Exhibitions
Correspondence: In Relation to Goya
~ Maria Brito: Las Goyescas ~
~ Enrique Chagoya: The Return to Goya's Caprichos ~
February 14, 2007 - June 8, 2008
Maria Brito, Neither More Nor Less,
2006
polymer clay
Courtesy of the artist and Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, Miami
Maria Brito and Enrique Chagoya are both known for artwork that
addresses issues of cultural hybridity, multiplicity, and hyphenated
identity -- although they differ greatly in method, style, and medium.
Through the projects presented here, each artist affirms the imaginative
influence, visual power, and ongoing resonance of Goya's renowned Caprichos.
Cuban-born (1947) and Miami-based, Maria Brito fashions table-top
sculptures that re-articulate some of Goya's most famous scenes, and her
precisely detailed, exquisitely modeled works lend unexpected
dimensional life to these celebrated images. The artist was drawn to
Goya's depictions "because of the contemporary nature of his commentary
on the human condition," and chose "the stark whiteness of polymer clay"
to contrast against the dark tonalities of his prints. Brito sees her
pieces as "ghosts that remain witnesses to our own foibles."
Maria Brito is represented by the Bernice
Steinbaum
Gallery, Miami
Enrique Chagoya, El sueño de la
razon produce monstruos, 1999
etching and aquatint on Rives paper, 15 x 12 inches
Museum Purchase with funds provided by the
Edward J. Gallagher, Jr. Memorial Fund
2003.002.001.006
Mexican-born (1953) and San Francisco-based, Enrique Chagoya posits his
series on "the question of how Goya's work would have looked had he
traveled in time to the present day and portrayed our world in his own
classic style." The eight etching and aquatint plates in the series
abide Goya's precedent yet express a form of social and political
critique that is unmistakably the artist's own. Chagoya writes of his
project as a tribute to Goya, "as well as a distanced look into the
complexities of our contemporary society. Humor is the triumph of
pleasure over pain; it is a defense mechanism and not a way of
trivializing atrocities."
Enrique Chagoya is represented by Gallery
Paule Anglim, San Francisco
Dr. Lisa Fischman, Chief Curator
Organized to complement Goya's Mastery in Prints, the presentation of Francisco de Goya's four major print suites, the exhibition series Correspondence: In Relation to Goya showcases contemporary artwork that in risk-taking originality, clarity of vision, and passionate quality resonates with Goya's legacy.
Also see the related exhibition, Goya's Mastery in Prints: Los Caprichos
Visit our Exhibition History page for information on past exhibitions at UAMA.