Cultural, collegial collaboration in LNVA exhibit

Locally showcasing diverse works of contemporary art from countries where Romance languages are spoken is an ongoing mission of the Latin Network for the Visual Arts. Connecticut College in New London recently signed on as the newest venue for the nonprofit arts organization to expand its audience.

"Contemporary Art from the Latin World" is on exhibit in the college's Charles E. Shain Library through March 9. The exhibit features paintings, sculpture, photography and cut-drawings from LNVA's permanent collection by artists from Uruguay, Honduras, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Chile, Peru, Cuba, Spain and the U.S. Also on view is indigenous folk art from private collections, and fine press and artist books with Latin themes from the library's collections.

For the past decade, LNVA has held a biennial exhibition of new work by Latin artists at the Alexey von Schlippe Gallery of Art at University of Connecticut's Avery Point Campus. The show is a collaborative effort by LNVA founders Gastón and Mimi Daumy; Julia Pavone, curator/director of the Alexey von Schlippe Gallery; and Connecticut College's Center for the Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity, Conn's history department and the Friends of the Library.

"The important thing for us is that Conn College and UConn are doing something together-making a connection between the two local schools that they haven't had in the past," says Mimi Daumy.

She points out that this exhibit provides another opportunity for students-as well as community members who use the library-to view this "wonderful, eye catching" art.

"For the last five or six years we've been focusing on our own collections here at the library, but this is a fantastic opportunity to expose students to the rich area of resources off campus," says Benjamin Panciera, Connecticut College's director of special collections.

"Contemporary art from Latin America is a genre that's probably very much underserved in this area. Taking what is a rich collection and bringing it to audiences that might not have been aware of it is tremendously helpful," he adds.

Leo Garofalo, associate professor of history at the college, plans to link some of the discussions and assignments in his history and Hispanic studies class to the exhibit.

"This is a chance for Connecticut College students to better understand Latino and Latin-American artists and their sometimes active links to Europe, the African Diaspora, indigenous America and modern artistic trends in general," he says.

The art

"The exhibition is very representative of what LNVA stands for, showing work of Latin artists from all over the world and how eclectic it tends to be," says Julia Pavone, the exhibit's curator and LNVA board member.

Pavone explains that Latin art, like art anywhere, comes in all different styles and mediums and that the show is a mix of the best contemporary art from all over the world that just happens to be by Latin artists.

She does point out that what distinguishes a lot of today's Latin artists is the social or political messages in their work, which may be very personal or, because they're international artists, about something they're trying to convey to the world in general.

As an example she uses "Pasarela Teguz," Honduran artist Alex Galo's sculpture of a dog.

"It's striking when you see there are so many starving, skinny, unhealthy dogs on the street-I'm sure it's also a commentary on the socio-economic struggles of people in his country," she says.

"People want art to be beautiful, yet it can also sometimes be difficult at first to look at, but very powerful and keep drawing you back," she adds, "even if it's not pretty or serene."

Pavone is fascinated by a trio of digital photographs in the show by Jessica Rosario, a U.S. born artist with roots in Puerto Rico.

"They are three surreal portraits of (Rosario) that all look completely different," she says. "There's an element of fright in them (yet) women are drawn to (the work) more than men, which is interesting. For a lot of women it definitely makes a statement about women's identity and how you feel about yourself."

Pavone hopes this exposure to the art in LNVA's permanent collection will encourage more people to attend Latin Views 2012-the LNVA biennial exhibition of new work by Latin artists-this September at the Alexey Von Schlippe gallery. The juried show is open to artists from countries where Romance languages are spoken. An application can be downloaded online at www.lnva.us.