extended through february 12, 2007

Eduardo Bárcenas: Acts of Silence / from South to North
[Actos de silencio / del sur al norte]

installation views Click here

Reviewed in the Click here New York Times (Long Island Section, Arts, 24 Dec. 2006) and the East Hampton Star (18 Jan. 2007).

Acts of Silence consists in a selection of works dating from 2000 to 2006 and ranging from paintings and drawings on paper, to canvases, to three-dimensional works in wire and mixed media.

The first solo show by the artist in the United States was held at Solar in 2002, titled Máscaras para un concilio (Masks for a Council), and was met with acclaim by public and critics alike. In the Southampton Press, Eric Ernst wrote about the mixed media pieces that, “seek to subtly express the realm of human emotions in a manner that allows us to see beneath the visage of the moment.” Earlier that same year, Bárcenas’ work had been included in a group exhibition at Solar that was reviewed favorably by Helen Harrison for the New York Times, as well as Sheridan Sansegundo, who stated in the East Hampton Star that his works, “which juggle so many different elements, are delightfully cohesive and self-assured.”

Bárcenas (b. 1954, Maracay, Venezuela), who was honoured in 2006 with a partial retrospective at the Museo de Bellas Artes (Museum of Fine Art) in Caracas, Venezuela–that has since traveled to other cultural venues in that country—has enjoyed a fruitful career at home and abroad. He has participated in a number of curated and juried exhibitions in Venezuela, winning several recognitions and prizes throughout, and has been invited to participate in significant shows like the Havana Biennial, and in Puerto Rico and Colombia. His work is found in public and private collections in Venezuela, the United States, and Puerto Rico.

Bárcenas’ second solo exhibit at Solar is a partial retrospective honouring his career in Venezuela and internationally. His personages are as Masks that express anguish, desire, frustration, joy –acts of silence, of life and death—they come from the south to the north on a tour of (self) discovery, a pursuit to find our own humanity in others. This has been the artist’s consistent vision, expressed through the face and figure: a means of discovering ourselves.

cocktail reception, saturday, november 18th, 2006, 5 pm

artists on artists series, saturday, december 2nd, 2006, 4 pm
visit and discussion led by Teri Kennedy