Jamaican Art exhibition – David Boxer & Jamaican Collective, May 26 – June 16, 2007, Miami

Pan American Art Project
2450 NW 2nd Ave. 305-573-2400 www.panamericanart.com
May 26 – June 16, 2007
David Boxer, Omari Ra & Stanford Watson
Video Box: Paul Stoppi
Cocktail Reception: Saturday, May 26, 6-9 pm,
Artists David Boxer & Paul Stoppi will be in attendance

This exhibition will be devoted to Jamaican art. The intention is to show different aspects of Contemporary Jamaican art, from very well recognized artists like David Boxer and Milton George to younger artists like Omari Ra, Stanford Watson and Paul Stoppi.

David Boxer (b. 1946), artist and art historian, was educated at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York and at Johns Hopkins University. As an art historian he has published extensively about Jamaican art, having authored most of the pioneer texts on the subject. As an artist his work has been representing the country in prestigious biennials such as the Sao Paulo (1996) and Havana (1986, 1997) and Santo Domingo (1992). His works have been extensively exhibited in Jamaica and internationally. Here in the United States we can mention more recently the Museum of Americas in 2000 and the Peabody Museum in 2005.

Boxer work is autobiographical in more than one sense. He uses his one image for some of the pieces and in others reflects how determined events have affected him. These events, most of them of historical nature, marked his generation. Among them we can mention the Second World War, especially Hiroshima’s bomb. Other recurrent theme is slavery, which consequences are visible in the Jamaican society today. He works with images that he carefully selects from the universal history of art and in an appropriation act contextualizes it with a new meaning. We see how images from the Renaissance gain a new lecture in his work

Milton George (b. 1939) is considered as the expressionist painter per excellence in the country. His big canvases have a visual impact, where color is his primary asset. Milton’s work is a reflection of the political and social problems of the country.

Omari Ra (b. 1960) was educated at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts. He works with diverse materials including dirt and human hair, sometimes in an experimental approach. His work is related to the struggles of the African descendents in the Caribbean and their place in the contemporary society. He is very political and provocative, and his works are made with the intention of being controversial.

Stanford Watson (b.1959) was also educated at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts. His work is characterized by the use of heavy impasto and recently the use of X-Rays reflecting social problems in a subtle way. Stanford is commenting from a personal point of view how the society is still functioning at a neo-colonialist pace.

In the Project Room we will be presenting the work of the photographer Paul Stoppi (b. 1966). Stoppi is capturing his surroundings in eclectic images often with a humorous note.