Ahmed Gomez in Landhuis Bloemhof

On Thursday evening, September 25, 2014 Landhuis Bloemhof is opening a new exhibition of mixed media artworks by

Cuban visual artist Ahmed Gomez

titled Modern Times.

Opening takes place at 7 p.m.

Opening words by Sinuhe Oomen, manager of Landhuis Bloemhof.

 

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Meet and Greet
Meet visual artist Ahmed Gomez in Landhuis Bloemhof on Wednesday evening, October 1, 2014 at 7 p.m.
Please note that this exhibition has been prolonged till November 11, 2014.

Landhuis Bloemhof is located at Sta. Rosaweg 6, Curaçao.
Open: Tuesday – Saturday, from 9 a.m. till 2 p.m.

Ahmed Gomez (Cuba 1972) has been living in Curaçao since June 2013. ‘Modern Times’ is his first art show in Curaçao. The exhibition remains till October 22, 2014.

Pictures below were taken by Curaçao Art during the opening.

The first artwork in Ahmed Gomez’ exhibition ‘Modern Times’ is a collage titled ‘Rescue’, made in 2011. A robot walking through water is carrying a blond female in his arms. The work refers to the big crisis in the US economy and how in Ahmed Gomez’ vision, press reports on the matter were extremely simplified. As if a complicated issue had to be explained to children. It inspired him to this straightforward image of a helpless blond (the US economy) rescued by an old fashioned robot (the US government).

Cuban artist Ahmed Gomez (1972) came to Curaçao in June 2013. His introduction to Nicole Henriquez led to the present exhibition ‘Modern Times’ in Landhuis Bloemhof.

At the age of 22, after finishing the art academy, he left Cuba and relocated to Mexico where he worked for 5 years on a large conservation project. Amongst others he worked on a mural by Diego Rivera (1886-1957) in Mexico City. In 1999 he moved to the US were he continued to work as a restorer, this time conserving vintage movie posters.

Ahmed Gomez is a politically and socially engaged artist. He translates his vision of society in his artworks through the subject, material and technique he applies. The ‘Punch Card Bauhaus’-series give a good example of his style. The linoleum used as the base for this series is purposely bought at La Curaçao. Not only because the artist wishes to use locally available materials but also because he searches for the true soul of a community in everything. La Curaçao cunningly combines merchandise, price and display with store ambience to lure costumers inside. Serving all strata of society, Ahmed Gomez considers this store a tell-tale phenomena and a good example of what really touches the core of Curaçao. On the thus locally acquired linoleum he works with oil enamel paint from ‘Kooyman’, a local paint factory. By transforming cheap material into high end art, Gomez purposely looks for a clash between different elements.

The images of the ‘Punch Card Bauhaus’-series (2014) shows Hollywood actresses that have become international icons. Their beauty, caught in a single instant for propaganda images, has influenced societies and individuals across the globe, for generations. By cutting openings through the image, as if it were a punch card containing a code, Ahmed Gomez calls attention to the instrumentality of the Hollywood beauty cult. The holes, forming the word Bauhaus, are meant to criticize this cult. The Bauhaus movement started by architect Walter Gropius (1883 – 1969) aimed to profoundly change the world with a new, rational approach to architecture. The simple, functional and esthetic clean design propagated by this movement drastically clashes with Hollywood’s shameless exploitation of superficiality.

All of Gomez’ artworks in this exhibition have been created in a likewise manner, with a critical view of his surroundings. Wrapped in an neat, esthetic package, they are meant to show us something about our own behavior, beliefs and patterns. Our own modern times.

‘Modern Times’ is Ahmed Gomez’ first exhibition in Curaçao. The critical approach to society and the world, his original methodology and art, make it an extremely interesting exhibition.