Por Manuel Clavell Carrasquillo
De Ars Miranda
Como parte de la tentadora oferta de exhibiciones artísticas, la feria de arte contemporáneo CIRCA 09 presentará los días 16 al 20 de abril en el Centro de Convenciones de Puerto Rico la muestra “Painting as a state of mind”.
Se trata de una selección “curada” a partir de un tema, atractivo que brinda la oportunidad a la audiencia de hacer un alto en medio de varias galerías que representan a todo tipo de artistas sin límites temáticos y de reflexionar en un “estado mental” particular; escogido especialmente para esta edición de CIRCA.
Ars Miranda conversó con el galerista Darrel Couturier, de Coutirrier Gallery en Los Angeles, California, sobre el artista que traerá a la isla bajo dicha consigna temática. Para Darrel, regresar a Borinquen con el trabajo del pintor cubano Angel Delgado “bajo el brazo” es un regreso a “su paraíso”, debido a que vivió y enseñó artes plásticas aquí en los años 70.
Pasemos de inmediato a la conversación que tuvimos via e-mail y no duden en dejar sus comentarios. Cualquier pregunta que escriban en los comments será referida al galerista y su respuesta, posteada.
What artists or pieces are you going to bring to Puerto Rico?
I’m going to show the work of the Cuban artist Angel Delgado. They include paintings on sheets (sábanas), handkerchiefs and soap sculptures. Delgado spent six months in prison as a result of a performance art piece in Havana where he defecated in public on top of the Cuban Communist newspaper, Granma.
During his incarceration, Delgado acquired various artistic skills from his cellmates and created artworks from unconventional materials, the only that were available in jail: sculptures out of soap and drawings on handkerchiefs using colored pencils and face cream. Delgado has since expanded his “repertoire” to include paintings and drawings on bed sheets (used, of course) and installation pieces whose thematic references address containment, restraint and lack of freedoms.
How does the theme “Painting as a state of mind” is reflected in their work?
This is a tricky question to answer. I think Angel’s experience in prison left him very little options in terms of medium to do his artwork. There were only the pañuelos on which to paint and soap which he carved. And, of course, his state of mind at the time in 1990 was in a state of shock. Doing the artwork was a way of communicating within the jail as well as making a record of the experience to give testimony to the experience.
What do you expect from the puertorrican audience?
What a question! I’m hoping that Angel’s work finds its way into some of the important private and public collections in Puerto Rico.
Describe your gallery and your professional “state of mind” or goals briefly.
Couturier Gallery, established in 1987, specializes in Latin American and American painting, sculpture, photography and ceramics by master and mid-career artists. The gallery has been a leader in promoting important artists from Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South America as well as the United States, Europe and Asia. The gallery collaborates frequently with museums and public collections curating exhibitions and developing their collections of Latin American art.
