Here I thought that Ben Ortiz’s Latin show, an earlier posting I wrote after reading a Facebook post, was just at the Greenwich Art Center. No. It’s actually four shows!
It’s in Sunday’s Post, and I wasn’t going to try to scoop my own paper, which really scooped me on the real details — but since they already posted it on line, here’s the full story, which contains some nice biographical details on Mr. Ortiz, written only like Phyllis Boros can.
Here’s the exhibit info, too, excerpted from Phyllis’ story:
- Sept. 10-Nov. 7, “Beyond Borders: Caribbean, Latin American & Latino Artists from Connecticut & Beyond,” curated by Ortiz, at the Bendheim Gallery at the Greenwich Arts Council, 299 Greenwich Ave., Greenwich. The exhibition — which opens with a reception Friday, Sept. 10 from 6 to 8 p.m. — features works by 35 artists, including Imna Arroyo, Guido Garaycochea, Ricky Mestre, Yolanda Vasquez Petrocelli, Debra Roinestad and Lorena Salcedo-Watson. On Oct. 7, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., a free lecture and concert will be offered with Ortiz discussing the challenges and rewards of collecting art, and performers from the Connecticut School of Music.
- Sept. 11-Oct. 31, “Figure Them Out/Imaginelos: Caribbean, Latin American & Latino Portraits & Figurative Images from the Benjamin Ortiz Collection” at the Bruce S. Kershner Gallery, Fairfield Public Library, 1080 Old Post Road, Fairfield. Featuring works by 32 artists, the exhibition opens Saturday, Sept. 11 with a “Dialog with the Collector, Artist & Audience” event from 4 to 5 p.m., immediately followed by a reception that runs to 7 p.m. Accompanying the exhibit will be an essay by independent curator Yuneikys Villalonga.
- Sept. 12-Nov. 3, “Juxtapositions: A Collector, the Arts and the Collection/ Caribbean & Latin American Works from the Benjamin Ortiz Collection” at the Gallery of Contemporary Art at Sacred Heart University, 5151 Park Ave. in Fairfield. A reception, with jazz band, on Sunday, Sept. 12 from 1 to 3:30 p.m. opens the exhibition, which will showcase pieces by 34 artists, including Cundo Bermudez, Belkis Ramirez and Luis Stand. Accompanying the show will be an essay by independent curator Gustavo Valdes Rivera. The show is part of the gallery’s ongoing 20th anniversary celebration.
- Sept. 7-Nov. 3, “Gestuario/ Gestures,” featuring woodcuts on paper by artist Antonio Martorell, a show curated by Ortiz, at Norwalk Community College‘s East Campus Gallery, 188 Richards Ave. in Norwalk. A gallery talk and reception take place Wednesday, Sept. 15 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.Martorell describes his silhouettes as reflecting the gestures or body language that “I perceive as somewhat characteristic of Caribbean and particularly Puerto Rican people. Ironic or playful, lyric or dramatic, the esthetics as well as the ethnic rhythms of these silhouettes are meaningful to me and maybe to the spectator.”
