VALERIE BRATHWAITE AND JOSÉ GABRIEL FERNÁNDEZ’S FUSION
Vital and veiled: Valerie Brathwaite and José Gabriel Fernández is ISLAA Artist Seminar Initiative exhibition at the University Galleries of the University of Florida. Curated by Jesús Fuenmayor and Kaira Cabañas.
The exhibition is the culmination of the two–semester program of a curatorial seminar. Vital and Veiled: Valerie Brathwaite and José Gabriel Fernández highlights segments of each artist's most emblematic series. In the case of Valerie Brathwaite, her stones, flowers, and "soft body” sculptures, which she has been creating since the late 1960s, are a way of exploring sensuality in nature (or nature’s sensuality). Her sculptures employ a variety of materials such as bronze, clay, ceramic, plaster, cement, and fabric, resulting in a unique hybridization of collage, painting, and sculpture. Brathwaite’s sculptures are imbued with great vitalism in her forms and choice of materials, contributing to contemporary discussions around the new materialisms from her perspective as a Black woman from the Caribbean.
-
University of Florida School of Art and Art History students and faculty visit the exhibition "Vital and Veiled: Valerie Brathwaite and José Gabriel Fernández / ISLAA Artist Seminar Initiative," October 27, 2023—Jan 24, 2024, Gary R. Libby University Gallery, courtesy University Galleries, University of Florida. Photo: Bella Eur.
-
Exhibition views.
-
Exhibition views.
In the case of José Gabriel Fernández, the exhibition focuses on his explorations of representations of masculinity and veiled homoeroticism in bullfighting, which he initiated in the mid 1990s and include studies of the capote, or bullfighter’s cape, as a generative shape for his ultramodern abstract sculptures. His work marries a keen aesthetic sophistication with veiled references to sexuality and contributes to expanded narratives on queer art.
Both artists have explored sensuality through sculptural experimentation and print media in their own way. They also question how artistic practice relates to identity, a theme they began exploring before the emergence of identity politics in contemporary art. Their decades-long dedication to this type of aesthetic investigation provides another foundation for an in-depth discussion for other conversations related to contemporary art, art from Latin America and the Caribbean, and current curatorial discourses.
Related Topics
May interest you
MELISSA WALLEN’S PORTAL PAINTINGS
Laundromat Art Space presented Worlds Behind You, the debut solo exhibition by Miami-based artist Melissa Wallen. Curated by Ray-Anthony Eddie, the presentation comprises several new and recent works from the artist’s ongoing series of dream-like “portal” paintings.
PINTA MIAMI 2023: A PORTAL TO THE AMAZON
Amazonia is a Pinta Miami project curated by Félix Suazo that proposes a visual expedition through the Amazon, crossing countries, cultures and ecological identities. As a Special Project, Amazonia emphasizes Pinta's commitment as an international platform for Latin American art.
THE DOMINATING FORCE OF COLORS AT NSU ART MUSEUM
NSU ART Museum Fort Lauderdale presented Glory of the World: Color Field Painting, an exhibition exploring Color Field, a tendency in mid-twentieth century American abstract painting in which vast areas of color appear as the dominating force.
MYSTERY AND UNCANNY. ORNELLA POCETTI AT MINDY SOLOMON
D+C FOUNDATION ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM
Since the D+C Foundation’s Residency Program started –in 2022–, mid-career artists such as Sandra Monterroso, Jeronimo Villa, Guillermo García Cruz, Youdhisthir Maharjan and Loris Cecchini participated. The 2024 selected residents will be announced soon.
SASHA GORDON’S SURREAL SCENES AT ICA MIAMI
ICA Miami presents the first solo museum presentation for New York–based artist Sasha Gordon, Surrogate Self. The surreal paintings and drawings that Gordon creates explore the complexities of bodily experience in gorgeous and hyper-realistic detail.
GIULIANA VIDARTE: "THROUGH EXHIBITIONS WE CAN LOOK AT THE PAST IN ORDER TO THINK ABOUT TODAY"
Giuliana Vidarte is a curator, art historian and teacher. Her work focuses on the rewriting of history from the perspective of the discourse of the Peruvian Amazon. In an interview with Arte al Día, she talks about her career and how she developed the curatorial proposal for the NEXT section for Pinta Miami 2023.
JOSÉ DELGADO ZUÑIGA’S SOLO EXHIBITION AT MAP
Marquez Art Projects presents Cusp, a new body of work by José Delgado Zuñiga. In dynamic paintings and drawings that explode with surreal, humorous and intensely personal images, Zuñiga reflects the complexities of Chicano experiences, with a focus on the formation of identity and freedom.
