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Bilateral Engagement
October 16, 2009 - January
15, 2010
 A
collaborative sculpture exhibition between the
Washington Sculptors Group and the Art Museum of the
Americas at the Organization of American States
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,
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 Zapata’s Arca (Ark) and Foon
Sham’s Column share “an organic version of the
circular form.”
WSG
member artists selected to participate in this
exhibition are:
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, and Millicent Young.
Additional high-res photos of work included in
Bilateral Engagement and an exhibition catalogue
are available upon request.
The
Art Museum of the Americas was established in 1976
with the primary mission of furthering awareness and
appreciation of the art and cultural traditions of the
thirty-four OAS member countries, with particular
emphasis on modern and contemporary art from Latin
America and the Caribbean. . The museum is located at
201 18th Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20006
and it is open to the public Tuesdays-Sundays from 10 am
until 5 pm. The museum is closed on Federal holidays.
The mission of the Washington Sculptors Group (WSG)
is to promote awareness and understanding of sculpture
and to foster the exchange of ideas among sculptors,
collectors and the public. For more information about
this exhibition and the WSG, visit our website at
www.washingtonsculptors.org.
Special thanks to Friends of the Art Museum of the
Americas for their generous support of
Bilateral Engagement
and to the District of Columbia Commission on the Arts &
Humanities (DCCAH) for their generous grant supporting
the Washington Sculptors Group 2009-2010.
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