Bilateral Engagement

A collaborative sculpture exhibition between the Washington Sculptors Group and the Art Museum of the Americas at the Organization of American States

October 16, 2009 – January 15, 2010

ABOUT THE EXHIBIT

Washington, DC: The Art Museum of the Americas (AMA) of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Washington Sculptors Group (WSG) are pleased to announce the opening of its 25th anniversary exhibition, Bilateral Engagement, The 33 sculptors-show seeks to demonstrate the historical sweep of WSG member work of the past 25 years while also connecting it with select pieces from the AMA’s permanent collection that represent facets of the concurrent Latin American avant garde.

The exhibition is being held at the Art Museum of the Americas (AMA) from October 16, 2009 through January 15, 2010. An opening reception will take place on Friday, October 16 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. Exhibit curator Laura Roulet will host a preview gallery talk on Friday, October 16 at 12 noon. An exhibit-themed family workshop will take place on Saturday, November 7 from 10 am to 12 noon. An artist panel discussion is scheduled for Saturday, November 14, from 2:00 until 4:00 pm. Additionally, on Saturday, November 14 from 12 pm to 2 pm, artist Linda Hesh continues her series of interactive public art portraits on her FOR and AGAINST benches. All are welcome to sit on the bench of their choice and have their portrait appear in Hesh's online gallery with what they are for or against written underneath: http://www.lindahesh.com/html/benches.

The exhibition was juried by Laura Roulet, art historian, curator, and writer specialized in contemporary and Latin American art. Ms. Roulet has organized exhibitions at the Mexican Cultural Institute, the Museum of Puerto Rican Art, Pepco’s Edison Place Gallery, Project 4, Fusebox, the District of Columbia Art Center (DCAC), and at other local galleries. She has also worked with the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, including contributing to the retrospective exhibition entitled "Ana Mendieta: Earth Body, Sculpture and Performance 1972-1985" which represents the most comprehensive survey of the artist’s works to date. She is also the author of Contemporary Puerto Rican Installation Art: The Guagua Aerea, the Trojan Horse and the Termite, a book which explores dynamic aspects of Puerto Rican art today.

The WSG has organized this exhibition as part of its 25th anniversary celebration and in conjunction with the 2010 centennial of the OAS’ historic headquarters. The show explores the ever-widening directions that contemporary sculpture has taken over the past decades beginning with the radical artistic, political and social changes of the 1960s and 1970s to the present. Ms. Roulet has selected work that offers parallel commentary with the work from the AMA’s permanent collection and thereby creates a striking dialogue in terms of material choice, form, purpose and aesthetic. For instance, Roulet notes that works such as Puerto Rican Rafael Ferrer’s Head and Patrick McDonough’s 090706 My Younger Than Jesus Award are “un-aspiring to grandeur, permanence or universal meaning,” both pieces engaging in their wry humor and “unmonumental” qualities (see image above). She also draws parallels between the minimalist geometric abstraction of Venezuelan Jesus Rafael Soto’s relief sculpture Escritura Hurtado (Hurtado Writing) and Joanne Kent’s Zen-like twin circular reliefs Isis Revisited and Hard Rain; and likewise, Colombian Hugo

FEATURED ARTISTS
Allan Arp
Maria Barbosa
Kyan Bishop
Adam Bradley
Renee Butler
Kirsten Campbell
Jeff Chyatte
Frederic Crist
Brent Crothers
Joel D'Orazio
Alonzo Davis
Bobby Donovan
Cheraya Esters
Leah Frankel
Carol Gellner Levin
Linda Hesh
Gale Jamieson
Mariah Josephy
Joanne Kent
Barbara Liotta
Dalya Luttwak
Donna McCullough
Patrick McDonough
Pattie Porter Firestone
Brian Reed
Foon Sham
Millicent Young