Wilfredo Chiesa / WHITE

Wilfredo Chiesa WHITE

cover:

White No. 1 (La Serenissima) (detail) 2014 oil on canvas 96 x 72 inches

Wilfredo Chiesa White December 2, 2014 – January 3, 2015

Alpha Gallery 37 Newbury Street Boston, Ma 02116 617.536.4465 info@alphagallery.com www.alphagallery.com

White White. What appears to be solid is ethereal. What inspires awe engenders fear. What offers comfort also disturbs. Approach it carefully.

– Paul Hayes Tucker

It is with great pleasure that Alpha Gallery presents our first exhibition of paintings by Wilfredo Chiesa, the internationally recognized artist who has made Boston his home since 1980. Known as a painter as well as a printmaker and creator of artist books and public artworks, Chiesa continues in his newest body of work a life-long interest in the language of abstraction and, more recently, the hidden power of the color white.

Paul Tucker’s statement reflects the ambiguities and contradictions embodied by the color white. Many artists have said that white is the most difficult color—unforgiving and reluctant to cooperate when it is pulled out from the background and placed at the front of the stage.

Chiesa has deliberately placed white at the forefront, drawing out subtle modulations as well as dramatic contrasts. There are passages of vaporous brushwork as well as clearly defined geometric forms.

Other colors such as black or grey attempt to intrude, but the white fights back. In White No. 4 (Halcyon), for example, a series of vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines create an interplay between a grey shape on the left and a predominantly white area on the right. The diagonal edge of the grey shape – a trapezoid of sorts – while echoing a similar

edge in the white area, is also in the process of being swallowed up by white. Or is it the other way around? I am betting on the white.

White is sometimes considered to be the absence of color, just as abstraction is the absence of objective form. Robert Ryman, an artist well-known for his white paintings, has said “I never thought of white as a color…White has a tendency to make other things visible.” Chiesa adopts a similar attitude. In his paintings white makes us more aware of elements such as texture, structure, light and yes, color.

Born in Puerto Rico, and classically trained at the Beaux-Arts style School of the Plastic Arts of Puerto Rico, Chiesa grew increasingly drawn to the Abstract Expressionist movement in New York. As a young artist, he gained exposure to various avant-garde artists through visits to New York (he moved there in 1979) and especially through his friendship with the influential curator Henry Geldzahler. In 1977, Chiesa represented Puerto Rico at the Sao Paulo Biennial and has since had over 30 solo exhibitions throughout Europe, Latin America and the U.S. His work is represented in the collections of numerous museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; El Museo del Barrio and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, both in New York City; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London and the Biblioteque Nationale, Paris, among many others. Chiesa has been a Professor of Art at the University of Massachusetts Boston since 1980.

Joanna Fink November 2014

White No. 1 (La Serenissima) 2014 oil on canvas 96 x 72 inches

White No. 3 2014 oil on canvas 66 x 66 inches

White No. 2 (Wanderlust) 2014 oil on canvas 72 x 96 inches

White No. 4 (Halcyon) 2014 oil on canvas 66 x 66 inches

Caesura 2012 oil on canvas 66 x 48 inches

Inscape 12 2014 oil on canvas 66 x 48 inches

Inscape 7 2014 oil on canvas 16 x 12 inches

Inscape 6 2014 oil on canvas 16 x 12 inches

Envoi #1 2014 oil on canvas 12 x 16 inches

Envoi #2 2014 oil on canvas 12 x 16 inches

Envoi #3 2014 oil on canvas 12 x 16 inches

Inscape 8 2014 oil on canvas 16 x 12 inches

Inscape 9 2014 oil on canvas 16 x 12 inches

Inscape 10 2014 oil on canvas 16 x 12 inches

Inscape 11 2014 oil on canvas 66 x 48 inches

Curriculum Vitæ

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2014 Alpha Gallery, Boston 2013 The Art Cabinet, Nantucket 2011 Jeffrey Leder Gallery, Long Island City 2008 Pierre Menard Gallery, Cambridge 2006 Biaggi Faure Fine Arts, San Juan

The Art Cabinet. Nantucket 2005 Galerie Swanstrom, Boston

The Art Cabinet, Nantucket

Boston Center for the Arts Cyclorama,

Boston 2004 Entre Estudio & Galería, Puebla, Mexico 2002 Peter Findlay Gallery, New York City

Galería Tamara, San Juan 2001 Isole Gallery, Boston 1998 Peter Findlay Gallery, New York City

Elite Gallery, Miami 1997 Andrea Marquit Fine Arts, Boston 1995 Elite Gallery, Miami 1994 Andrea Marquit Fine Arts, Boston 1993 Elite Gallery, Miami 1992 Andrea Marquit Fine Arts, Boston 1991 Galería Rojo y Negro, Madrid, Spin

Leonora Vega Gallery, San Juan 1990 Andrea Marquit Fine Arts, Boston 1988 Luigi Marrozzini Gallery, San Juan 1986 Luigi Marrozzini Gallery, San Juan 1985 Galería Artconsult, Panama City, Panama 1984 Ponce Museum of Art, Puerto Rico

Museum of Modern Art, Bogota ,

Colombia 1983 University of Massachusetts, Boston 1982 San Juan Art Student’s League

Museo Rayo, Roldanillo, Colombia 1979 Thorne’s Gallery, Northampton, Ma 1978 Bell Book and Candle Gallery, San Juan

Cayman Gallery, New York City 1977 La Casa del Libro, San Juan SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2013

Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, PR, “Puerto Rico: Apertura al Paisaje| Feroz/Feraz”

2011 Obra Galería, San Juan, 10th Anniversary

Art Cabinet at Sherbourne Hall, Nantucket 2010 Museum of Contemporary Art, San Juan,

“Careos/ Relevos”

Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, “La Mirada

del Tiempo”

Pierre Menard Gallery, Cambridge,

“Imagine it Thick in Your Own Hair”

Milk Gallery, New York City, “Stoked on Spring”

Jeffrey Leder Gallery, New York, Inaugural

Exhibition

Art Cabinet at Sherburne Hall, Nantucket,

16 Years of ACN 2009 Art Chicago, Peter Findlay Gallery

Aqua Art Fair, Miami, Pierre Menard Gallery 2008 CIRCA PR, Space Other Gallery

Art Chicago, Peter Findlay Gallery 2007 Scope Miami, Space Other Gallery

Peter Findlay Gallery at Art Chicago

Art Cabinet Nantucket Summer Salon 2006 Biaggi & Faure, San Juan, “Maestros de la

Abstracción” 2005 Obra Galería, San Juan, “Maestros de la

Pintura Puertorriqueña”

LatinArte Latino, Dallas, Latin American

Painters 2002 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, “Latin

America on Paper”

Harbor Art Gallery, University of

Massachusetts Boston, “Faculty Show” 2000 Galería de Arte La Caja China, “La Música

de la Caja”, Seville, Spain

Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan,

“Tesoros de la Pintura Puertorriqueña”

Albright-Knox Gallery, Buffalo, New York,

A Walk through the Paper Forest:

Latino Prints and Drawings from El

Museo del Bario 1997 Museo de Las Américas, San Juan,

“Pequeño Formato”

Galería Espacio, San Juan, “Portafolio de

Dibujos”

Susquehanna Art Museum, Harrisburg,

Pennsylvania, “The Art of Diversity”

1996

1995

1993

1992

1990

1989

1988

1986

1986

1985

Art Museum of the Americas, Washington DC/ Museo de Arte de Ponce, Ponce/ Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, “Chiesa, Hernández Cruz, Irizarry, Suárez” Galería Espacio, San Juan, “Espacio Cromático” Elite Gallery, Miami, “Latin American Spectrum” Andrea Marquit Fine Arts, Boston, “Gallery Artists” Chase Manhattan Bank, San Juan, “Preferencia de Artistas” Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, “Creaciones en Papel” Anita Shapolsky Gallery, New York City, “Wilfredo Chiesa-Oscar Paez” Elite Gallery, Miami, “Latin American Spectrum” Museo de Las Américas, San Juan, “El Portafolio Gráfico en Puerto Rico” Elite Gallery, Miami, “Latin American Spectrum” Anita Shapolsky Gallery, New York City, “Latin-Art ‘90” Andrea Marquit Fine Arts, Boston, “The Reductive Image” Norwegian International Print Triennale, Fredrikstad, Norway Boston Center for the Arts, “Above, Beyond and Within” Istituto per la Cultura e l’Arte, Catania, Italia The Space Gallery, Boston Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art, New York, “Abstract Visions” International Biennial of Graphic Art, Ljubljana, Yugoslavia Museum of Modern Art of Latin America,, Washington DC/ Squibb Gallery, Princeton/ Museo de Historia, Antropologia y Arte, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, “Puerto Rican Painting: Between Past and Present” First International Painting Biennial, Cuenca, Ecuador International Print Biennial, Fredrikstad, Noruega

1985

1984

1983

1982

1981

1980

1979 1979

AARON Gallery, Washington DC, “First Latin American Annual” Museo de Arte Moderno, Santo Domingo, “Bienal de Pintura” Museo de Arte de Ponce, Puerto Rico/ Museo del Barrio, New York City, “25 Años de Pintura Puertorriqueña” José M. Lázaro Library, University of Puerto Rico, “El Cartel Abstracto en Puerto Rico” The St. Paul Insurance Company, Minnesota, “Latin American Art” La Caixa, Ibiza, España, “Objetos” Museo del Arsenal, San Juan, “Congreso de Artistas Abstractos” Fourth Biennial of Contemporary Music, San Juan The Chase Manhattan Bank, San Juan, “Arte Actual” Bank of Boston, Boston, “The Massachusetts Banking Fine Arts Collection: Water” Student’s Center Gallery, University of Puerto Rico Northeastern University, Boston, “Encuentros” Bank of Boston, Boston, “Landscapes Reinterpreted” Prospect Park, Brooklyn, “Art Across the Park” Sutton Gallery, New York City, “Paper Assemblages” Fourth Biennial of Art, Medellín, Colombia Henry Street Settlement, New York City Sutton Gallery, New York City, “One of Each” The Children’s Museum, Boston, “The Islands Project” Boston Center for the Arts University of Massachusetts, Boston, “Faculty Show” Fourth Biennial of Latin American Prints, San Juan Sunne Savage Gallery, Boston, “Gallery Artists” University of Massachusetts, Boston, “Faculty Show”

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS (cont.)

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS (cont.)

1978

1977

1974

1973

1971

Center for Inter-American Relations, New York City Boston Visual Artists Union, Boston, “Artist Books” Sao Paulo Biennial, Brazil UNESCO, San Juan, Painting Annual Third Biennial of Latin American Prints, San Juan Museo de Bellas Artes de Puerto Rico, San Juan, “Reyes, Chiesa, Bonilla” Museo de Historia, Antropologia y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, San Juan, “Seis Artistas Jóvenes”

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

Akus Gallery, Eastern Connecticut State University Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Harvard University Lowe Museum of Art, Miami University of Massachusetts, Boston The Boston Public Library The New York Public Library Princeton University The Library of Congress El Museo del Barrio, New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City Museo de Arte Moderno, Bogotá, Colombia Museo Rayo, Roldanillo, Colombia Museo Vial, Roldanillo, Colombia Museo de Arte de Medellín, Colombia Biennial of Medellín Collection, Colombia Museo de Arte Moderno, Sao Paulo, Brazil Victoria and Albert Museum, London Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris International Print Museum, Fredrikstad, Norway Istituto per la Culture e l´Arte, Catania, Italia Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan Museo de Arte de Ponce, Puerto Rico La Casa del Libro, San Juan Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, University of Puerto Rico

Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan Interamerican University, San Juan

PUBLIC ART AND COMMISSIONS

ALBUS. INDIGO. Two Large-scale Painting commissioned by Congress Group ventures for 33 Arch Street, Boston, 2004 RES IPSA LOQUITUR, Mural Painting, School of Law, University of Puerto Rico, 1988 BLANCO ESPAÑA, Large-scale Painting commissioned by The Massachusetts Institute of Spain, Madrid, 1987 LA ROSA NERA, Public Installation with Marcos Irizarry, Campo di Santa Margarita, Venice, Italy, 1984 AURORA, Large Scale Hand-Made Paper commissioned by The Bank of Boston, 1993 PUEBLO VIEJO, Billboard, Museo Vial, Museo Rayo, Roldanillo, Colombia, 1982 SALITRE, Public Installation, Prospect Park, New York City

ARTIST’S BOOKS

VISIÓN APARENTE, Nine Intaglio Prints,

Boston, 1988

TANGO, Seven Silkscreen Prints with Poems

by Anthony Petrosky, Boston, 1982

RELATOS DE UN PAISAJE ASESINADO,

Twelve Silkscreen Prints with Poems by

Tomás López Ramírez and music of Rafael

Aponte-Ledée, San Juan, 1976 DISTINCTIONS

Artist In Residence, Boston Center for the

Arts, 2003-2004

Member, Academy of Art, Ciencia e Historia

de Puerto Rico

Artist In Residence, The Artist Foundation,

Boston, 1982

Fellow, The McDowell Colony, 1981

DISTINCTIONS (cont.)

EDUCATION

Artist in Residence, Massachusetts Council for the Arts, 1980 First Honorary Prize, Painting, UNESCO, San Juan, 1977 Grant, Fondo de Becas para las Artes Plásticas, San Juan, 1976 Grant, Fundación Martínez-Cañas, San Juan, 1975opi First Prize, Print, United Federal Savings, San Juan, 1974 Honorary Prize, Print, Ateneo Puertorriqueño, San Juan, 1973 First Prize, 450th Anniversary of San Juan, Casa de España, San Juan, 1973

School of Plastic Arts of Puerto Rico, BFA, 1972

TEACHING

Professor, University of Massachusetts, Boston

Faculty, Art New England Summer Workshops

at Bennington College, Vermont, 1996 and 2000

Adjunct Faculty, Wellesley College, 1987

Instructor, Liga de Arte, San Juan, 1976-1977

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Review Board, Drawing, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, 2004 Public Art Commission, Cambridge Arts Council, Massachusetts, 1997-2001 Board of Directors, The Space Gallery, Boston, 1989-1993 Visual Arts Advisor, Dante Alighieri Society of Boston, 1990 Review Board, Painting, Massachusetts College of Art, 1990 Panelist, Symposium, “Latin Americ Awakens”, Massachusetts College of Art, 1989 Guest Artist, Graduate Program, Painting, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 1988 Panelist, Symposium, “25 Años de Pintura Puertorriqueña”, Museo del Barrio, New York City, 1986 Review Board, Painting, Massachusetts College of Art, 1986 Guest Artist, Montserrat College of Art, Massachusetts, 1980 Advisory Board, Massachusetts Council for the Arts, 1980 Chief, Division of Painting, Centro Nacional de las Artes, San Juan, 1975

©Alpha Gallery 2014