Relational Undercurrents – Contemporary art of the Caribbean Archipelago
Many invitees gathered for the opening in Wallach Art Gallery of the exhibition
Relational Undercurrents; Contemporary art of the Caribbean Archipelago
in New York City, on Thursday May 31, 2018.
Curated by: Tatiana Flores.
Invited artists from Curaçao: David Bade, René Emil Bergsma and Ellen Spijkstra.
This is a large overview exhibition of Caribbean art in the gallery on the 6th floor of the Lenfest Center for the Arts, Columbia University, 615 West 129th Street.
The exhibition remains till September 23, 2018.
Curator Tatiana Flores focusses on the similarities between the different islands. This is remarkable as mostly when something is said or written about the Caribbean it is usually about the differences.
The exhibition will travel through the US for 2 years. In fact, it opened last September in the Museum of Latin American Art in Los Angeles.
A large sponsor is the Getty Foundation. The exhibition is part of Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, the largest museum investigation on the artistic legacy of the Latin American and US Latinos, by a series of exhibitions and accompanying programs.
Curator Tatiana Flores considers the Dutch, English, French and Danish islands as a whole. Although the catalogue dedicates more attention to the Spanish speaking islands, all the other islands are also discussed. A total of 80 artists participate in this show.
Invited artists from Curaçao are Ellen Spijkstra, David Bade and René Emil Bergsma. David Bade participates with the compelling painting ‘My name is Europe’. René Emil Bergsma with the fantastic short movie ‘Jet Blast’, with planes landing on Sint Maarten, and showing the reaction of the gathered viewers on the beach. Ellen Spijkstra is represented with a beautiful ceramic wall-piece: ‘Sea Urchin’.
Invited artist from St. Maarten is photographer Deborah Jack, and Aruba is also represented.
After September 23, the exhibition will travel to Miami, in The Frost Art Museum (Oktober – December 2018). Next to the Portland Museum of Art (Portland, ME, January – May 2019) and then to the Delaware Art Museum (Wilmington, DE, June-September 2019).
With thanks to Ellen Spijkstra for bringing this information to our attention.
July 1, 2018.
