Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Cuban America An Empire State of Mind






Cuban America 
An Empire State of Mind
  
February 4 - May 14, 2014


Reception: March 17th, 2014 
6:00 - 8:00 pm
  
The reception will include a 
special performance by artist  
Carmelita Tropicana.
 
Cuban America: An Empire State of Mind includes over 35 contemporary artists of Cuban descent, who have been raised in the States or in Cuba. In this groundbreaking exhibition, a myriad of themes are inspired by America: as the familiar homeland for second and third generation children of Cuban parents, or as the distant, imagined place that has historically empowered diverse ideologies on the Island. In a wide range of perspectives and styles, the United States can be both the backdrop, and the protagonist in diverse narratives. These views, rarely put together, portray multiple landscapes of the concept of empire, so easily associated with both countries, while the works in this exhibition add to the construction of a fresh, as well as complex, image of America: a Cuban America. 

Social, cultural, and political discussions are brought to the table while old stereotypes associated with America or Cuba are revisited. In contrast, other artists explore everyday life, make abstractions, or focus on the materials themselves, influenced by nature or the environment. Some artists in the show use contemporary or historical images of American icons and symbols; others draw on remembrances of a distant Cuba that somehow defines them. Cities and their architecture find their way into the work along with imaginary locations.
  
Cuban America: An Empire State of Mind is co-curated by Yuneikys Villalonga and Susan Hoeltzel and includes a related Cuban video art program organized by guest curator Meykén Barreto. A series of special programs is conducted by guest curator Elvis Fuentes. 
  
Artists in the show include Alejandro Aguilera, Jairo Alfonso, Alexandre Arrechea, Tania Bruguera, María Magdalena Campos, Yoán Capote,
Los Carpinteros, Luis Cruz Azaceta, Christian Curiel, Alessandra Expósito, Teresita Fernández, Carlos Garaicoa, Anthony Goicolea, María Elena González, Armando Guiller, Luis Mallo, María Martínez Cañas, Abelardo Morell, 
Gean Moreno & Ernesto Oroza, Glexis Novoa, Geandy Pavón, Emilio Pérez, Javier Piñón, Carlos Rodríguez Cárdenas, Andrés Serrano, & Katarina Wong.
 
Video program: Juan Carlos Alom, Allora and Calzadilla, Humberto Díaz, Felipe Dulzaides, Luis Gárciga, Tony Labat, Glenda León, and Ana Olema.
  
EVENTS
March 17, 2014, 6 - 8pm
Reception and Performance by artist Carmelita Tropicana
March 18, 2014 at 6pm
In a Material World: Cubans Discuss Their America
A conversation with Ileana Fuentes and Edmundo Desnoes,
led by Elvis Fuentes
April 8, 2014 at 6 pm
Lecture: Material Culture and Archive: Cuba and the United States, by María Antonia Cabrera
Lecture: Possible Destinies: Reflections on Cuban/American Video, by curator Meyken Barreto 
May 8, 2014 at 12:30pm
Gallery talk: The City and the Humanities, gallery talk with three of the artists from the exhibition 


This exhibition is made possible with support from Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Inc.;  Jarvis and Constance Doctorow Family Foundation; The Reed Foundation; Alex and Carole Rosenberg; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; and New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature   
Special Thanks to Cabot Creamery and Havana Central Restaurant 
     
Images on the card, from left to right:
- Anthony GoicoleaAunt (Positive Negative Diptych), 2008.
Abelardo MorellCamera Obscura: Manhattan View Looking West in Empty Room, 1996.
Andrés SerranoWunmi Fadipe, Sales Assistant at Investment Bank, 2002.
María Elena GonzálezClimb II, 2007.
Luis MalloIn Camera #19, 2002.    
  

This exhibition and events begin the gallery's  
30th Anniversary Celebration 

 
Please help support the Lehman College Art Gallery  
with a tax deductible donation!
 
Programs are made possible by:  Institute of Museum and Library Services; New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; New York City Council through G. Oliver Koppell and the Bronx Delegation; Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Inc.; Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation; Jarvis and Constance Doctorow Family Foundation; IBM; Edith and Herbert Lehman Foundation; The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation; 
The Reed Foundation; and The New Yankee Stadium Community Benefits Fund

Lehman College Art Gallery
250 Bedford Park Boulevard West, Bronx, N.Y. 10468-1589 
tel. 718-960-8731 - fax 718-960-6991
handicap accessible  
Gallery hours: Tuesday to Saturday 10 am to 4 pm 

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