Lionel Cruet in a group show 'A Perfect Storm' at Faction Art Projects, NY

Allison Janae Hamilton, Blackwater Creature II

PRAN - FACTION Art Projects is delighted to announce their latest exhibition 'A Perfect Storm' curated by FACTION’s new Curator-In-Residence Natasha Becker. The exhibition will include work by Tatiana Arocha, Allison Janae Hamilton, Riitta Ikonen, Lionel Cruet, Joiri Minaya, Mark Tribe and Demian DinéYazhi´ and draw on the pressing environmental issues of our planet.

A Perfect Storm refers to a rare combination of events, arising from a number of negative factors, that creates an unusually bad situation. It is an apt expression for the urgent and unresolved challenges of global warming, pollution, climate change, and many more environmental problems that have become a reality for millions of people.

Instead of bemoaning our fate, the artists in the exhibition offer intricate pathways to a deeper understanding of our significant connection to nature. Together, they provide aesthetic experiences that undercut our tendency to either catastrophize or become overwhelmed when faced with the challenges of climate change.

Through drawing, painting, photography, and installation art, the artists presented in this exhibition offer varied interpretations on the interconnected realities of natural and human made environments, land and bodies, culture and memory. They take into consideration the voices of those with the most intimate knowledge of the environment and comment on their experiences of resistance, relocations, and adaptations.

Lionel Cruet, Floods Aftermath and Other Hurricane Stories I

Lionel Cruet’s series of paintings on blue plastic tarps depict stranded houses in a dark landscape after the effect of hurricanes and heavy floods. However, a soft yellow light inside the houses denotes human presence, resilience, and hope. In places like Puerto Rico, blue tarp was used as a temporary architectural solution to damaged homes but it has become part of the landscape and a symbol of the country' slow recovery and political chaos.

Lionel Cruet (San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1989) is a geopolitical artist who explores the environment at the intersection of economics, geopolitics and technology. He lives and works between San Juan and New York City.

Cruet’s BFA is from Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Diseño de Puerto Rico (2011). His MFA is from City College of New York (2014). He also has a Masters in Education from College of Saint Rose. He has taught at City College, Casita Maria Center for Arts and Education, and for the New York City Department of Education.

The artist has exhibited at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, El Museo del Barrio, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico and other venues.

He received a Juan Downey Audiovisual Award at the 11th Media Arts Biennale (2013) at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Santiago, Chile.

The exhibition 'A Perfect Storm' through, March 8, 2020 at FACTION Art Projects, 

Gallery 8, 2602 Frederick Douglass Blvd, New York, NY 10030.  More information: