NYAB Event - “Three Americas” Exhibition

“Three Americas” Exhibition

Grady Alexis Gallery

This event has ended.

The Grady Alexis Gallery at El Taller Latino Americano presents Three Americas featuring the works of Holly Wood, Gioconda Rojas and Juan Raúl Machaca de Aquino.

Three Americas shows three viewpoints about painting from Peru, Costa Rica and New Mexico. The styles of the 3 artists are very different but they hang together in a solidarity of soul. “We have shown in a group on several occasions, including the prestigious ArteAméricas in the Miami Beach Convention Center,” says Wood “and we feel our work goes well together.”

Holly Wood’s painterly cartoon surrealism reflects her unique, slightly demented, humorously dystopian visions of life on this planet. Having emigrated as a young adult from Brooklyn, NY to Santa Fe, NM, her work reflects the collision of the urban and edgy with the influence of the rich cultures and vast, sentient landscapes of New Mexico and Old Mexico right next door.

Gioconda Rojas, of San José, Costa Rica shows in Miami and Santa Fe, among other places. Her serenely elegant, Zen-like abstractions also manage to make sophisticated and delicately pointed observations. In this show, her work functions as a kind of Zone of Tranquility between the rowdier visions of Wood and Machaca de Aquino.

Juan Raúl Machaca de Aquino is from Arequipa, Peru. He is a fast-rising star in South America, and shows in Miami and Mexico as well. From his roots in the ancient traditions of the Altiplano, his work bursts into the now; with representational elements exploding into pure color and energy.

Wood comments, “El Taller is a fascinating place. It’s in a landmark Art Deco building that was the last functioning Automat restaurant in NYC. It is a vibrant community center and one of the best venues in the City for live music from around the globe. The Grady Alexis Gallery in El Taller had its inaugural show 30-odd years ago, and one of the neighborhood artists who donated work for that show was Frank Stella. I think that’s pretty cool.”