Exhibition Dates: February 8, 2008 – April 6, 2008
Opening Reception: February 7; 6:00 – 8:00 PM

Boston — The Boston University Art Gallery (BUAG) continues its season with a new exhibition entitled Surrounded by Water: Expressions of Freedom and Isolation in Contemporary Cuban Art. Curated by Natania Remba, a Boston University graduate student in Art History, the exhibition features works (1990s-present) by a diverse group of internationally recognized artists that focus on the water theme, which has been a constant presence in Cuban visual culture and at the essence of Cubanía.

Using an array of media, the artists incorporate water in their artwork by means of autobiography, maps, emigration, archeology, religion and politics. The exhibition offers aesthetic narratives with historical, literary, political and cultural references to illustrate the intricacies of living in a socialist and economically restricted country with an open and enlightened artistic community. Inspiration for Surrounded by Water was derived from the first line of Virgilio Piñera’s poem “La Isla en Peso”—“La maldita cirunstancia del agua por todas partes…”

The group of distinguished contemporary artists highlighted in the exhibition includes Belkis Ayón, Luis Cruz Azaceta, José Bedia, Iván Capote, Yoan Capote, Los Carpinteros, Patricia Clark, José Manuel Fors, Rocío García, Carlos Garaicoa, Kcho (Alexis Leyva Machado), Meira Marrero, Manuel Mendive, Manuel Piña, Ernesto Pujol, Sandra Ramos, Tomás Sánchez, José Ángel Toirac and José Ángel Vincench. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue with an introduction by Antonio Eligio Fernández (Tonel) and an essay by curator Natania Remba.

Dedicated to serving the public of New England as well as the university community, Boston University Art Gallery (BUAG) is a non-profit art gallery geared toward an interdisciplinary interpretation of art and culture. Maintaining an ongoing exhibition schedule in its current location since 1958, now named the Stone Gallery, exhibitions focus on international, national, and regional art developments, chiefly in the twentieth century. BUAG has a particular commitment to offer a culturally inclusive view of art, one that expands the boundaries of museum exhibitions.

BUAG is located at 855 Commonwealth Avenue, at the Stone Gallery inside the College of Fine Arts building on the Boston University campus (BU West T stop on the "B" Green Line). Gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Saturday & Sunday 1:00 – 5:00 PM. For more information, please visit www.bu.edu/art.

IMAGES ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST
EXHIBITION AND GALLERY EVENTS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

GALLERY TALKS

Thursday, March 6, 2008 at 12:00 PM
Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, Artist & Founder of Gallery Artists Studio Projects (Location: BUAG at the Stone Gallery)

Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 5:30 PM
Natania Remba, Guest Curator and Art History Graduate Student in the College of Arts and Sciences at Boston University (Location: BUAG at the Stone Gallery)

Information