject that, within my family, has been woven into the fabric of our daily discourse from a young age... Born into a lineage of rum manufacturers with a father and grandfather who were master distillers, it was our customary practice to converse about our cherished beverage, one that mirrors the vibrancy, spark, and ardor with which we embrace life in the Caribbean."
This unveiling will take place amidst a personal exhibition of Medina's oeuvre. Select pieces from diverse series have been meticulously curated to offer the South Florida audience and December fair attendees as comprehensive a view as possible of the artistry Medina has cultivated over the past quinquennium. Eleven medium-format works stand out, marked by an exuberant chromatic range that flawlessly encapsulates their genesis—breathing the very air and visual culture of the Caribbean.
On December 1st, 2023, MoCAA will inaugurate three simultaneous exhibitions. One of these will be "El hombre es una isla," featuring pieces created by Pepe Franco over the last decade. In an article published by Hypermedia magazine in September 2020, Cuban art expert and professor François Vallée remarked in the introduction:
"José Franco has been a prominent figure in Cuban art since the 1980s. His artistic practice is prolific and eludes easy classification. As is often the case in what has come to be known as postmodernity, his work is marked by constant renewal and is not confined to a single medium. Instead, it spans and explores an array of forms: painting, drawing, sculpture, object art, installation, and theatrical scenography, among others. He is an artist who stands independently of the doctrinaire positions of the art world, a 'sharpshooter' demonstrating a plastic openness leading to a renewed circulation of the gaze.
On July 7, 2017, the Kendall Art Center (now Museum of Contemporary Art of the Americas) inaugurated "Cuban Slugger," an exhibition by the renowned Cuban artist Reynerio Tamayo. On this occasion, Tamayo expressed that this exhibition was a 'long-standing debt' he felt he owed, as he had participated in various group exhibitions on the theme of baseball but had never held a solo exhibition entirely dedicated to this sport. The project was previously showcased at Galería Habana in Havana and traveled almost in its entirety to South Florida. It was a heartfelt homage to the history of Cuban baseball and its giant protagonists, both past and present, with a bit more focus on the early stars of the 20th century. The exhibition was both formally and conceptually a sports celebration. The Galería Habana exhibition, titled “Cuba en pelota,” also served as a nod to the island's history through baseball, painting, and the socio-political story of the island. The title referenced an iconic work within the history of contemporary Cuban art: Antonia Eiriz's "La muerte en pelota" from 1966, thus paying tribute to this great Cuban artist of all time. For Tamayo, it was essential to hold the exhibition in its natural settings. 'From one side only, it remained incomplete,' he expressed.
During the sixth edition of the 2022 FOTOFOCUS BIENNIAL: World Record—the most expansive of its kind in the Americas—the Annex Gallery in Cincinnati unveiled "Cuba Real," a solo exhibition by the esteemed Cuban photographer and documentarian Raúl Cañibano. This Biennial venerates lens-based art and photography, convening artists, curators, and educators from across the globe. The past iteration showcased significant artist commissions and an extensive range of exhibitions, events, and novel projects, all orbiting the theme of World Record. This motif contemplated the vast photographic archive of life on Earth, humanity's imprint on the natural world, and the pivotal choices we currently grapple with as a global community.
A selection of works from the recent Pop Up Show 'Halando parejo' will remain on display throughout October and extend into November of this year. Additionally, we are introducing pieces previously unseen in our context. Guided solely by the keen interest of a discerning segment of the audience and the museum's intention to share artworks that now enrich its collection, 'Harvest Bazaar' brings together a diverse group of creators. Their oeuvre predominantly centers on the human figure as a sociopolitical subject.
For Gabriela, painting is a therapeutic endeavor. Often, we encounter emotions that elude verbal articulation, especially feelings determined by nebulous sensations. Yet, these emotions flow seamlessly through the boundless spectrum of hues and gestures. Gabriela dreams, allowing her visions to manifest directly onto the canvas; her strokes dream with her, melding into a singular creative entity. From the canvas emanates a palpable aura of opulence and empowerment. The flourish of her brushwork is not one of timidity, but of audacity. Her palette consistently challenges conventions, rejoicing in genuine primary colors. She regards her abilities as a transcendent power.
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Mónica Batard, presents this exhibition featuring seven female artists and seven male artists. Most, with the exception of Ivonne Ferrer and Milena Gutiérrez, have recently arrived in the US or various European capitals. "Halando Parejo" primarily focuses on the challenges they've faced in integrating into a community that operates under paradigms vastly different from those they've known throughout their lives. It's an exhibition of, one might say, cathartic nature. A significant portion of Cuban art over recent decades addresses political themes. Once an artist leaves the island and their circumstances shift, so too may their interests, and, indeed, the very audience of their art.
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The collection comprises roughly twenty bronze pieces of small to medium scale, crafted over the past two decades. Nurit has always been captivated by the human figure – its malleability, movement, and curvature. She regards the human body as a flawless machine constructed of flesh and bone. However, beyond mere shape, it is the meticulous attention to gesture that has ultimately defined the character of her sculptures. Through this gesture, one can discern their emotions and moods. As attendees will note from the inaugural event, these pieces allow for the appreciation of diverse feelings of many people, who have navigated the ups and downs of life with varying degrees of success.
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The collection comprises roughly twenty bronze pieces of small to medium scale, crafted over the past two decades. Nurit has always been captivated by the human figure – its malleability, movement, and curvature. She regards the human body as a flawless machine constructed of flesh and bone. However, beyond mere shape, it is the meticulous attention to gesture that has ultimately defined the character of her sculptures. Through this gesture, one can discern their emotions and moods. As attendees will note from the inaugural event, these pieces allow for the appreciation of diverse feelings of many people, who have navigated the ups and downs of life with varying degrees of success.
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As we evolve into an increasingly visually-oriented society, the skills to identify and distinguish valuable objects, interpret symbolic meanings, and swiftly organize a deluge of captivating visual stimuli become indispensable. Contemporary education now more than ever requires educators specialized in visuality and, by extension, in the realm of visual arts. The artist-educator has always held a prominent position within the educational profession. Successful art teachers possess the unique ability to grasp the creative process and convey this elusive knowledge to others. One of their most valued competencies is the skill to instill a sense of achievement in their students.
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At first glance, it would seem that the work of Antonio Espinosa and Alain Pino – two visual producers trained in art academies in Cuba, who participated in the generational will of the nineties– have no connection to each other, as they are two artists with different trajectories and, if you will, polarized. But beyond the topics that obsess both creators, the turning point that unites them is the procedural conception of their pieces, the transformation of a primordial idea that will later evolve into an artistic expression. This is the reason that brings them together and becomes a pretext to join them in the upcoming exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Americas.
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The Kendall Art Cultural Center (KACC), dedicated the past six years to the preservation and promotion of contemporary art and artists, and to the exchange of art and ideas throughout Miami and South Florida, as well as abroad. Through an energetic calendar of exhibitions, programs, and its collections, KACC provides an international platform for the work of established and emerging artists, advancing public appreciation and understanding of contemporary art.
The Rodríguez collection is a blueprint of Cuban art and its diaspora. Within the context of the new MoCA-Americas the collection becomes an invaluable visual source for Diaspora identity. It represents a different approach to art history to try to better understand where we come from to better know where we are heading.
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