Latin American art digest--Jorge Macchi debuts at SMAK in Belgium

"Mustic Stands Still" by Jorge Macchi

JorgeMacchi, “Music Stands Still,” SMAK, Ghent: 30 April – 18 Sept.

Argentine artist Jorge Macchi opened a large show of his watercolors, sculptures, videos and installations at the Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst (SMAK) in Ghent, Belgium.

 

 “I am annoyed that everyone thinks I´m a conceptual artist; for me, the work starts with an image, not an idea,” the Buenes Aires-based artist told The Economist on 27 April.

“The exhibition concentrates on Macchi’s artistic production over the last seven years supplemented by a smaller body of older work which acts as a sort of accent,” SMAK said on its website.

"La Espera" by Jorge Macchi

In other happenings affecting Latin American artists:

“Cinco de Mayo: Our Hispanic Heritage,” a group show at Colonnade Art Gallery and Studio, Pasadena, Calif., closes 29 May.

GabrielBeltran, “Curvatur Especial,” International Development Bank (IDB): 23 May – 3 June, Washington, D.C.

Colombian Beltran is the only Latin American sculptor named by IDB for its annual exhibition of world-class sculptors.

 

Known for his abstract and constructivist works, Beltran, according to an IDB news release, will display a number of his 3-D works, which explore his concept of space through shadow, geometric shapes, light and color.

"Acero Bruñido by Gabriel Beltran

Glosvany Echevarria, Miguel Florido & David Rodriguez--“Three Outlooks in Cuban Art,” Cernuda Arte, Coral Gables, Fl: 6 May – 10 June.

Eschevarria, a landscape painter, joins Florido with his still lifes and Rodriquez, whose paintings are described by the gallery news release as portraying “atmospheres of dream and open interpretation.”

Miguel Angel Botalin and Alberto Lescay, Cubadisco 2011 Honor Award: 10 May, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba.

The two Cuban plastic artists received Santiago de Cuba´s highest cultural award at the annual Cubadisco fiesta, the Cuban News Agency reported.

Botalin, artist and academic, is known for promoting Cuban culture, while Lescay, primarily a sculptor, advances the heritage of mixed-race Cubans, CNA added. (Incidentally, it´s impossible to reach anyone at CNA by phone.)

"Estructura Cinetica" by Jésus Rafael Soto

 

Jésus Rafael Soto (1955 – 2004), retrospective, Haunch of Venison, New York: 6 May – 1 July.

Rock on and practice peace and love.

Stefan, the ArtTraveler ™

"This Way Out" Photograph by Stefan van Drake (2009)

Breaking News: New ArtTraveler YouTube 11 May video: The Case of the Missing Bronze Grape Picker Statue (and dog). 

Check out a sculpture or mosaics workshop or walking tour in our beautiful mountains. See: www.spanjeanders.nl and www.competafinearts.com.

 

Contact me at stefanvandrake@gmail.com or by calling (34) 951 067 703; from the UK at BT landline rates, 0844 774 8349.