CUBANS IN HOLLYWOOD |
NEWS CALENDAR
September 9 - October 15, 2005: Exhibition CARLOS ESTÉVEZ. “Irreversible Processes”. Recent paintings and watercolor drawings at Couturier Gallery.
166 N. LA BREA AVENUE
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90036
323-933-5557 FAX: 323-933-2357
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEEXHIBITION: CARLOS ESTÉVEZ
“Irreversible Processes”
recent paintings and watercolor drawings
DATES: September 9 – October 15, 2005
OPENING: Opening Reception, Friday, Sept 9, 7-9pm
GALLERY HOURS: Tuesday - Saturday, 11am - 5pmRenowned Cuban painter and sculptor Carlos Estévez will have his fourth solo exhibition at Couturier Gallery, Sept 9 – Oct 15, 2005. The show will include, for the first time, oil paintings as well as large-format watercolor drawings for which he is well known. These works continue Estévez’s investigation into man’s universality and destiny, a recurrent theme in much of today’s contemporary Cuban art. Estévez’s new series delves into the interior complexities and dualities of human nature juxtaposing appearances versus hidden reality, looking at what people tend to show or say in contrast to what is really thought or meant.
Estévez’s recent body of work delves into those free acts of being that ultimately we cannot control, acts that are preordained or commingled with the unpredictable acts of others that affect our existential destinies. Describing his work Carlos Estévez says “…each artwork is a battle field where things that are going to happen are a mystery, a magic moment where all demons and angels from nocturnal and day dreams, from human passions of all kinds, from the most sublime to the most banal, memories, thoughts, premonitions and visions, as well as the unforeseen contribution of the subconscious all meet.”
One example of these emotions and feelings is evident in the painting Theory of Fidelity (2004), in which Estévez depicts a woman figure in the shape of a mannequin attached by strings to male figures. On her head and in each of her arms as well as around her body sit winged figures. The wings of the male figures are in different colors: red, blue, green and yellow, as evidence of the individuality of the human being. In this composition the female figure seems to be indecisive, evaluating, reinforcing statements of interior complexities and the dualities of human nature.
The existential quality of the works in this exhibit come from Estévez’s recent experiences living for a year in Paris as a recipient of an artist-in-residence grant at the Cité des Artistes followed by several months living and painting in Miami. His recent parapatetic existence, combined with the insularity of living in Cuba, result in a personal perspective reflected in the paintings:
“These artworks produced between Havana, Paris and Miami (where Estévez has been living between 2003-2005) are the realization and testimony of my existential gravitations of the past two years. They constitute an infinite juxtaposition of my experiences, dreams and thoughts transformed into images by the work and the grace of creation. They are the most recent reports of those irreversible processes that are part of our existence.”
Carlos Estévez’s work may be found in numerous museum and public collections including Arizona State University, Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ; Bacardi Art Foundation, Miami, FL; Colección Casa de las Américas, La Habana, Cuba; Colección Deposito Bagali, Museo de la Valija, Palazzo Piazzoni, Vittorio Veneto, Italy; Center for Cuban Studies, New York City; Drammens Museum for Kunst og Kulturhistorie, Drammens, Norway; Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Aachen, Germany; Museo del Barro de América, Venezuela; Museo Nacional Palacio de Bellas Artes, La Habana, Cuba; Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale, FL.
EXHIBITION CATALOG - A full color catalog accompanies the exhibition.
For further information or photographs, please contact the gallery.
COUTURIER GALLERY. 166 N LA BREA AVENUE LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90036 • 323-933-5557 FAX: 323-933-2357
