PORTRAIT OF THE SELF Dario Posada SOLO SHOW Curator Noor Blazekovic
Lucian Freud and the Truth of the Body The painter captured the imperfections of the flesh so completely that they became a kind of perfection. Posada’s works are among the Old Masters’: still-lifes and landscapes tend to be as individuated as fingerprints, but the naked body provokes a more generalized reaction. The nude in art should come in as many varieties as there are bodies in the world, but tends to fall, instead, into two distinct clumps, or lines: the Suspiciously Perfect and the Depressingly Truthful.
Cover: The Garden of Earthly Delights Self Portrait: Inspired by Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights, oil on oak panels, 205.5 cm × 384.9 cm (81 in × 152 in), Museo del Prado, Madrid Right: Lucian Freud Homage: Mixed Media on Canvas. 186 x139 in. 2012
The most seductive thing about art is the personality of the artist himself. Paul Cézanne
Portraiture is a very old art form, going back at least to ancient Egypt, where it flourished about 5,000 years ago. Before the invention of photography, a painted, sculpted, or drawn portrait was the only way to record the appearance of someone. But portraits have always been more than just a record. They have been used to show the power, importance, virtue, beauty, wealth, taste, learning, or other qualities of the sitter. Portraits have almost always been flattering, and painters who refused to flatter tended to find their work rejected. A notable exception was Francisco Goya, in his apparently bluntly truthful portraits of the Spanish royal family. Among leading modern artists, portrait painting on commission, that is, to order, has become increasingly rare. Instead, artists painted their friends and lovers in whatever way they pleased. Posada’s self-portraits are an interesting sub-group of portraiture and can often be highly selfrevelatory.
The Execution Of Emperor Maximilian Mexico 36 x 28in Mixed Media on canvas. 2022. Inspired by The Execution Of Emperor Maximilian Mexico 1867 by Manet
THE MIAMI DADE COLLEGE HIALEAH CAMPUS CULTURAL CENTER
The Miami Dade College- Hialeah Campus is a pluralistic space where autonomous perspectives can enter into dialogue and debate with one another. The Miami Dade College Hialeah Campus- Cultural Center was originally established with the support of a Knight Arts Challenge grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in 2015. The center’s mission is to celebrate the arts and culture of the Hialeah and MDC community by providing opportunities for students and visitors to interact with innovative and unique multi-disciplinary exhibitions.
https://www.mdc.edu/hialeah/
What Does the Artist Reveal with Self-Portraits?
Earlier historical cultural painting traditions—of tribes, religions, guilds, royal courts, and states—largely controlled the craft, form, imagery, and subject matter of painting and determined its function, whether ritualistic, devotional, decorative, entertaining, or educational. Painters were employed more as skilled artisans than as creative artists. Later, the notion of the “fine artist” developed in Asia and Renaissance Europe. Prominent painters were accorded the social status of scholars and courtiers; they signed their work, decided on its design and, in many cases, subject and imagery, and developed a more personal—if not always amicable—relationship with their patrons.
Dario Posada Self-Portraits depict the artist as a humble tinkerer. The artist, dressed in a worn painting apron, stands at the center of the composition, the painting’s ostensible focus. However, upon closer inspection, it is the eccentric objects surrounding Posada (many of which frequently appear in the artist’s signature paintings) that steal the show. The self-portrait is used by the artist to question the past while acknowledging the work of other historical painters. Self Portrait Apron Series: 12x12 in Mixed Media on canvas. 2021
Why Study Art from the Past? Art from the past holds clues to life in the past. By looking at a work of art’s symbolism, colors, and materials, we can learn about the culture that produced it. Looking at art from the past contributes to who we are as people. Artist Dario Posada’s works are constantly studying art from the past, offering an important portrait of the historical and cultural view of a country. Studying art from the past Posada helps us understand the evolution of a country and why it changed when it did. Art helps a society evolve in its own way, which is why there are different styles of art in different countries. Without art, there wouldn’t be any visual representations of the past, which means that people might have doubts because art can be reviewed as historical evidence for how people lived in the past.
Detail Self Portrait with Nanny: 64x48 in Mixed Media on Wood panel. 2021 Inspired by Father, Daugthers, Nurse, 1850 Deguerreotype, Digital Image courtey of Getty’s Open Content Program, J. Paul Getty Museum
Self Portrait with Nanny: 64x48 in Mixed Media on Wood panel. 2021 Inspired by Father, Daugthers, Nurse, 1850 Deguerreotype, Digital Image courtey of Getty’s Open Content Program,
Burkas Series: Dimensions variable. Braided Macramé , Recycled cotton cord, Bulb and electric wire, 2021
Art will remain the most astonishing activity of mankind born out of struggle between wisdom and madness, between dream and reality in our mind. Magdalena Abakanowicz
Detail, Self Portrait with Nanny: 64x48 in Mixed Media on Wood panel. 2021
The beginning: Dimensions variable | Macramé | Recycled cotton cord 2021
Right: Release: Dimensions variable | Macramé | Recycled cotton cord | 2021 Left: The beginning: Dimensions variable | Macramé | Recycled cotton cord | 2021
Venus in front of the mirror: Velazquez Homage 84x48 in. Mixed Media on Wood panel. 2022
What is the purpose of an art exhibition? As a curator who works primarily on solo exhibitions with emerging artists, I see the purpose of the exhibition as a pivotal moment, an opportunity for an artist to understand the progression of their practice and to connect with the community. It allows for public critique, celebration, and connection. I think artists often push towards that solo exhibition moment, knowing the moment it marks throughout their careers, and that push is necessary. But from my perspective, the work that follows their solo exhibition is often more interesting. It is only after this release, presentation, and movement from studio practice into public space in a high-stakes context that artists are able to grow. Noor Blazekovic Curator Photography by Jorgelys Taberoa Instagram @curlyjor