Charlotte, North Carolina – Latin American Contemporary Art (LaCa) Projects is pleased to present its Fifth Anniversary Collective, a group show featuring nine selected artists who have exhibited with the gallery since its opening in March 2013, and celebrating its fifth year in operation.
The category of Latin American contemporary art, based on the origins of its artists, was formally established in approximately 1970. It has since emerged as one of the most important and influential in the evolution of the globalized contemporary art market, in spite of its broadly generalized categorization and continued challenge of being a less-recognized force as compared to more popular geographical originations. In addition to the vast cultural differences between its 33 nations, which a fact in-of-itself adds weight to its significance, the evidence of its importance has recently been reinforced by the establishment of departments and curators dedicated to collecting, researching, and exhibiting Latin American art in many major museums and art institutions across Europe and North America, including Tate Britain (London), The Museum of Modern Art (New York), The Museum of Fine Arts (Houston) and the Hammer Museum (Los Angeles).
Additionally, the most recent edition of Pacific Standard Time, an initiative of the Getty with arts organizations throughout Southern California, was titled “PST: LA/LA – A Celebration Beyond Borders.” It was the largest initiative ever assembled to focus on Latin American and Latino Art, with the participation of over 70 art institutions throughout Los Angeles and Southern California.
Fifth Anniversary Collective at LaCa Projects highlights the exceptional talents of nine artists, all whose distinctive styles and approaches have been influenced by their identities as Latin American artists. Included in this exhibition will be works by Eduardo Cardozo (Uruguay), Juan Dolhare (Argentina), Carlos Estévez (Cuba), Vicente Hernández (Cuba), Santiago Quesnel (Argentina), Cristina Toro (Puerto Rico), as well as artists Karina Juárez, Alejandra Laviada, and Humberto Rios, who were presented during the LaCa Projects segment of the Charlotte-wide “In Focus: Contemporary Photography in Mexico” exhibition in September 2017.
Some works offer responses to past or present social or political environments in each of their respective native countries; others offer invitations into the artists’ passions, psyches, and deeply personal experiences, from their childhoods to present-day. While thematic concepts range greatly, the common impression is the level of sophistication, complexity, and form from which these artists create, offering the viewer a heightened sense of awareness of the social and material conditions that surrounded these artists in the past, and the contemporary realities of a 21st century artist.
A public opening celebration will take place at LaCa Projects on Thursday, June 14, from 6-8pm.
