Beyond the Canvas: Contemporary Art From Puerto Rico

The Newcomb Art Museum of Tulane University presents Beyond the Canvas: Contemporary Art From Puerto Rico, showcasing the work of Zilia Sánchez (b.1926), Julio Suárez (b.1947), Arnaldo Roche Rabell (b.1955), Pedro Vélez (b.1971), and Elsa María Meléndez (b.1974). The exhibition on view from April 26 through July 9 coincides with the 100th anniversary of Puerto Ricans' U.S. citizenship and the impending referendum on political status. Spanning several generations, these five artists challenge the notion of the canvas as a flat surface for painted images. Through tension-based strategies applied on the fabric—whether pulling, rubbing, folding, slashing, ripping, sewing, or warping—they lend their works a distinctive three-dimensionality. Their provocative treatments allude to the island's current socioeconomic crisis in works that suggest rupture, tension, and escape. The exhibition is curated by Dr. Monica Ramirez-Montagut, Director, Newcomb Art Museum and architect Warren James. Beyond the Canvas is accompanied by a smaller exhibition envisioned, curated, and designed by Tulane students from "Women, Community and Art in Latin America: Puerto Rico." Co-taught by Edith Wolfe, Assistant Director of the Stone Center for Latin American Studies, and museum Director Monica Ramirez-Montagut, the class—which traveled to the island in March 2017—asks how Puerto Rican socially engaged activists and artists address problems of gender, food access, blight, loss of traditions, and other issues affecting their communities. For more information visit: http://newcombartmuseum.tulane.edu