Gallery Reflection 21/09/23

Going to the exhibition was quite enlightening for me. I felt as though many of my peers didn't love the exhibition, but when I explored it I really loved it. It felt quite personal as South American Art has quite a distinct feel too it. My family comes from Uruguay and the colors and visuals used reminded me of my grandparents paintings. There is one in specific, depicting african americans in a jungle like scene in their home that came to mind when looking at de Ozias art. There is a strong presence of nature in both and the colors are so vibrant, creating such an joyous and emotional scene. In addition, I have seen other works of Brazilian artists in Miami such as Marcela Cantuaria, whose work is vivid and colorful.

Throughout the exhibition, there were recurring themes of religion and carnaval, which go hand in hand. I really loved how much of a story de Ozias art gave, as it was authentic and raw, without refinement of institutions as he was self taught. I was quite impressed that he taught himself how to paint and took up painting in his mid 40's. Due to this, it felt as though he was playing with colors more freely and also retelling his life. It was a new form of communicating the things he was seeing around him, and he creates feelings in his paintings without much detail. The paintings were raw, something characterized by his usage of materials he created, such as toothbrushes, toothpicks, and his fingers. His paintings show how important faith is and how it can shape a culture. Especially in rural and impoverished areas religion plays a huge role as it is something that does not require money, instead dedication.

The way the paintings were displayed in the gallery also gave it a narrative-like feeling. They were aligned in one row stretching across the wall, as if they were an open book. In addition, his paintings are stories, sometimes on their own and sometimes in combination with other paintings, adding to the ambiance.

Lastly, I noticed how prominent nature was, and in all the pieces, nature was powerful. There was a respect towards nature that is not often seen in modern times. There was a painting which I thought exemplified it perfectly in relation to modern day. The alligators are confined in what appears to be a manmade pool in a manicured forest, but they are still eating the human. The other human has a gun pointed at the alligator, and it is unclear whether they have tried to use the gun or not. regardless, the alligator is clearly dominating and no matter how hard the humans try to manipulate the natural world, the environment is stronger and will always win. This can apply to global warming today as we tried to change our earth so much, but with change, it is becoming more dangerous to us in return. We try to control it, but it is stronger than us. Natural disasters and stronger and more prevelant than ever, all do to our mistreatment of nature.

Reflection

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