ExhibitionNovember 7, 2022
The Museo del Barrio opens the exhibition “Juan Francisco Elso: Por América”
Since October 28, on view at El Museo del Barrio is the exhibition “Juan Francisco Elso: Por América.” The show, curated by Olga Viso with Susanna V. Temkin’s collaboration, explores the brief but significant oeuvre of the Cuban artist Juan Francisco Elso Padilla (1956-1988). In Elso’s artistic production, the search for a “Latin American spirituality” was a transversal theme, pointing out how the Caribbean identity is crossed by indigenous influences, African beliefs, and colonial traumas.
Also, a spiritual and mystic pursuit is tangled with a political project in Elso’s artistic production. As Luis Camnitzer noted in an article published in Arte en Colombia soon after the artist died in 1988: “Elso was imbued with spirituality, without thereby losing his commitment to the socialist ethic. This fusion, which he called a dialectic, defined him as a Cuban. It also helped him to transcend himself as a Latin American” (Arte en Colombia No.41, 1989). This is how characters such as José Martí and Simón Bolívar appear in an oeuvre full of references to Afro-Cuban santeria rituals.
“Juan Francisco Elso: Por América” reunites not only crucial oeuvres of the artist but also integrates works of artists such as Magali Lara, Ana Mendieta, José Bedia, Belkis Ayón, Tania Bruguera, María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Luis Camnitzer, Los Carpinteros, Graciela Iturbide, Gabriel Orozco, and Marta María Pérez Bravo.
The exhibition at El Museo del Barrio will be on view until March 26, 2023, when it will travel to Phoenix Art Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami.
Also, a spiritual and mystic pursuit is tangled with a political project in Elso’s artistic production. As Luis Camnitzer noted in an article published in Arte en Colombia soon after the artist died in 1988: “Elso was imbued with spirituality, without thereby losing his commitment to the socialist ethic. This fusion, which he called a dialectic, defined him as a Cuban. It also helped him to transcend himself as a Latin American” (Arte en Colombia No.41, 1989). This is how characters such as José Martí and Simón Bolívar appear in an oeuvre full of references to Afro-Cuban santeria rituals.
“Juan Francisco Elso: Por América” reunites not only crucial oeuvres of the artist but also integrates works of artists such as Magali Lara, Ana Mendieta, José Bedia, Belkis Ayón, Tania Bruguera, María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Luis Camnitzer, Los Carpinteros, Graciela Iturbide, Gabriel Orozco, and Marta María Pérez Bravo.
The exhibition at El Museo del Barrio will be on view until March 26, 2023, when it will travel to Phoenix Art Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami.
Gallery
