Guillermo Rodriguez, Untitled (Data) I , 2015, Digital Print,
18 x 23 cm
PRART NEWS - The Davidoff Art Initiative announces the
latest selection of artists to participate in the Davidoff Art Residency for
fall 2015 and spring 2016. Originally launched in 2013 with residencies in New
York and Berlin, the Art Residency program currently partners with four
organizations worldwide: the International Studio & Curatorial Program
(ISCP) in Brooklyn, New York, USA; the Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin,
Germany; Red Gate Gallery in Beijing, China; and its most recent addition,
Atelier Mondial in collaboration with the Institute of Art at the FHNW Academy
of Art and Design in Basel, Switzerland, which was announced earlier this
summer.
The selected artists are: Luís Fermín Ceballos (b. 1978,
Dominican Republic), David Gumbs (b. 1977, Guadeloupe), Hulda Guzmán (b. 1984,
Dominican Republic), and Guillermo Rodríguez (b. 1986, Puerto Rico). All four
artists applied for their specific residencies with clear purpose and goals.
The diversity of applications and interests, as well as respective artistic
practices, reflects the diverse cultures throughout the Caribbean.
Hulda Guzmán at International Studio & Curatorial
Program (ISCP)
Brooklyn, New York
September–November, 2015
Guillermo Rodríguez at Atelier Mondial
Basel, Switzerland
October–December, 2015
David Gumbs at Red Gate Gallery
Beijing, China
April–May, 2016
Luis Fermín Ceballos at Künstlerhaus Bethanien
Berlin, Germany
April–June, 2016
Guillermo Rodríguez (b. 1986, Puerto Rico) is a conceptual
artist who studied fine arts and sculpture at the University of Puerto Rico. He
completed a Bachelor of Art (Honors) in Art Practice at Goldsmiths, University
of London and a Masters of Art in Curating Visual Arts at the Universidad
Nacional Tres de Febrero in Buenos Aires. Rodriguez lives and works between
Buenos Aires and San Juan.
He has exhibited locally and abroad, including the 11th
Bienal de la Habana (2012, curated by Juan Delgado Calzadilla) and “Artesur:
Collective Fictions” at Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2013, part of Nouvelles
Vagues); and he curated the group exhibition “Destejiendo el Arco Iris” at
Galería Avalancha in Buenos Aires (2014).
In the new Basel residency, Rodriguez will undertake a
sustained period of formal and theoretical experimentation, focusing on an
ongoing investigation based on and informed by artistic practices concerned
with, in the artist’s words, “open source aesthetics.” Guzmáns choice of
working in New York is due to her personal experience: She had visited the city
and noted that it harbored the virtue to trigger both the best and the worst in
her; through the intensity of its daily rhythm and its crowds, the city will
nourish Guzmáns practice in many aspects. “When I say also the worst would be
triggered, I mean it in a positive way,” says Guzmán. “I want to be in contact
with my demons, and examine how different energies dwell inside our being and
study these states in order to understand more.”
Ahead of his Beijing residency, Gumbs’ project originated
from influences within a Caribbean context: the social complexity of a
colonized population and its dense historical landscapes. It questions the
pressure of existence beyond the boundaries of an island, as well as an aim for
international interconnectivity and awareness for the art itself. His decision
to go to China grew, according to Gumbs, from a need to explore new
contemporary forms of creation inspired from my offscreen interactive video
series. The shells and flora used in these fractal animations create very
graphic and hypnotic visuals, from which emerge complex hybrid masks and animal
and anthropological creatures that inspire the living. After many observations,
the question of shaping these new geometries into the material world and out of
the projected screen became obvious. China is known for its strong history of
ceramic culture, which has spread worldwide. So what better place to start this
new exploration? Plus, it’s also one of the world leaders in the 3D printing
industry.
The Davidoff Art Initiative is delighted to welcome the
artists to their respective residencies. Please look forward to forthcoming
news on the selection of international artists, who will be announced in
September.
About the Davidoff Art Initiative
At the core of the Art Initiative, Davidoff aims to engage
closely with the arts and culture of the Dominican Republic, where much of its
production and many of its employees are based, bringing opportunity and
visibility to the art and culture of the Caribbean region, and extending the
companys long-standing commitment to artistry, craftsmanship, community and
quality.
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