Latino Arts Inc.collaborates with the Centennial Celebration of Women at Marquette to welcome Clara Andrea RojasMocetón, also known as Andrea Rojas, to the city. The artist is debuting anexhibition at the United Community Center (UCC) titled “Freedom WithoutBorders.” The exhibit opens Feb. 26, coinciding with Rojas traveling here from Bogotá, Colombia,and continues through April 16.
Rojas’ 45 paintings and17 block prints study the Colombian landscape, particularly the country’s rainforests and jungles, through abstract expressionism. Her evocative colorsrepresent the brilliant hues displayed in South America’sexotic natural habitats, including emerald green and ruby parrots, fiery orangeflora and the burning yellow sun.
The South Americanjungle represents a dichotomy in Rojas’ life story. The jungle environment,such an integral part of Colombia’sland, contains relationships layered with violence, corruption and fear, yet italso harbors valuable resources and nourishes complex, majestic diversity amongits inhabitants.
This positive energyfrom Colombiaembodies Rojas’ small print series ConcienciaPristina (2009),or “pristineconscience.” These smaller, more defined abstractions suggest a moralresponsibility regarding the usage of Colombian resources.
“How encouraging to see Colombia represented in the states, especiallywith the logistics involved [in bringing the exhibitions to Milwaukee], says Zulay Oszkay, Latino Arts’artistic director. “We’re lucky to have the art here.”
Rojas will give a talkat Marquette University’s Haggerty Museum of Art onThursday, Feb. 25, at 7 p.m., and the exhibition’s opening reception will takeplace at the UCC on Feb. 26, 5-7:30 p.m. Following the UCC reception, composerand pianist Pablo Mayor, another Colombian artist, performs at Latino Arts withhis 11-piece band to complete a festive evening that offers Milwaukee a snapshot of Colombian culture.
At MIAD, the exhibition“Transitional/Transcultural: New Paradigms for a New Century” explores culturaldiversity through art. The show, part of the college’s “Culture in Transition”series, closes Feb. 27.
Eight artists, includingformer Mary L. Nohl Fellow Jason Yi and Madison’sTom Jones, present individual cross-cultural viewpoints through this multimediaexhibit. Installation, painting, photography, sculpture and video portrayaltered boundaries that challenge preconceived notions about theinterrelationships between heritage and personal ethnic identities.
Carol Hamoy’sotherworldly installation Welcome toAmerica, transported here from New York, reveals past stories of female immigrants. Hertranslucent, tattered and stained nightdresses suspended from the ceilingappear like supernatural memories. Hamoy’s garments include imprints of actualnames, dates and home countries. Like the exhibition’s other artists, Hamoyexpresses a global conversation that quietly speaks volumes when one listenswith an open mind.
