FALL RIVER: Six artists from District 2 will be part of an exhibit featuring 14 pieces of work in a show titled Joaquin in his Shoes that will be on display in a unique cultural exchange in Uruguay.
The show will be held Feb. 6-13, at Club Del Lago Hotel, a five-star resort in Punta del Este, Uruguay. After it finishes, the show will move to Galleria Latina, in Montevideo, for display March 9-16.
Patricia Gonzalez Rivero, the organizer of the exhibit, said the group of 14 have been learning about Joaquin Torres Garcia, a Uruguayan plastic artist and art theorist who is also known as the founder of Constructive Universalism.
Among the paintings being shipped will include work from Andrea Pottyondy, of Fall River, Jacqueline Steudler, of Fall River, Maxine Hannaby, of Waverley, Jennifer Rodney Chown, of Fall River, Nieves Santos Alija, formerly of Waverley, now calls Ottawa home, and Sarah Jane Conklin, of Fall River. Other artists whose work is attending are Alan Machardy, Anike Holm, Catherine McMillen, Dan Shervill, JoAnn Napier Chiasson, Karen R. Phinney and Monika Wright.
When Rivero, a native of Uruguay, began planning for the exhibit, after being invited by Roberto Cadenas and his wife, she thought it would be pretty smooth in planning the event. It has been the exact opposite.
“After my dealings during this, my naivety is gone,” Rivero said. “I was enthusiastic, and am still enthusiastic, but it’s been a lot of hard work.”
Currently only Rivero can attend as Uruguay can’t support more than its own, although there is working ongoing behind the scenes to see if local organizations and government officials in Nova Scotia could help send one of the artists to the event. That’s because while the Uruguay embassy in Ottawa and government has been supportive, it hasn’t been that way on the Canadian side.
“It’s more than just the art, it’s about the cultural exchange,” she explained. “That’s what the main concept is about.”
She said the 14 artists have spent the past four months learning about Torres Garcia and then doing the paintings to get ready for the exhibit. They did a test run in November at Art and Jules Studio, in Halifax.
“It’s a big show,” Rivero said. “It’s an amazing thing to achieve.”
phealey@enfieldweeklypress.com