My work utilizes discarded objects and plant life collected from my surroundings. Some of the material is embedded between layers of gypsum cement to represent the passage of time. Replicas of objects are cast in resin or plaster and become pieces for an assemblage. Found paper is decollaged together and drawn into to create imagined landscapes.
In the Caribbean there were several pre-Columbian cultures and the work "Untitled" is a reinterpretation of this rich heritage. These ethnic groups did not develop an alphabet, but their petroglyphs are still found in special places, particularly in ceremonial centers similar to the one recreated in this work. In excavations prior to the construction of the Dorado Beach Resort remains of these ancestors of the Puerto Ricans were found , so the artist Carlos Mercado appropriated their graphic language, but using contemporary resources, to pay homage to the first artists of Dorado.
In her practice, painter Ivelisse Jiménez has explored the limits of chromatism beyond painting and canvas, filling entire spaces with color without the need for a brush. The artist uses processed materials, such as fabrics, plastics and pastes, along with acrylic paintings to create bright compositions that surpass the limits of a frame. "Untitled" is her first intervention into the woods, and she used the forest itself as support for the work. As a result, the viewer goes through a kind of labyrinth of colors that provokes the experience of entering a kaleidoscope.
The Suárez brothers have made their career by addressing ecological issues through their art production. As nature one of their main inspirations, the hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico in 2017 affected their job. Mata Palo (Killer of trees) is a colloquial name given to the Cupey tree because of its aggressive growth that sometimes affect other species; but it also refers to the hurricanes that killed so many trees. In this sculpture, the artists make reference to nature’s way of being, literally lifting up new life from the fallen.
In 2010, Eva Kullgren, a Swedish housewife, left Stockholm on a small sailboat, without electronic navigation instruments, like the ancient Vikings. She sailed through the Black Sea to the Mediterranean coasts and, upon reaching Cape Verde, she ventured into the immensity of the Atlantic Ocean. After 18 days she reached Brazil; but on her way back to the U.S.A., the sailboat suffered damages and the marine currents brought her to our shores of Dorado Beach. Those same currents brought us the tree from which this sculpture was created to honor our contemporary Viking Shipwreck.
“An Air from the City is a quest of how to raise awareness and treasure nature, how to coexist without destroying it. “Concrete doesn’t give us fresh air”. Conceptually speaking An Air from the City still being developed; I think the impact it generates the experience in the spectator is the final concept: to reach the goal of making them treasure what’s left of nature.”
As part of arte_FITS.FOUNDATION’s artist residency program, Puerto Rican born and based artist, Rodrigo Montenegro, produced Danza del Viento, an artisan sculptural series that aims to explore the revitalization of nature through balance and movement. Throughout the years Montenegro has developed his sculptures with a variety of methods and materials ranging from sand to stone. The mystic element in each piece becomes essential as he sculpts the esoteric messages and figures that ultimately form the artwork. In a more commercial approach, Montenegro has been known for creating stone and sand made furniture and company logos.
The installation, Unsounded Voices; based on the Japanese syllabary, Katakana; was located in Dorado Beach’s Pterocarpus Forest. The pieces were hanged from the trees at altering heights and planes “with the intention of creating a harmonious composition within the environment”. For the artist, the installation represented a divergence from his usual artwork due to its temporary state as well as the materials used.
“This piece [Obon: Puerto Rico] is inspired by the ancient Japanese festival of Obon. The ancient event; which occurs every 15th day of the 7th month of the Lunar Calendar {mid-August}; is a three day ceremony made to commemorate and honor the departed. It is believed that during Obon, the spirits of one’s departed family members and ancestors return home and are reunited with their loved ones. Lanterns are hung inside the house to welcome the spirits and on the evening of the last day, the lanterns are placed on rivers in order to guide the spirits back to the netherworld. There is a beautiful non-denominational notion of respect, interconnectivity, history, and memory that is celebrated with the festival of Obon”.
It is often said that the representation of the sublime does not suffice to express this unique concept. It is necessary to previously experience the sublime, throughout day-to-day life experiences. Only then, the artist evolves into an explorer of natural places and settings. Often unobserved by the common eye, these spaces become the idyllic backbone for the development of the artwork, offering us a significant aesthetic experience. Certainly, this description fits the installation “The Regeneration Circle”, which Vimarie Serrano has presented in a small natural reserve in Dorado.
