Luis Cruz Azaceta: UP | SIDE | DOWN

Luis Cruz Azaceta, Shooter, 2012, charcoal, acrylic, oil-stick on canvas, 48” x 48”. Photo: Cameron Wood.

Pan American Art Projects – Miami

By Ashley Knight

Luis Cruz Azaceta has addressed political and social themes since the beginning of his career. Let us recall his series on Cuban rafters, and AIDS victims at the beginning of the 1990s. In this new exhibition, the artist addresses some of the events that have profoundly affected the world in the last few years, such as the Arab Spring. He is also inspired by other events that have impacted much more specific communities like Cuban society and the work of dissident groups, specifically the case of the Ladies in White of Havana.

In this exhibition, Azaceta offers us a look at a world thrown into upheaval by the economic crisis and wars. He also addresses the economic and social impact of natural disasters like tornadoes and tsunamis, often caused by man’s impact on the environment. In these works we see a change in his iconography. Instead of his customary distorted human figures, Azaceta presents semi-abstract forms in bright or dark colors in which the titles guide the interpretation of the piece.

For its part, the Project Room of the gallery gathers together a collection of works inspired by the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December of 2012. These works rely on imagery reminiscent of childhood drawings to recreate the scenes of this terrible massacre.

Through May 25, 2013.