OMAR LÓPEZ-CHAHOUD JOINS YES AS INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR
US-based independent curator Omar López-Chahoud is joining YES Contemporary as International Director. López-Chahoud vast experience will be a key asset to connect Salvadoran artists with international professionals and opportunities.
Lopez- Chahoud is an independent curator and the Artistic Director of UNTITTLED, Art Fair in Miami since its founding in 2012. He has curated and co-curated numerous exhibitions in the United States and internationally, including: How We Live, Hudson Valley MOCA, co-curated with Nicola Trezzi, 2020-2021; Trasnochar, pulir y roer: Hector Jimenez Castillo, Espacio Minimo, Madrid 2021; The Fire Theory: Dios, Union, Libertad, Prosjektrom, Normanns, Stavanger, Norway, 2017; The One Who Became the Color of a Flag, Slobodan Stosic; Shiva Gallery, John Jay College, NY, 2015; Columbia University School of Art, MFA Thesis exhibition, Fisher Landau Center, NY 2015; The Nicaraguan Biennial (2014) in Managua, Leon and Granada; VanguardITSMO (2014) World Bank Art Space, Washington, DC; Invisible Hands, Donna Conlon and Jonathan Harker, Fridman Gallery, NY 2014; Tracing the Unseen Border, co-curated with Ian Cofre, La MaMa La Galeria, New York, 2011; Four Minutes, Thirty-Three Seconds (2011-2012) at Cannonball, Miami, FL; Planet of Slums (2010-11) co-curated w/ LaToya Ruby Frazier at Third Streaming, NY, and the Mason Gross Art Galleries at Rutgers University, NJ; and Lush Life (2010), co-curated w/Franklin Evans and which spanned nine galleries in New York, NY (Salon 94, Invisible Exports, Lehmann Maupin, Eleven Rivington, On Stellar Rays, Y gallery, Scaramouche, Sue Scott Gallery, and Collette Blanchard Gallery); New York/Prague 6, Futura Center for Contemporary Art, Prague, Czech Republic, 2010; Artist as Publisher, Center for Book Arts, NY, 2008; Crossing the Line in collaboration with Valerie Smith, Queens Museum, New York, 2001.
Lopez-Chahoud is a member of the International Advisory Council for the International Center of Photography, New York; and serves on the Advisory Committee for Art in Public Places, Miami Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs. In 2017-2018 he was part of the Advisory Committee for Prospect 4, New Orleans. His writing has appeared in several national and international publications. Lopez-Chahoud earned MFAs from Yale University School of Art in New Haven, CT, and the Royal Academy of Art in London, UK.
YES CURATORS GRANT IS NOW OPEN
Image: Alexia Miranda, "El hombre es la medida de todas las cosas". Courtesy of the artist. Part of “Aisthesis” curatorial project by Eduardo Crespín and Víctor Artiga, awarded with the 2020 YES Curators Grant.
Applications for the 2021 YES Curators Grant are now open. The 2021 Y.ES Curators Grant awards $1,000 to curators of Salvadoran affiliation based anywhere in the world. Active curators, aspiring curators, artist-curators and curatorial collectives are eligible to apply. The grant can be used for research and writing, travel, exhibition and project opportunities happening between June 1, 2020 - May 31, 2021. The aim of this grant is to support and cultivate curatorial practice by Salvadorans, and is made possible with support from Solita Cohen.
Image: Beatir Cortez, "Glacial Pothole". Courtesy the artist.
Five artists have been selected to participate in the 2021 YES Contemporary and UXART Artist Academy focused on digital art. Selected artists include Antonio Romero, Beatriz Cortez, Natalia Domínguez + Lucy Tomasino, Orlando Villatoro and Ricardo Flores. The artists will work in collaboration with UXART to produce specific artworks. UXART is a group focused in the creation of ideas and strategies to be implemented through new digital media.
BORDERS OF FREEDOM AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE
YES Contemporary’s exhibition “Borders of Freedom”, will be presented in collaboration with Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, in Transborder Temporalities and Imaginaries of the Future Symposium, organized by California State University, Northridge. The online show will be presented on April 7 at 5:00 pm PT (6:00 pm CST). Borders of Freedom is a video exhibition featuring artists living in El Salvador and its diaspora, whose work addresses the concept of freedom from different perspectives, connecting it with intimacy, spirituality, gender, migration and sociopolitical context. The exhibition curated by YES curator Patricio Majano includes works by Alexia Miranda, Sayre Quevedo, Fredy Solan, Crack Rodríguez, Abigail Reyes and Guadalupe Maravilla.
Register to view the exhibition here.
Image: Guadalupe Maravilla, "OG of the Undocumented Children". Courtesy the artist.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
RAFAEL DÍAZ AT O_LUMEN
Spain-based Salvadoran artist Rafael Díaz is part of the collective exhibition "Vulnerables" presented at O_LUMEN, Madrid. The exhibition, curated by Bert Daelemans and Xabier Gómez, presents works by contemporary artists who seek to convey optimism and hope based on the paradoxical beauty of vulnerability as the privileged bridge that connects us with another human being. Other artists participating in the exhibition are Cristina Almodóvar, Lucie Geffré and Paula Anta. The exhibition can be visited from March 12 to May 30, 2021.
See more of the exhibition here.
See more of Rafael Díaz here.
Image: Rafael Díaz, “Expolio”. Courtesy the artist.
CRACK RODRÍGUEZ SELECTED FOR LAB
Salvadoran artist Crack Rodríguez was selected for the exhibition “Photography to Live the Street”. This project seeks to show images of the body in privacy, in public spaces. Rodríguez will be carrying out the project "La paz dentro del círculo." The work of the artists will take to the streets of Valparaíso. It is organized by LAB (Open Performance Laboratory), a project based in the Valparaíso Region, Chile. It is currently suspended due to the Covid 19 pandemic. Presentation dates will be announced soon.
Vea más sobre Crack Rodríguez aquí.
Image: Crack Rodríguez, “La trinidad” 2016, Courtesy The MArio Cader-Frech Collection and the artist.
COLLECTIVE EXHIBITION “COMPAÑERAS” AT FEMALE VOICES OF LATIN AMERICA
Salvadoran artists Natalia Domínguez, Melissa Guevara and Abigail Reyes are participating in the virtual exhibition “Compañeras”, curated by Casa Ma (House of women artists), as part of the online project Female Voices of Latin America of the Vortic Art platform. The exhibition features works by 11 Central American artists and takes its name from the book Compañeras: Women Art, & Social Change In Latin America (1985). It presents voices of female resistance to the patriarchal history that tries to silence them. Other participating artists are Marilin Boror, Victoria Cabezas, Claudia Gordillo, Anel Kenjekeeva, Xenia Mejía, Susana Sanchez Carballo, Haydee Victoria Suescum and Sussy Vargas. It can be viewed online until May 1.
See the exhibition here.
See more of Natalia Domínguez here.
See more of Melissa Guevara here.
See more of Abigail Reyes here.
Image: Natalia Domínguez, “La Verdulera”, 2019 . Courtesy the artist.
SALVADORAN ARTISTS AT THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART IN PANAMA
The Museum of Contemporary Art of Panama presents the exhibition "Mesotropics", which presents works by 31 artists from Central America and the Caribbean, including Beatriz Cortez, Melissa Guevara and Ronald Morán. The show was curated by Adán Vallecillos. The exhibition presents works that reflect and dialogue on the identity and history of Central America and the Caribbean. The exhibition can be visited from March 20.
Melissa Guevara, “Anthropometry”, 2012. Courtesy the artist.
VERÓNICA VIDES AT EQUINOX
Patagonia-based Salvadoran artist Verónica Vides has been invited by the virtual contemporary art fair Equinox to participate in its first edition that will take place from September 17 to 24, 2021. Equinox is a fair oriented to galleries, art spaces and visual producers from Latin America.
Image: Verónica Vides, “Mimetizada” 2011-2012. Courtesy the artist.
STUDIO LENCA NOMINATED FOR THE PRIX PICTET AWARD
London-based Salvadoran artist José Campos (Studio Lenca) was nominated for the Prix Pictet photography award for his series "Los Historiantes". In the series, he creates portraits of historiantes to reflect on his displacement from El Salvador during the civil war and what it means to be Salvadoran.
PATRICIA ORELLANA SOLARES SELECTED FOR PLATAFORMA MÍNIMA
Salvadoran artist Patricia Orellana Solares has been selected in the open call “Microespacios (in) visible: new corpo - spatial poetics” of Plataforma Minima, a Chilean space for research and creation around performance art and contemporary art. The dates and events to be held will be published soon.
Image: Patricia Orellana Solares, Video performance- Instalation. 2020. Courtesy the artist.
ERNESTO BAUTISTA AT MONUMENTO AL MAR
Salvadoran artist Ernesto Bautista in collaboration with Tatiana Puerto from Curatorial Cinema and Transmisión Nereidas presented the exhibition "Monument to the Sea", which is included in the second part of the project Escuchar la calle, which presented the processed developed by the artists during 2020. The exhibition presents a film and radio project and took place on March 12 at Espacio Error, in Puebla, Mexico. This project was carried out with the support of the Jumex Foundation. See more of Ernesto Bautista here.
Image: .Ernesto Bautista and Tatiana Puerto, "Monumento al mar", Courtesy the artists.
BEATRIZ CORTEZ PARTICIPATES IN THE TALK “OBJETO ANTIGUO”
Salvadoran artist Beatriz Cortez is participating in the talk "Imaginaries of the Future: Ancient Object", presenting Kaqjay Moloj, the Kaqchikel Research Community and FIEBRE Ediciones. The talk will be moderated by curator Daniela Lieja Quintanar, and is part of the program of the exhibition "Intergalacticxs: Against Isolation", which will be presented at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE). The talk will take place on April 6, 2021, at 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM PDT. See more about the talk here.
See more of Beatriz Cortez here.
Image: Beatriz Cortez. Courtesy the artist.
COLLECTIVE EXHIBITION INTERGALACTICXS: AGAINST ISOLATION AT LOS ANGELES CONTEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS
Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE) is presenting the collective exhibition “Intergalacticxs: Against Isolation”. The exhibition includes works by Salvadorans The Fire Theory, Beatriz Cortez + Kaqjay Moloj and FIEBRE Ediciones, as well as Tanya Aguiñiga, and Cog•nate Collective. “Intergalacticxs: Against Isolation” presents works addressing migration policies that affected Mexico and Central America. The show was curated by Daniela Lieja, who visited El Salvador in 2020. The exhibition will be available by appointment from May 15 to August 14, 2020.
See more about the exhibition here.
Image: Beatriz Cortez, “Memorial for Oscar Alberto Martínez Ramirez and His Daughter Valeria”, 2019. Courtesy LACE and the artist.
VÍCTOR HUGO PORTILLO FINALIST FOR THE BURGENLAND AWARD FOR VISUAL ARTISTS
Austrian-based Salvadoran artist Víctor Hugo Portillo, was selected as one of the 9 finalists for the Burgenland Award for Visual Artists (Förderpreis Bildende Kunst Land Burgenland). Portillo is participating with 3 photographs part of a series where the artist addresses the spaces he inhabits and transits, creating a dialog with the architecture elements of the region, as a metaphor related to migration.
The fifth edition of La Fanzine is now available online. This edition features works by several artists, including Salvadorans Aria XYX, Patricia Trigueros, Jennifer Gómez, Ulises Vaquerano, and Víctor Peña. La Fanzine is a Guatemala-based publication platform focused on LGBTIQ culture.
Image: Ulises vaquerano, “Las edades”. Cortesía del artista. Courtesy the artist.
ARMANDO PERLA PARTICIPATES IN A TALK HOSTED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF LINKOPING
Canada-based Salvadoran curator Armando Perla participated in the webinar “Epistemology of Museums”, hosted by the University of Linkoping in Sweden and the ICOM museology committee. The talk took place on March 10 and addressed different approaches to museology. Other participants included Mário Moutinho, Anna Leshchenko, and was moderated by Olga Zabalueva.
See more about the talk here.
Image: Courtesy Armando Perla.
ARMANDO PERLA PARTICIPATES IN A TALK HOSTED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF LIÈGE
The University of Liège in collaboration with Giusy Pappalardo, from the University of Catania In Sicily, organized the Babel Tower museum people in dialogue webinar series, featuring Canadian-based Salvadoran curator Armando Perla, who will participate in the talk “Museologies and Citizenship”, to be held on April 19, from 15:00 – 17:00 CET. Other panelists include Mário Moutinho, Judite Primo, and Dominique Schoeni. The talk will be held in French.
Register for the event here.
Image: Courtesy Armando Perla.
21 FEATURED IN A PUBLICATION BY DACXILIA S. DERAS
New York-based Salvadoran visual artist and writer Dacxilia S. Deras published the book "El Arte y Yo en Tiempos de Pandemia", where she recounts her experience and compiles daily stories by 21 Salvadoran artists during the confinement due to the Covid 19 global health crisis. The book is available here.
Image: Dacxilia S. Deras, "El arte y yo en tiempos de pandemia en El Salvador". Courtesy the artist.
EL SALVADOR NEWS
URDIR LA TRAMA ROTA, COLLECTIVE EXHIBITION AT THE CULTURAL CENTER OF SPAIN IN EL SALVADOR
The Cultural Center of Spain in El Salvador is presenting the exhibition “Urdir la Trama Rota” at their exhibition hall. Curated by Elena Salamanca, the exhibition presents a series of works created by Salvadoran women between 1921 and 2021, and addresses the history of women in Salvadoran politics and intellectual field. The exhibition opened on March 23 and will be available by appointment until April 30.
See more about the exhibition and register to visit here.
Image: Julia Díaz, “Mujer”. Courtesy Forma Museum.
KAREN GUANDIQUE PARTICIPATES IN CARTAS A ANA MENDIETA
Salvadoran artist Karen Guandique was part of the virtual exhibition "Letters to Ana Mendieta" hosted by Artes Visuales- Cultura Santa Cruz, organized in the context of the V Congress of Postcolonial Feminism. The exhibition, curated by Carina Bidaseca, pays tribute to the renowned Cuban artist. The show opened in December 2020.
Image: Karen Guandique, “Carta a Ana Mendieta”, 2020. Courtesy the artist.
COLLECTIVE EXHIBITION “PASADO Y PRESENTE”
The collective Imprudencia exhibits their work during March in the exhibition "Pasado y Presente". In the exhibition, they appropriate the streets of San Salvador, positioning themselves against gender-based marginalization and the lack of exhibition spaces for photography. The project was curated by Gabriela Novoa, Koral Carballo and Gisela Volá. See more about the exhibition here.
Image: Mónica Torrento. Courtesy the artist.
HUELLAS COLLECTIVE EXHIBITION
Premium Art Gallery presents the collective exhibition Huellas, featurting 15 Salvadoran artists, including Ignasio Basauri, Giovanni Gil, Flor Nuila, Oscar Perez, Evelyn Quinteros, Rodrigo Lopez Arguello (Rolo), Oscar Soles, Roberto Anzora, Betriz de Leon, Alberto Merino, Nahum Nuila, Dinorah Preza, José Retana, Ruben Silhy, and Francisco Zayas. The show opened on March 15 at Bambu City Center in Sam Salvador and will be available until April 5.
Image: Oscar Pérez, “Nacimiento de Venus”. Courtesy the artist.
SÍSIFO COLLECTIVE EXHIBITION AT LUIS POMA THEATER
The collective exhibition “Sísifo” is being presented in the Lobby of Luis Poma Theater. The show presents a selection of works reflecting on Salvadoran context from the twentieth and twenty first centuries. Featured artists include Carmen Elena Trigueros, Natalia Domínguez, Negra Álvarez, Rosa Mena Valenzuela, Antonio Bonilla, Antonio Cañas, Carlos Mejía, José Rodríguez, Luis Cornejo and Roberto Galicia, and was curated by Antonio Romero and Mauricio Kabistan. The show will be on view from March 10 to May 9, 2021.
Image: Luis Cornejo. Courtesy the artist.
ULISES VAQUERANO IN PAPALOTA NEGRA
Papalota Negra presents its 2020 February issue, "Family Route", with illustrations by Salvadoran visual artist Ulises Vaquerano and script by Meme Flores and Patricia Trigueros. "Family Route" collects day-to-day scenes of a family represented by Central American buses.
Read the complete issue here.
See more of Ulises Vaquerano here.
Imagen: Ulises Vaquerano, "Ruta Familiar". Cortesía del artista
BLOG
Arte y cultura en caricatura
By ¨Patricio Majano
Image: Óscar González, "Maria Isable Rodríguez". Courtesy the artist.
The project by Óscar González and Katya Romero represents Salvadoran artists, art professionals and cultural agents through cartoons, focusing on portraying the role the represented person plays in the Salvadoran art scene. González creates the drawing based on a previous research made by Romero.
It is important to highlight some aspects of this project, as its relevance goes beyond the value of the artwork on its own. The project is in a way, historicizing a moment. Every portrait is a documentation of the agents that are part of the current Salvadoran art scene. Therefore, this project is more than a series of drawings, it is also an archive and a genealogy of Salvadoran art.
By presenting a catalog of Salvadoran artists and art professionals, the project also functions as a resource to analyze the art structures functioning in El Salvador. A variety of professionals are being represented, ranging from artists, museum directors, curators, independent art entrepreneurs, and more. This allows us to visualize the nuances of the region, carefully considering each person and its specific role. For instance, when analyzing curatorial practice in El Salvador, it is clearly noticeable that the number of curators represented is significantly smaller than the number of artists.
Image: Óscar González, "Alexandra Regalado". Courtesy the artist.
Finally, one of the most relevant aspects of the project is the fact that it is presented in a very accessible language. Although there is a significant amount of research supporting the series, the final result is visually attractive without neglecting the content. In a way, it reminds of Pablo Helguera’s work. Although Helguera’s work is based in humor and irony, and Gonzalez and Romero’s in homage, both projects allow an in-depth analysis of the art structures from an accessible, non-academic language, ideal for the divulgation of the content to wider audiences.
See the project on Instagram here.
To support the project contact Óscar González and Katya Romero to this email katyacromero@gmail.com
