The University at Buffalo Art Gallery will present
"Carlos Estévez: Images of Thought," an exhibition that will run Nov. 5 to Feb. 13 in its first floor gallery and will feature 31 works by the esteemed Cuban-born artist. The gallery is located in the UB Center for the Arts, North (Amherst) Campus. An opening reception will be held on Nov. 5 from 5-7 p.m., which will open with a 30-minute introductory talk by Estévez. For information, call 716-645-6913. The exhibition is curated by Jorge J.E. Gracia, PhD, SUNY Distinguished Professor and Samuel P. Capen Chair in Philosophy and Comparative Literature at UB, and the author of "Images of Thought: Philosophical Interpretations of Carlos Estévez's Art" (2009, SUNY Press).
On Nov. 6 from 3-5 p.m. in 120 Clemens Hall, the VIII Samuel P. Capen
Symposium "Thinking with Images" will explore the roots of Estévez's
work and how the images he uses affect our understanding of the
philosophical issues he poses.
It will feature two distinguished speakers, Holly Block, executive
director of the Bronx Museum of the Arts, a champion of new artists who
is considered one of New York's most adventurous and creative curators,
and cultural historian Charles Burroughs, Elsie B. Smith Professor of
Liberal Arts at Case Western Reserve University, whose work focuses on
responses to and reactions against the classical tradition in the
visual arts and in architecture.
Gracia says the exhibition represents all aspects of the career of
Estévez, whose art has attracted substantial attention in Europe, the
United States and Latin America, where it is found in major public and
private collections.
Estévez's art forms range from sculpture and installation to oil and
acrylic on canvas and paper, drawings on paper, assemblage, collage and
combinations of each. He works with traditional materials, but has
incorporated non-traditional elements -- including bottles, dolls and
gadgets he finds in rummage sales and flea markets -- into his art.
Many of his later works feature dynamic images of human and animal
forms over technical, linear drawings. These figures often reference
constellations and the greater space of the cosmos by using lines to
connect star-like dots, while at the same time they remain grounded in
human space by allusion to marionette puppets.
The pieces in "Images of Thoughts" represent his artistic practice from
1992 to 2009, and illustrate the focus of much of Estévez's work: the
expression, through visual images, of complex philosophical problems
and ideas prompted by the human predicament.
Gracia says, "Through them he asks about the source of knowledge, the
role of reason and faith in understanding, how we communicate with each
other, whether women and men have a common perspective or see the world
differently, whether we are free or controlled by forces we cannot
avoid and if our destiny is predetermined.
"The world of images Estévez creates for us is intended to make us
understand the complexity of these questions and to lead us to answers
of our own. His art is a laboratory of sorts, an observation platform,"
Gracia says.
"The mind behind the work is as fascinated with new discoveries as that
of Renaissance and Enlightenment scientists and explorers. This quality
accounts in part for the philosophical character of Estévez's
creations. Every piece has a philosophical twist, poses a conceptual
puzzle, presents a controversial view, reveals an existential
predicament or uncovers an intuition about humans and their
predicaments."
In many ways, his work is child-like in that it has a playful,
ingenious character associated with our early lives, according to
Gracia.
"But," says Gracia, "it is also scientific in its clever engineering
feats, and it always displays a deep curiosity and insight into the
world and humanity. We are asked to look at it and ponder, as children
do in a puppet show, fascinated by the possibilities opening before our
eyes.
"The modern and archaic, the avant-garde and traditional, the
conceptual and formal, and the strong and delightful combine in
Estévez's art," he says, "to draw the observer into a universe of
wonder. And, although the art seems to be driven by ideas, it makes no
statements. Its inherent ambiguity leads to questions rather than
answers, a reason why it eminently serves as an instrument of
philosophical reflection."
The exhibition will be accompanied by Gracia's book, which presents
philosophical interpretations of 18 works by Estévez, corresponding
full-color images and an interview with the artist.
The UB Art Gallery is funded by the UB College of Arts and Sciences,
the Visual Arts Building Fund, the Seymour H. Knox Fine Arts Fund and
the Fine Arts Center Endowment. This exhibition was funded in part by
the Samuel P. Capen Chair in Philosophy and Comparative Literature.
The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public
university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York
system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than
28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300
undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in
1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of
American Universities.
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