Although the United States is often referred to as a “melting pot” of people and cultures from around the world, we are often quick to forget the trials and tribulations of our cultural pasts. The Old World may no longer be before us, but the stories and imagery that our ancestors left behind create a colorful story that should not only be remembered, but celebrated. Using a visually stimulating mix of multi-media mediums, NYC’s 40Owls presents “Distinct Ethnic Magical Tales,” three solo exhibitions curated by Gabriel Fortoul.
Set to open on Saturday, June 16th, the exhibit will feature painting, sculpting, and live performance art promising to examine the paradoxes of national identity, political struggle, and human relations in a culturally indigenous context. Meet the artists:
Isaac Fortoul is a Colombian-American artist who uses bold images to depict emotionally-charged stories of “timeless warriors demanding what is rightfully theirs from a society not always true to its colors.” His collection of large canvas paintings, masks, and hanging art installations blend vibrant colors cross hatched shading to deliver self-reflective messages of ancestral identity. We featured him before here.
Hector Ruiz is a Mexican-American artist who commemorates the wisdom of his elders while challenging the preconceived ideas of a consumerist society through usage of humor and satire in his sculptures, wood carvings, paintings and wood block prints. Ruiz re-contextualizes objects to create dialogue about perception and global consumerism in a catchy, thought-provoking way.
Nyugen Smith is an American-born, West Indian raised artist of Trinidadian and Haitian decent who uses sculpture, installation, video and performance to investigate and retell the unique history of the people of the Caribbean. He fearlessly tackles the political world with his art, addressing historical misrepresentations and questionable politics while exposing omissions of truth, conversations of race, and the evolution of religion and politics in the West Indies.
Distinct Ethnic Magical Tales
Opening June 16th 1pm – 5pm
150 11th Ave
New York, NY
Tues. – Sat. 12pm – 6pm