Elia Alba: Busts

New York, NY (November, 2009): Black & White Gallery is very pleased to present Busts - the dynamic and thought provoking exhibition by the New York based artist Elia Alba.

The exhibition features 30 busts placed on pedestals to emulate a presentation of classical art and artifacts. Alba transformed unique photographs she took of her close family and friends into life size head and chest sculptures. Utilizing her typical manipulation of photography, fabric, and portraiture, Elia Alba’s latest series, Busts, removes all of these elements from their usual 2-D existence and creates 3-D sculptures that convey both the materiality of the medium and the humanity of the subjects. Each bust stares at the viewer, some forlorn and serious, others smirking knowingly. Some busts stand alone and resolute, such as Catlin, whose hair covers much of the bust, while other busts stand in relation to themselves, as in Two Cacys, where Alba duplicated one person in order to shine a light on his dual nature. Whereas in previous bodies of work, Alba has attempted to obfuscate race, gender, and identity with masks and staging, with Busts, Alba reveals her subjects’ true personas.

Elia Alba (*1962) is a multi-media artist whose work has been exhibited and screened at various national and international institutions, including Yerba Buena Center for the Arts; El Museo del Barrio; The RISD Museum; Valencia Institute of Modern Art, IVAM, Spain; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; ARCO, Madrid; Jersey City Museum; Science Museum, London; and ITAU Cultural Institute, Sao Paolo, Brazil, and most recently the 10th Havana Biennial. Her awards have included the Whitney Museum Van Lier Foundation Fellowship 2001; Studio Museum in Harlem, Artist in Residence Fellowship Program (1998-1999), New York Foundation for the Arts Grant (Crafts 2002 and Photography 2008); Pollack-Krasner Foundation Grant (2002) and Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant (2002 and 2008). Her work has been reviewed in the Art Nexus, The Guardian, Time Out, FlashArt, Tema Celeste and The New York Times. Ms. Alba received her Bachelor of Arts (Specials Honors Curriculum) from Hunter College in 1994 where she graduated magna cum laude and completed the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program in 2001. Elia Alba lives and works in Queens, NY

Image: Busts (Catlin), 2009
photo transfer on fabric, acrylic, thread, metal armature, life size

¡Aquí! (Here) – An Uptown Latino Art Exhibition

¡Aquí! (Here) – An Uptown Latino Art Exhibition at the NoMAA Gallery

September 25 – December 30

¡Aqui! (Here) is the first group exhibition of its kind at NoMAA’s newly inaugurated gallery space in Washington Heights. ¡Aqui! (Here) exposes works by local artists depicting their creative experiences within our neighborhoods, as well as celebrate Latino arts and cultures uptown from September (Hispanic heritage month) through December 2009. A panel of jurors selected the fifteen artists exhibiting in the show whose work was curated by Rocío Aranda-Alvarado, Associate Curator, Special Projects at El Museo del Barrio.

¡Aqui! (Here) es la primera exposición colectiva de este tipo que albergará la recientemente inaugurada galería de arte de NoMAA, en Washington Heights. ¡Aqui! (Here) muestra obras de artistas locales acerca de sus experiencias creativas dentro de nuestras vecindades, y servirá para celebrar las artes y culturas Latinas del Alto Manhattan desde septiembre (mes de la herencia hispana) hasta diciembre 2009. Quince artistas fueron seleccionados por un jurado para exhibir su trabajo en esta exposición curada por Rocío Aranda-Alvarado, Associate Curator, Speical Projects, El Museo del Barrio.

Artists:

Andrea Arroyo

Alta Berri

Héctor Canonge

Lucho Capellán

Niccolo Cataldi

Florencio Gelabert

Anthony Gonzalez

Maggie Hernandez

Jessica Lagunas

Roni Mocan

Dionis Ortiz

Frank Polanco

Rojelio Reyes Rodriguez

Rider Ureña

Chinitas Yon

info@nomaanyc.org

Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance

178 Bennett Avenue, 3rd Floor (at 189th Street)

Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday 11am-5pm

NoMAA’s mission is to cultivate, support and promote the works of artists and arts organizations in Northern Manhattan. Since 2007, NoMAA has been serving and promoting the works of artists in these communities as well as developing partnerships with businesses and other organizations to increase the visibility of this area of Manhattan. NoMAA’s programs include the Regrant Program, Technical Assistance Institute, NoMAA Website, NoMAA E-Newsletter, Uptown Arts Stroll, First Thursdays Arts and Business Stroll, and the NoMAA Artists’ Salon.

Dominican Artists in the Bronx!

Samaná: Images of the Dominican Republic features photographs by Marino Corniel, Elaine Eversley and Ryan Mann-Hamilton of the Samaná peninsula which was settled in the 1820s by freed slaves from the United States. Portraits and landscapes of this unique region with a special emphasis on the descendants of the African-American settlers and the impact of development projects on the environment and the traditional cultures of the peninsula. This show is a presentation of Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture and is curated by Wallace I. Edgecombe. On view in the Main Gallery September 28 through November 7.

New slideshow

Hello all, we've just added a slide show featuring images from the Curatorial Team's visit to Curaçao and Aruba. Among the images are pictures of our visits to Landhuis Kenepa, the Mongui Maduro Library, and an architectural tour of the historic Otrobanda neighborhood in Willemstad, Curaçao.

TWO GREAT SHOWS FEATURING LATINAS...

This week, two exhibitions featuring Caribbean Latinas have opened. A solo show of work by Dominicana Firelei Baez, http://fireleibaez.com/, at Kaffe 1664 (a fab coffee shop at 275 Greenwich St., NYC) and "A Black and White World" at Black and White Gallery (Chelsea Terminal Warehouse 636 W. 28th St.) featuring the work of New York-born Dominicana, Elia Alba, http://eliaalba.com/.