<nettime-ann> MOJITO - Contemporary Cuban Art at Exit Art

MOJITO

May 12- August 18, 2007
Opening Saturday May 12, 7-10pm

Curators Elvis Fuentes, Yuneikys Villalonga, and Glexis Novoa

MOJITO focuses on the work of fifty-four contemporary Cuban artists that have approached the subject of time, process and transition in Cuba through over 95 artworks that emphasize works in performance, photography, video, installation, ephemera, and will include selected drawings, paintings and sculpture,

This exhibition provides a timely context for Cuban artists whose work has had little or no exposure in the United States. Many of the artists in Mojito have metaphorically recorded some of the tensions in the cultural, social and political landscape of the past two decades, and have often been dismissed by the official discourse on the Island or stereotyped by narrow conceptions of identity.

Artworks gathered in this exhibition also show a shift in the artists' perspective toward the Cuban Revolution from an active role (as potential agents of change) to the passive role (as whisperers or mere spectators). For many of them, the Revolution has become a subject of the past and they have turned to the international art scene-opened by the Havana Biennial and a growing interest from collectors. For others, living in exile, it is still a daily reality that continues to personally affect them. In addition to the exhibition, this show will include extensive public programming and a catalogue.

Artists
Pavel Acosta, All Stars Team, José Luis Alonso, Alexandre Arrechea, Ritual Art-De, Arte Calle, Saidel Brito, Tania Bruguera, La Campana, Pons Campos & Maria Magdalena, Yoan Capote, Nilo Castillo, Sandra Ceballos & Espacio Aglutinador, Raúl Cordero, Arturo Cuenca, Angel Delgado, Felipe Dulzaides, El Soca & Fabian, Enema, Antonio Fernández, Coco Fusco, Carlos Garaicoa, Juan-si González, Tony Labat, Glenda León, Alejandro López, Beverly Mojena, Glexis Novoa, Antonio Núñez, Abel Oliva, Ernesto Oroza, Alain Pino, Segundo Planes, Provisional, Aldito Menendez, Ernesto Pujol, Rigoberto Quintana, Fernando Rodríguez, René Francisco Rodríguez, Carlos Rodriguez-Cárdenas, Joel Rojas, Lázaro Saavedra, Leandro Soto, José Ángel Toirac & Tanya Angulo, César Trasobares, Hárold Vazquez, Velasco Liudmila & Nelson Ramírez de Arellando, José Vincench.

Curators
Elvis Fuentes is Associate Curator at El Museo del Barrio, New York. Before joining El Museo del Barrio, Fuentes served as curator at the Institute of Culture of Puerto Rico and prepared a retrospective exhibition of the early works by Felix Gonzalez-Torres for the San Juan Polygraphic Triennial, 2004. He has curated numerous exhibitions including Rewind… Rewind... Three decades of video art in Puerto Rico. He was curator at the Ludwig Foundation of Cuba (1999-2002), where he organized more than 20 exhibitions, workshops and lectures, including two video art festivals (2000, 2001).

Yuni Villalonga is an independent artist and curator based in Havana, and working between Havana and Bristol, UK. She graduated from the University of Havana with a degree in Art History in 2000, and has been an Associate Professor at the Institute of Art (ISA) in Havana since 2000. Villalonga served as curator at the Ludwig Foundation of Cuba from 2000-2003. She won the National Prize of Curatorship UNEAC 2004 for Së Bashku – Juntos – Tillsammans, a traveling exhibition presented in the Tirana Biennial in Stockholm and the Havana Biennial.

Glexis Novoa is a Cuban-born artist living and working in Miami. He produced The Chronology a catalog that documents the works of Cuban performance Artists of the 1980s.

Funders
This exhibition is made possible by generous contributions from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Peter Norton Family Foundation.

About Exit Art
Exit Art is an interdisciplinary laboratory for contemporary culture that explores the rich diversity of voices that continually shape art and ideas. Since it’s founding in 1982 by Directors Jeanette Ingberman and Papo Colo, Exit Art has presented over 2,500 artists and has grown from a pioneering alternative art space, bringing attention to the work of under-recognized artists, into a model cultural center for the 21st century. With a substantial reputation for curatorial innovation and depth of programming in diverse media, Exit Art’s exhibitions, performances and programs respond to culturally resonant themes, empowering artists to redefine their artistic sensibility. Exit Art is internationally recognized for its unmatched spirit of inventiveness, commitment to supporting artists, and consistent ability to anticipate the newest trends in the culture. A place where different disciplines and audiences converge and cross-pollinate, it is a key site for excavating the unwritten histories of contemporary art and culture.

Exit Art is located at 475 Tenth Avenue at 36th Street. Exit Art is open each Tuesday through Thursday, 10 am – 6 pm; Friday, 10 am – 8 pm; Saturday, noon – 8 pm. Closed Sunday and Monday. There is a suggested donation of $5. For more information, the public may call 212-966-7745 or visit www.exitart.org.

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