Latin American Art, Artists, Artworks, Art Galleries, Museums, Art Community and Art Resources.

Using diverse strategies and materials, spanning from the installation of light filters and translucent materials to the use of photography, the Brazilian artist Lucia Koch critically dissects the issues of space. Introducing subtle alternations in private and public spaces, she questions what constitutes a space, how do we create it and how do we live it. Working in situ, the artist departs from the particularity of a location to reshape its experience and open up new perspectives on its structures and functions. However, in her site-specific interventions the original space always remains legible. Koch modifies a space without erasing its singularity. As such, her work simultaneously locates the viewer both inside and outside a space—in an ambiguous position, which generates a critical attitude toward architecture and its effects.

Lucia Koch’s exhibition at Lucía de la Puente, Un Tour, was centered around/on a wall. Characterized by its irregular curved form, its undulating surface, and its brown color, the wall articulated the antithesis to the rational architecture of the gallery. Diagonally installed, it distorted the spatial unity of the room and obliged the visitors to make ‘un tour’ in what is normally an open surveyable space. By altering the gallery space and choreographing the visitors movement, Koch’s exhibition articulated a critical exploration of the significance of the gallery as a physical space and as a defining context.

Koch’s wall created two spaces, both marked by the conflict between the geometric architecture of the gallery and the organic design of the wall. In the first space the gallery context disappeared in favor of the physical space. The wall did not appear as an object but as an element emphasizing the spatial structure of the gallery. In the second space, however, the gallery context prevailed due to the presence of a photograph of the interior of an coffee package, enlarged to an architectural scale (Café extra-forte, 2011). The wall no longer appeared as an structural element; instead, it appeared as a sculpture, reflecting the qualities of borders, separations, and divisions—or what could be called the aesthetics of walls. Consequently, instead of simply contrasting ‘the white cube’, the wall created two dialoguing rooms, which both, in turn, challenged the experience of the gallery with the presence and absence of objects.

If the wall altered the space structurally, the photograph Café extra-forte transformed it illusorily. Yet both evoked the expansion of space beyond the visual and physical borders surrounding us. The wall was perforated but not transparent; thus it incorporated the presence of the other side without making it visually accessible. Similarly, the photograph virtually expanded the room only to impose yet another border. Through this process of creating and denying spaces, Lucia Koch emphasizes the surface of walls as an element of communication between the inside and the outside, the internal and the external—a motive that also returns in her photographic series Cono Norte (2011).

Café extra-forte prefaced the four photographs exhibited in the last room of the gallery. Produced during the artist’s travels through el Cono Norte, the northern district of Lima, this series reflects her impressions of the regional architecture. Each photo exposes the interior of a box, marked by cuts and in some cases colors. Parallel to her series of Amostras de Arquitetura, they represent specific architectural spaces on a miniature scale. Whereas most of the photos only display basic interiors, such as Los Olivos, 2011, others have more elaborate designs, such as San Martin de Porres, 2011. Through their differences, the photographs demonstrate the heterogeneity of the architecture of the region. Heavily influenced by a massive rural urban migration and a decade of intense economic activity, el Cono Norte is marked by a persistent conflict between center and the periphery, wealth and poverty. As one of the most populated areas of Peru, its architectural landscape is in a state of flux. Koch expresses the transitoriness inherent to this situation with the use of cardboard boxes. In the photograph San Martin de Porres, 2011, this material yields a beautiful confrontation with the elegant design, making explicit the coexistence of divergent realities within this zone.

Although Lucia Koch’s work incessantly suggests the endless expansion of space, it stops short of actually showing what lies beyond the sphere of the interior. Only vague impressions of the outside penetrate the cut out windows in the Cono Norte series. Nonetheless, far from recovering the interior at the expense of the exterior, Koch focuses on the borders and transitions between the inside and the outside through her ongoing interest in windows, walls, and other visual filters. Empty and thus reduced to their structure, the interiors render a direct confrontation with spatial limitations that continuously surround us all. Going further still, each one being unique, they also represent intimate personal spaces which, uncovered, expose barriers between you and the other.

Exhibition: Lucia Koch, Un Tour

Venue: Lucia de la Puente, Lima

Author: Laurens Dhaenens

Artists, Contemporary Art, Exhibitions, Galleries, General, Photography architecture, Arquitetura, Brazilian artist, choreograph, coffee, exhibition, geometric, installation, landscape, Lima, Lucía de la Puente, Lucia Koch, perspectives, Peru, photography, physical space, public spaces, sculpture, spatial

An Interview with Peter Fetterman director of Peter Fetterman Gallery.

Peter Fetterman

Peter Fetterman was buzzing around his booth at the Dallas Art Fair as I was walking around. We made eye contact, got closer and asked each other who we were. Great guy with a thick British accent, I had instant chemistry with him. I wasted no time and asked if I could have an interview and he was ready to collaborate with me. It was the last day of the fair and he had many clients coming back to buy what they had seen over the weekend so my visit lasted for over one hour but the interview was only 11 minutes long. 

Laura Cunningham: How long have you been collecting?

Peter Fetterman: I have been collecting for 30 years.

LC: Have you only collected photographs?

PF: That is correct. I specialized in photography from the beginning.

LC: What got you interested in Latin American photography?

PF: I like the humanism in the images and I think that people from Latin America have a genuine sense of caring and reality, basic human values which maybe a lot of other cultures don’t have. They are very nice, kind, sensitive people – full of life – and sensitive to other people’s problems and a sense of humanity.

LC: Have you always had a gallery to display your photographs?

PF: I started as a private dealer for 3 years and then I opened my first public gallery 17 years ago. Now I am based in Santa Monica, California. I am British by birth and I moved to America 30 years ago. I was a film maker but I got seduced by the power of images – still images – and it changed my life.

LC: Do you only collect Black & White photographs?

PF: I deal primarily with Black & White; it is more powerful for me.

LC: Have you ever lived in any Latin American country?

PF: I have not. I would like to.

LC: Would you tell me more about the Latin American photographers you carry?

PF: Sure, I think Sebastiao Salgado is probably the most important living photographer. He was born in Brazil and lives in Paris. He has a really global view. That’s his ethos. I really think he is the greatest living photographer. I spend a big part of my day on him.

Sebastiao Salgado – Gold Mine 1986

LC: What would you consider to be the main difference between Sebastiao Salgado versus Manuel Alvarez Bravo or Tina Modotti or Graciela Iturbide?

PF: I think because he travels so much he documents the world, and I think that both Bravo or Modotti who I love were very confined only to Mexico, where as Salgado is a Brazilian photographer that has a global vision an he is an economist that has an understanding on how the world works in particular how the third world works and how its relationship with the first world works because of his training as an economist. He is not just a photographer; he is a highly intelligent, analytical person with a great talent, with a great vision and he knows how to tell stories and he knows how to move people and he knows how to show things that he wishes.  

Manuel Álvarez Bravo – El Sueño 1931

LC: Do you collect any other type of art; paintings, sculptures…

PF: Occasionally, I collect some paintings, I like drawings, and sometimes I trade with other art dealers. Over the years you find things you fall in love with.

LC: What moves you?

PF: My daughter “princess Charlotte” and theatre.

LC: What’s your favorite play?

PF: Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, It makes me cry every time I see it.

This was a little bit about Peter Fetterman. A gentleman, easy to talk to. I hope to visit his gallery soon and pick his brain a little more so I may share with all of you. If you want to learn more about the photographers he represents, please visit www.PeterFetterman.com.

Until next time,

Laura Cunningham

Director

Art Fairs, Artists, Collections, Dallas Art Fair, Exhibitions, Fine Art, Galleries, General Arthur Miller, Black & White, California, collectors, Dallas Art Fair, Death of a Salesman, gallery, Graciela Iturbide, Latin America, Latin American photography, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, paintings, Peter Fetterman Gallery, photographer, photographs, photography, private dealer, Santa Monica, sculptures, Sebastiao Salgado, still images, theatre, Tina Modotti

Carlos Betancourt I stumbled upon Carlos Betancourt when visiting the booth of Ruiz-Healy Art at the Dallas Art Fair . After talking to the owner and director Patricia Ruiz-Healy, she told me that the artist that created the artwork I kept looking at was present at the fair. I got to interview him the next day. Carlos Betancourt is a Puerto Rican artist living and working in Miami. Betancourt is a gifted photographer; he possesses an exceptional skill to arrange colors to conform a perfect fusion. Betancourt’s imagination goes beyond any boundaries with a persistent order that arranges its characters in stark positions to create harmony, sometimes from total chaos. He assembles and juxtaposes an infinite number of objects creating a flashy but perfectly harmonious work of art. Plus, he is a really cool guy to talk to.

Carlos Betancourt: “Look at this chair!… I’ve never met him and I would love to share with him one day.”

(Betancourt talking about the similarities between his work and Michael Craig Martin’s).

Laura Cunningham: So were you influenced by him or was it pure coincidence?

CB: No, these are some things that I was influenced by prior and then I see Michael Craig Martin’s recent works and there are parallels, it’s fascinating, when things like these happen between artists. I would love to share with him one day. I haven’t met him I just know his works through the years; I would like to introduce myself and tell him that he is really influential on my work. I think one of the most important things is being influential to others. I hope he takes it like that. I’ve heard he is a great guy.

LC: How were you introduced to painting?

CB: Painting, I think is the natural progression. It’s a 5k thing if you’re going to be an artist and that’s how it started since I was a little kid painting. My goals were architecture and design for many years. I always wanted to leave painting aside being a visual artist but I was helpless against what you know is your destiny. So I painted for many years went to art school got my degree in design, never stopped painting aside and all the progressions down to photography. I work in many disciplines: performance arts, installations, sculptures, and a lot of 3 dimensional works but always with a similar language that keeps on growing, I like to say I keep on adding pages to the book, chapters, there are a lot of parallels between my paintings and my photography too.

LC: So besides Craig Martin who else influences your works?

CB: At different times, different people from Cindy Sherman, The architects are very important to me like Morris Lapidus. I just had a solo show in Miami called “Lapidus Infinitus” after Morris Lapidus. Jeff Koons’ big time, the simplicity of thought and yet totally complex, he welcomes all things kitsch which I do. Damien Hirst has an influence in every contemporary artist. I like a lot of artists that have to do with my work. I have a great collection of contemporary art.

LC: Do you have a favorite?

CB: Consistently favorite I have to say Jeff Koons but from the big ones mhh… all I have from Michael Craig Martin is a signed catalogue! (He laughs out loud). I love Peter Beard, I love his photography, very eclectic but Lapidus always surfaces, you see him in my work even photos of him. I do a lot of reference to the artists that have influenced me or architects, pop cultures, figures. So if you see (looking at one of his works) I do have a direct connection with artists that influence me.

LC: Artists complain about lack of freedom when working with commissioned work. Do you work differently with a commissioned work?

 CB: With commission work I collaborate with Alberto Latorre which is an architect I know from many years, so by its nature I’m already collaborating with someone else. It’s really hard to get these commission works if you don’t have a team. Alberto thinks parallel to me and has very similar approaches maybe more minimalist than me. In commissions you compromise more. You are working with a team, you are working with someone that has set you some boundaries and I have no problem with that. I enjoy the challenge of limiting myself. I always say as an artist you have so much freedom and the ultimate expression of freedom is being an artist. You can wake up and be whatever you want and contradict yourself the next day if you want to, really, and it’s ok. So you do have to work with certain boundaries to really create your voice and your language at the same time.

LC: What are these boundaries specifically?

CB: I think they are more physical than poetic, they are site specific. I think the artist no matter what, wants to get his true identity across and he will fight for that but you can’t compromise with composition, skill, materials, and if they don’t have a big impact on your concept, if you are working with conceptual art, if the material is significant then you cannot change it, you compromise with something else. When you are working freely in your studio in comparison, you put your own boundaries too, at least I do. Once I reach a plateau that I like, I don’t want to spill all over it because for an artist is the entire world, your food, your fuel! And there is so much beauty out there, so much to get moved by, you have to choose. This moves me more than anything else and I stick a lot with kitsch, the elements of kitsch. I always try to focus on the artists that move me and if you want to, they’re relevant to their times. For me pop culture is a constant source that keeps on cleansing itself and renewing itself. On day is Black Eyed peas then is the Lady GaGa, I love it.

Re-Collecions VIII Autumn 2008

Print on fine art paper 72″ x 72″

LC: Your colors are so powerful, where do they come from?

CB: I think a lot in composition first, like many artists. I think in color that’s very abstract so I can look at my work in two different ways, the figurative and conception and the composition as art for art sake, these colors work for me. There is this abstraction in front that speaks to me. There are many sources, but some people being raised in the Caribbean with such bright light and colors; but you know Warhol was not raised in the Caribbean or Michael Craig either, so it’s about composition, it’s about being an artist, it’s about making the colors work for you, I think that’s a very intricate part of my work and I’m glad that you asked me because most people just go directly to the subject matter.

LC: What would you like for people to see on your artworks?

CB: It’s difficult because it is abstraction, is what works for your mind. I always say that being a visual artist is in a visual context. If I knew what I was saying in text, I would be writing books, essays. It works in a visual level for me and when I have an idea, a goal, a direction, the idea comes visually. I have to execute it no matter what, I don’t know its meaning but when I have the idea visually, many times I can put words in it. Many artists can’t, we play a lot with the idea of giving verbal explanations or reading essays, we leave that for you and other people. I think strictly visual. When someone comes to me and tries to talk to me I say: “draw it for me and then I will understand it”. My brain is wired like that. Color is like that.

-Betancourt shows me this powerful work below called “The Last Supper”.

“The Last Supper” This for me is a color composition; this is what the brain does. You see the reference of Damian Hirst, there is Jeff Koons. This has a direct theme, it’s figurative it’s called “The Last Supper” but for me is about color composition more than anything. I selected each item in here from her clothes to her blouse, to her dress and I think it is successful in a subconscious level because of the placement of the color. So it’s in a level of abstract, I love the mystery in my work. I don’t really look for answers but for questions. I’m impressed when I see Michael Craig’s work and you see the same objects of reference and, I don’t know the answer and I don’t think he does either and I love that connection, it is visual, is like “oh, he understands! He understands why I love this chair and why I use it… understanding without words.” All these things happened one day on a sketch, all thrown. I know what character will play each thing. I call these people and tell them “Today, you will be holding a pigeon … do you have allergies or a problem with holding a pigeon?” (He laughs).

-Most of Betancourt’s artworks are very powerful either in color or in subject. This particular work shows many different objects, some held by people, or should I say “characters”. There are catholic candles, pre-Colombian works from his personal collection; ofrendas done with cakes; there is the Guggenheim; there is Audrey Hepburn, the elements: air, fire, earth; there are flowers, bananas, crystals you name it. You can examine one of these artworks for a long time and discover endless subjects that spark your imagination. You may visit www.ruizhealyart.com to learn more about Carlos Betancourt.

Laura Cunningham

Director

General Alberto Latorre, architecture, artist, Audrey Hepburn, Black Eyed peas, Carlos Betancourt, Cindy Sherman, commission work, contemporary art, Dallas Art Fair, Damien Hirst, design, Guggenheim, interview, Jeff Koons, kitsch, Lady GaGa, LatinAmericanArt.com, Laura Cunningham, Michael Craig Martin, minimalist, Morris Lapidus, painting, Patricia Ruiz-Healy, Peter Beard, photography, pop culture, pre-Colombian, Puerto Rican artist, Ruiz-Healy Art, The Last Supper, Warhol