Artist in Residence Augustin Di Luciano, White ink on black paper. (Photo taken by Irene Sperber)
It is impossible to leave Aluna Art Foundation (AAF) and Aluna Curatorial Collective without a head full of ideas and concepts to feed your need for deeper thinking. Living is complicated. The arts can help de-snarl the mind.
Artist in Residence Flor Godward. (Photo by Irene Sperber)
My recent visit to their new venue was a treat. Now located in the 1934 historic Tower Hotel grounds in Little Havana, the hotel adds a multidimensional back story. I met with the charming and well-informed co-founder, curator and writer Adriana Herrara who walked me through the first exhibitions in their recently acquired space. Herrera directs the AAF along with co-founder, artist, historian and curator Willy Castellanos.
Herrera analyzed the pieces in both exhibitions. The first show is inspired by “The Aleph” based on the book of the same name by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges, who is regarded as a central figure in 20th century Spanish-language literature. Herrera stresses the origins of the title of the exhibition; “The Aleph” is the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet, it does not have a sound but includes the intention of everything, like the beginning of creation.”
We discussed the message of needing to pay attention, to slow down, to really see. A message that may be difficult for the short attention span of our modern life of constant movement and gear switching, often missing deeper meaning. This explanation alone can take up a generous amount of thought.
"(This exhibition ) . . . “was born from the dialogue with an artist," said Herrara. "He was explaining his piece, and said to me ‘when I am looking at my drawing now, inside my drawing I seem to see a black hole.’ When he told me that, I thought about The Aleph. I said ‘We can create an exhibition and we should encourage people to find the Aleph in each piece.’” From there the exhibition took shape."
Rubén Torres Llorca's exhibition opens Saturday, Sept. 6 (Photo courtesy of AAF)
Herrara said that one of the twelve participating artists (and artist in residence), Augustin Di Luciano, grabbed his attention with several of his concepts. White pen and ink on a black background creates an intense switch from the more common black pen and ink combo, yin and yang flipped, with a freedom of movement that magnetically pulls the viewer into his work. Di Luciano is one of the four artists in-house residency participants at Tower Space, there for a two month intensive.
"He plopped a VR headset on me and off I went into his world, happily virtually interacting with Di Luciano’s effervescent drawings," recalled Herrara. "I was not bored for one tiny second at Aluna. My interest was equally taken by a book he produced with moving images of his ideas. Entirely dedicated to his art the last five years, Di Luciano had been a programmer for big tech companies but always wanted to be a full time artist. There is something about a scientific brain coupled with an ethereal artist sensibilities that is a riveting combo. I leaned in to discuss his creative language."
“The Aleph” is only on exhibition through Saturday, August 30, so make it a priority to get over there ASAP.
Catch “The Family of Artists” exhibition (through Saturday, Nov. 15) in the Tower Hotel along with “The Aleph” in the Aluna gallery space, all part of the complex called the Tower Space, a “project conceived in collaboration with Barlington Group.” (Barlington Group is a real estate investment and development company).
For “The Aleph” show, twelve artists bring the viewer from close ups of nature to the outer universe with deeply original work. Each piece begins the journey of looking closer, finding more depth in each message. Life is complicated. Pay attention.
Artist in Residence Ramón Williams with AAF co-founder and curator Adriana Herrara, Miami Photographic Observatory. (Photo by Irene Sperber)
Underlining how symmetry encourages the world to make sense, we are led to understand how one atom is similar to the larger picture. An atom, the minimum particle, is as big as the entire universe.
I was relieved when I first realized, many moons ago, that repetitive mathematical patterns occur in the simplest form and move throughout the grand scheme. I calmed down knowing that, yes, there was some sense in the world. Game changer. A good reason to attend art exhibitions, to dive into artist’s reasoning as they spend copious time with wider concepts. Aluna has a lot going on . . . it can take me a minute to get my arms around what is before me, but always worth it. At this juncture, Hererra is urging me to “Go deeper.” I peer into tiny holes of a piece that exposes an entire universe.
The Miami Photographic Observatory (MPhO) is a concept that opened with the first invited Artist in Residence. Ramón Williams has documented his images of Miami since arriving in 1996. Born and educated in Cuba, Williams underlines Miami’s varied personalities, from its flashy exterior reputation to a more gutsy approach with images of old faded walls, telling muted tales of a grittier page while decades moved along and through to its current self. His series of photographs, “Trace Crop Off” clarifies.
We moved from the building housing the four residencies, walking across the central outdoor courtyard and on into the 1934 Tower Hotel lobby for an exhibition titled “The Family of Artists.”
Twenty four artists, inspired by their families, drew from deeply meaningful moments to participate, each artist bringing a different technique in their portraitures both actual and metaphoric. I first had to absorb the refurbed (but not excessive) lobby of the historic accommodations, still operating as a hotel all these years later. The architecture takes viewers back to another story of Miami’s past eras . . . the open archways from room to room, a large fireplace with comfy couches hovering nearby to remove any chill an occasional Miami winter evening might bestow. A sweet open garden connects the one story Aluna gallery space, with the two story building housing four artists residences, to the hotel. It is a step back into a more tropical head. The front door is still the original.
“Family of Artist” Exhibition in Tower Hotel lobby. (Photo courtesy of AAF)
Save room on your creative palette for the next exhibition opening in the Aluna Space a week after “The Aleph” closes.
Rubén Torres Llorca, a pioneer of contemporary Cuban art in the 1980s will swoop into the gallery with his show “Books Are Burning.” There are rumors that his work “dismantles rules of the game.” The show's blurb “invites the viewer to explore the tension between social ritual and contemporary aesthetics.”
Though Llorca is an earlier artist, his topics seem remarkable contemporary. He works in conceptual art, through painting, drawing, sculpture, collage, and photography. AAF asked Llorca to “assemble a personal exhibition”. It opens Saturday, Sept. 6 and is on exhibition through Saturday, Nov. 15. We better get on the invitation list for that opening. Note that you should make an appointment before visiting any of the sites (see info below).
Herrara explains the complex succinctly: Exhibitions at the Aluna Art Foundation and the Miami Photographic Observatory, along with the art interventions and exhibitions in the Tower Hotel, are all curated by the Aluna Curatorial Collective. The Tower Hotel also houses four art studios (Flor Godward, Agustín Di Luciano, Ángela Bolaños, and Gretel Capriles), which together form the Tower Art Space in the heart of Little Havana.”
The non-profit AAF bills itself as an “alternative art space of Aluna Curatorial Collective,” “devoting its space and vision to support the development of contemporary artistic practices within the city, opening a cultural interchange with the international art scene.”
WHAT: Aluna Arts Foundation, 1444 SW 7 St., Miami
WHEN: Open by appointment at any time from Thursday to Saturday
INFO: Adriana Herrera at (786) 587-7214 or www.alunartfoundation.com
