An Other Place

Historically, Latin America is a space of socio-political tension. A generation of artists, exemplified by the work of Cildo Meireles, have responded to societal repression and explored the dualities of artistic and cultural identity. “An Other Place” expands these ideas describing “other” as a physically and conceptually nondescript and foreign space far from the “here and now”. In this way, this exhibition is about opposition. Untitled, by Andre Komatsu, pits the man-made against nature. Two fans face outward, on the left blowing a flourishing tree and on the right a large 2x4 beam has been blown in half. Cinthia Marcelle’s Cruzada/ Crossing offers a birds-eye view of a four-path crossing. The video unfolds a sequence of confrontations between four color-coded sets of musicians marching toward one another as if into battle. Eventually they merge into a unified unit to re-disperse in mixed groups of instruments and colors.
These encounters are followed by playful introspection in Marcius Galan’s Inclination to the Left, a tilted black rectangle inside which two wooden planks appear falling like uncoordinated legs. These simple extensions battle the confined cube, perhaps stumbling from its weight, or pulling the block up.
“An Other Place” relies on each work to delve deeper into each artist’s individual dialogue of “here”. This makes the work feel isolated. Whereas this could appear haphazard curating, here it effectively creates ambiguity and a sense of displacement. These artists look out from their work alienated from the experiences of other Latin American artists, alienated from global dialogue that is not averse to their individual socio-political concerns, and alienated from this new city. The majority of these artists are showing in New York for the first time, and it becomes apparent that this is as much an “other” place.