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Caribbean Artists in Miami
Presencia, from left to right: Edwin Maurás, Hiram Montalvo, Moisés Fragela, Miguel Conesa Osuna, Antonio Cortés Rolón, Abdías Méndez Robles, José Torres Pereyra, Edwin H. Maurás, Naimar Ramírez and Annie Y. Saldaña.
By Ashley Knight
The Caribbean basin is a melting pot in which the legacies of different cultures have been fused together; a fertile terrain that has generated some of the richest expressions produced in Latin America. Even so, Caribbean art is still marginalized within the international art scene. The region’s troubled political history, combined with a difficult economic reality, has in the last few decades caused an explosive social scene accompanied by a painful and troubling diaspora. These conditions add up to complex geographic scenario and enormous ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity. Limited support from government institutions and the scarcity of professional galleries present even more hindrances to the international diffusion of Caribbean artists.
Antonio Cortés Rolón, Caribbeans Emigrants, 2017, acrylic on canvas, 36” x 36.”
It is for this reason that a project dedicated to promoting and propagating the work of Caribbean artists is without a doubt a promising development. Conceived by Puerto Rican artists Abdías Méndez Robles and Antonio Cortés Rolón, Presencia brought together 10 Puerto Rican artists to provide an answer to the scarcity of opportunities, presenting to the world the work of valued creators, some renowned, others emerging, but all with a solid body of work. The artists who comprise this project demonstrate how, without abandoning its origins, Caribbean visual arts can create a discourse that has universal appeal and importance.
Miguel Conesa-Osuna, Tecnología Orgánica, 2017, mixed media on canvas, 30” x 30.”
Naimar Ramírez, Techo, 2018, UV print on acrylic, 48” x 32.”
Presencia debuted in Miami in 2018 during Miami Art Week. It was presented at Canvas Gallery in an exhibition curated by Silvia Medina that was well received by critics and the public. Later, the project added artists from the Dominican Republic and presented an exhibition on that island at La Quinta Dominicana curated by Carlos Acero Ruiz entitled “Polifonías” (April 16 - May 5, 2019). A further exhibition was presented in March 2019 at Galería A. Cueto in San Juan curated by Rebeca Noriega. In 2020 and 2021, they plan to present exhibitions in Miami, Havana, Philadelphia, New York, Barcelona and Venice, among other cities.
Edwin Maurás, Sol naciente en mi universo, 2018 acrylic and airbrush on cotton canvas, 60” x 54.”
For Miami Art Week 2019, Presencia plans a new exhibition. On this occasion, they will present at Kendall Art Center in Miami in a project entitled “The Repeating Island,” curated by Roxana M. Bermejo. The exhibition groups together the Puerto Rican creators included in the original Presencia: Miguel Conesa Osuna, Antonio Cortes Rolón, Moisés Fragela, Edwin Maurás Modesti, Abdías Méndez Robles, Hiram Montalvo, Edwin Maurás Jr., Naimar Ramírez, Annie Saldaña and José Oscar Torres Pereyra. Also included are 10 Dominican artists who participated in “Polifonías”: Tony Capellán, Bladimir Díaz, José Tomás Ares Germán, Antonio Guadalupe, Clara Ledesma, José Félix Moya, Ramón Oviedo, José Perdomo, Irene Sierra and Rosa Tavarez.
Edwin H. Maurás, ¡¡¡!!!, 2018, acrylic, glass, pvc and spray paint, 40” x 33” x 3.”
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Ten Cuban artists, some residing on the island, others living in exile, have also been invited. They have previously exhibited at the Kendall Art Center and their work enriches the Rodríguez Collection. This group includes José Bedia, Henry Ballate, Pedro Avila Gendis, Ivonne Ferrer, Manuel Mendive, Aimee Pérez, Ciro Quintana, Lisyanet Rodríguez, Reynerio Tamayo and Rubén Torres Llorca.
Abdías Méndez Robles, Isla de los muertos - Isla de la vida, 2011, oil on canvas, 42” x 55.”
José Oscar Torres Pereyra, The process to become a fossil, 2019, wood carving in three layers of mahogany plywood, acrylic paint, wood dowels, oil ink, 57.5” x 24.”
The Presencia project represents a valuable initiative that reveals the work of various generations of Caribbean artists who go beyond territorial limits to create works whose impact is universal. It is essential that in the future Caribbean contemporary art be analyzed, studied and recognized in its true dimension, not only within a regional context, but within the particular context in which each specific artistic phenomenon is born.
Annie Y. Saldaña Matias, Casita series, “Isabelita y Yito”, 2013 – 2019, digital photography, 11” x 14.”
The artists who come together in “The Repeating Island” break with traditional schemes and demonstrate that the Caribbean is not the stereotypical image portrayed in tourism commercials, but rather in those islands and their diaspora there exists a strong and consolidated movement that vibrates in step with the international art scene. We await new projects from Presencia to include creators from the French-speaking, English-speaking and Dutch Caribbean in initiatives that seek to do away with stereotypes and cultural barriers and create a fertile ground for exchange and creation.
Moisés Fragela, La llamada, 2015, mixed on canvas, 30” x 40.”
Hiram Montalvo, La danza de los vivos y los muertos 2, 2017, acrylic on canvas, 12” x 48.”
“The Repeating Island” is on view at Kendall Art Center through January 31st, 2020. 12063 SW 131st Avenue. Miami, 33186 | www.kendallartcenter.org.
Ashley Knight is an art historian and writer based in Miami.
