On April 18 and 19, Puerto Rico will celebrate its second “Pulguero de los Artistas” (Artists’ Flea Market), an unusual display of art in which artists display their work to the general public in park-like surroundings and are present to chat and answer questions from people who generally do not go to art galleries. It includes the work of both established and new artists. A project of artist Carmelo Sobrino and cultural producer Lisa Ladner, the idea is that of exhibiting art in an “experimental market” instead of a gallery. It has two objectives-that of experimenting with new forms and opening the work to new audiences, and that of creating new markets in difficult financial times. The “pulguero” will take place at the Pabellón de la Paz (Peace Pavillion) of the Muñoz Rivera Park in Old San Juan. They are expecting the participation of more than 65 artists.
Rosario Ferré, one of Puerto Rican literature’s most prolific and best known writers, will be featured prominently at the “pulguero”-as a painter. Her 39 “internal landscapes,” a series of watercolors she began painting two years ago, when she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, reflect a style that can be seen as flowing seamlessly from the literature. As the press release announcing her participation explains, in the work “realism is interwoven with the subconscious while surrealism goes hand in hand with concrete references which Ferré, a lover of art, makes to the work of artists such as Marc Chagall.” Ferré will display landscapes she remembers from her travels, populated by figures that grow organically from the trees and the earth. These paintings, Ferré has said, show us what moves her as she begins to lose her capacity for speech-love, pain, dreams, memories, and fantasy.
For an announcement of the event (in Spanish) go to http://www.universia.pr/portada/noticia_actualidad.jsp?noticia=40345
For the event’s website (which includes information for artists wishing to exhibit their work) go to http://www.el-status.com/pulguero/ (They will be accepting applications until the day of the event.)
[...] Rosario Ferré (Ponce, 1938), one of Puerto Rico’s major authors, began to write professionally at age 14. As a student at the University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras, she was the founder (along with late writer Olga Nolla) and editor of the journal Zona de Carga y Descarga. A prolific writer, Ferré holds a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland and has taught at the University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras, Rutgers University, and Johns Hopkins University. [Also see Rosario Ferré to Exhibit Her Watercolors at Artists’ Flea Market.] [...]
By: The “Antología Personal” Series: Rosario Ferré « Repeating Islands on July 26, 2009
at 12:51 pm
[...] Rosario Ferré (Ponce, 1938), one of Puerto Rico’s major authors, began to write professionally at age 14. A prolific writer, Ferré holds a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland and has taught at the University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras, Rutgers University, and Johns Hopkins University. [Also see her art work in previous post Rosario Ferré to Exhibit Her Watercolors at Artists’ Flea Market.] [...]
By: The Ponce Museum of Art Presents Series on Rosario Ferré « Repeating Islands on April 9, 2011
at 10:33 am