Luis Cruz Azaceta
| Caballos-Political Animals |
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| May 15 - Jun 13, 1997 | |
Starting Thursday, May 15th the George Adams Gallery will show paintings and sculpture in which the image of the horse carries a political or cultural message. Included in the exhibition will be paintings by Luis Cruz Azaceta, Jose Bedia and Arnaldo Roche, and sculptures by Luis Benedit and Juan Francisco Elso. The exhibition will continue at the gallery through June 13. For example, Argentine artist Luis Benedit's mixed media sculpture El Primer Caballo, 1991 - a horse in a sling with tethered legs - refers to the first horses brought to Argentina by the Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza, founder of the city of Buenos Aires, in 1536. Implicitly it refers as well to the often tragic effects of the introduction of European culture into Latin America. Cuban-born Jose Bedia's Final del Centauro, a painting of a horse confronted by a human in the shape of a pistol, carries a message easily understood by Cubans, who commonly refer to Fidel Castro as "El Caballo". Puerto Rican artist Arnaldo Roche's painting of an empty Trojan Horse, The Kingdom that Awaits, 1993, is a reference to the rapid emergence of a large and politically powerful Hispanic population in the United States. Similar to Benedit's piece, the late Cuban artist Juan Francisco Elso's sculpture Caballo contra Colibri (The Horse against the Hummingbird), 1988, is a reference to the complex relationship between European culture (the horse) and the Latin American culture (the Hummingbird). And, finally Luis Cruz Azaceta's The Patriarch painting of a king astride a hobbyhorse, is a commentary on the pretensions of Latin-American dictators. Exhibition Checklist 1. Luis Cruz Azaceta (Havana, Cuba, 1942. Resides New Orleans) El Caballo Se Exila, 1997 acrylic, charcoal, varnish on paper 42 1/4 x 47 3/4 inches In Cuba animals are often associated with particular numbers, for example the horse with the number one. Cubans commonly refer to Fidel Castro is as "Numero Uno" as well as "El Caballo." 2. Luis Cruz Azaceta The Patriarch, 1986 acrylic on canvas 126 x 120 inches Luis Cruz Azaceta, Kunst Station Sankt Peter, Koln, 1988 (illus. p. 19) The image of a king riding a toy horse is intended as a ironic comment on the pretensions of certain Latin American rulers. 3. Jose Bedia (Havana, Cuba, 1960. Resides Miami) Final del Centauro, 1994 acrylic on canvas 72 x 150 inches Jose Bedia: La Isla - el Cazador y la Presa, Site Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1997 (illus. p. 27) "El Caballo," smoking a cigar, is confronted by a man in the shape of a pistol. 4. Juan Francisco Elso (Havana, Cuba, 1956. Havana, Cuba, 1989) Caballo Contra Colibri (The Horse and the Humming Bird), 1988 wood, resin, twine, steel 157 1/2 x 98 1/4 x 10 inches Juan Francisco Elso: Por America, Memorial Exhibition, Museo de Arte Carillo Gil, Mexico City, and List Center, MIT, Cambridge, 1990-1991 (illus. pp. 6-7) The horse, introduced to Latin America in the 16th Century, represents European culture, while the hummingbird represents the spirit of Latin American. 5. Jose Bedia Allalimya Takanin (Looks-in-Mirror), 1995 acrylic on paper 44 1/2 x 88 1/2 inches Jose Bedia: Mi Esencialismo, travelling exhibition organised by the Hyde Gallery, Trinity College, Dublin. 1995-1996 "Essentialism," writes Judith Bettelheim, "is most broadly understood as referring to a fixed aspect of a given entity," which, in ethnology, translates as an immutable characteristic. Wapostan Wakan is one of a series of paintings and drawings of American Indians in which Bedia combines photographic images representing the white man's view, with drawn images that present a culturally informed image. Bedia's aim is not to deny the accuracy of the photograph but to elucidate additional layers of meaning in order to allow for a more sophisticated reading of the photographic image. 6. Arnaldo Roche Rabell (Born San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1955. Resides San Juan) The Kingdom that Awaits, 1994 oil on canvas 84 x 120 inches Raised in Puerto Rico and educated at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Roche is the product of two cultures that are often at odds with each other. This paintings uses the image of the Trojan Horse as a metaphor for the emergence of a large and politically powerful Hispanic population in Chicago and other large urban centers throughout the United States. 7. Luis F. Benedit (Born Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1937. Resides Buenos Aires) La Doma (Breaking In), 1990 wood, epoxy resin, enamel 11.8 x 6.7 x 15.4 inches The Argentine gaucho is a manifestation of the cultural transformation brought about by the introduction of the horse by the Europeans. 8. Luis F. Benedit Manea (Hobbling Strap), 1990 wood, leather, metal, enamel 14 x 6.7 x 10.8 inches Luis F. Benedit: Obras 1960 - 1996, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentina (illus. p. 234) 9. Luis F. Benedit Tecnicas del Lazo (Lariat Techniques), 1990 wood, wire, epoxy resin, enamel 11.8 x 6.7 x 15.4 inches Luis F. Benedit: Obras 1960-1996, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentina (illus p. 212) 10. Luis Cruz Azaceta El Patriarca, 1997 acrylic, varnish on paper 42 1/4 x 47 3/4 inches 11. Luis F. Benedit El Primer Caballo (The First Horse), 1991 wood, plexi, leather, epoxy resin, enamel 19.8 x 11.8 x 23.6 inches see related work, Luis F. Benedit: Obras 1960-1996, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentina (illus cover and pp. 232, 233) The horse was first introduced into what is now Argentina in 1536 by the Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza. This sculpture depicts the manner in which the horses were secured in the ship's hold during the voyage while also implicitly suggesting the darker side of the Spanish conquest. 12. Jose Bedia Caballo de Guerra, 1994 acrylic on wood with found objects 9 1/2 x 30 inches and 29 1/2 x 3 1/4 inches |
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