Art exhibition in Boston: Firelei Báez

[asakiyume]

Magically, I'm able to read this New York Times article by Siddhartha Mitter about this simply gorgeous exhibition by Firelei (beautiful name) Báez.

The tagline for the article says, "History meets flamboyant fantasy in the work of Firelei Báez, whose installation on the waterfront reasserts the importance of the Caribbean in world history."

It's at the Watershed, an exhibition hall in East Boston run by the Institute of Contemporary Art. I'd like to see it. sovay, I thought of you instantly, and you too minoanmiss


In a monumental sculpture, the artist Firelei Báez reimagines the archaeological ruins of the Sans-Souci Palace in Haiti. The architecture of lurching walls and archways surges from the “seafloor” of the ICA Watershed. Firelei Báez and James Cohan; Chuck Choi

In many of her paintings, for instance, she reproduces old maps that chart commerce and development from the perspective of the victors, then paints onto them flamboyant tropical colors and fantastical figures — notably ciguapas, forest creatures in Dominican folklore who roam with ambiguous intent.

Her sculptural installations, too, are rooted in history yet unfold as poetry ...

Past the mural rises the sculptural component: an architecture of tilted walls and archways, as if surging indigo-hued from the seafloor, studded with barnacles. A perforated canopy covers the space, like ocean’s surface, or the night sky.

The installation refers to Sans-Souci, a once-majestic palace in Haiti that marks a time of possibility but also sadness in Caribbean history. It was built in 1813 by Henri Christophe, the former slave who became a revolutionary general, then crowned himself king. His reign was turbulent, ending by suicide in 1820; the palace was devastated by an earthquake in 1842.

“The vision is that it’s emerging from the Atlantic,” Báez said of her construction. “It’s something that is breaking through this watershed and looking outside the marina at how things built up.”

"Báez building Sans Souci, a ruined palace emerging from the Atlantic. Photo: Amani Willett for The New York Times"


“Thinking of centuries of development that have happened here,” the artist said. “What was given and what was taken?” Photo: Amani Willett for The New York Times

More amazing photos and much more discussion at the link at the top of the post.

Comments

[asakiyume]

Right?! Love her vision.