Artwork just brought back from Haiti, as well as a large selection of art and crafts from Mexico, Peru, Cuba, South Africa, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and many other countries.

Haiti's artists continue to amaze with their vision and creativity, in many media - paintings, papier maché sculpture and masks, beaded and sequinned flags and mixed media sculpture made from an astounding variety of found materials.

There is new work by painters Magda Magloire, Fritzner Chery, flag artists Roudy Azor, George Valris, Mireille Delice and Marie Evelyne Sanon, sculptors Serge Jolimeau, Jacques Eugene and the celebrated artists of the Grand Rue, and the papier maché carnival mask-makers of Jacmel.

The show continued through January and February, along with the exhibit Mascaras: A World of Masks. Selected pieces are still on view in the gallery.

Art of Africa

By Simon de Burton

Published: March 28 2009 01:07

Think Nigerian art and your mind probably turns to toy cars and trucks fashioned from old beer cans or, if you are more cerebral, to the rare terracotta artefacts of the Nok tribe that date back as much as 2,000 years. You might also think of high-profile artists such as YBA Chris Ofili or Turner Prize nominee Yinka Shonibare, both of whom were born in the UK but are of Nigerian descent.

Both have become internationally recognised, Ofili because of his part in the Sensation exhibition and events such as the controversial purchase by the Tate Gallery of his series of monkey paintings, and Shonibare for works such as his proposal for adorning the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square with a large, ship-in-a-bottle model of HMS Victory.

But now some new names appear to be coming to the fore as buyers look to Nigeria itself as a relatively untapped source of contemporary art. Last December, a painting entitled “Underwater Still Life” by the late Benedict Enwonwu surprised even the experts when it fetched £19,200 ($27,788) at Bonhams in London, close to 20 times the high pre-sale estimate. At the same sale another of Enwonwu’s works, this time a depiction of a crowded market scene, also soared more than five times above estimate to realise almost £7,000....

He is undoubtedly one of the leading names on the Nigerian contemporary scene, but there are several others in the ascendant – Muraina Oyelami (whose portraits currently fetch around £2,500), Jimoh Buraimoh and the unusually named Prince Twins Seven-Seven.

Born in 1944 in Ogidi Ikimu, Twins (as the artist prince is informally known) was one of the original students of the Oshogbo School which arose in the newly independent Nigeria of the early 1960s. Although examples of his work are in museums and private collections around the world, including the Smithsonian Institution and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, it can still be bought for relatively little money through dealers such as Philadelphia-based dealer Indigo Arts, which currently have several canvases on offer in the $1,200–$6,500 (£824–£4,464) range....

Click here for the full article.

Indigo Arts has exhibited the work of Seven-Seven since 1994. Many more works are shown in our Twins Seven-Seven Gallery.

Telephone Wire
Baskets

Picture-frames and Boxes
Made in India from recycled glass bangles

Fall is a season of transition and transformation.  In the spirit of Halloween and Los Dias de los Muertos, the Days of the Dead, Indigo Arts presents a collection of masks from Africa, Asia, the Americas and the Pacific.  The exhibit includes dance, festival and ritual masks from many countries, including Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mexico, Nepal, New Guinea and Nigeria.

The exhibit opened on October 8th, 2009.

Marking ten years of exhibiting Cuban art in Philadelphia, Indigo Arts presented Visiones 2: New Art from Cuba. Coinciding with both the 50th anniversary of the Cuban revolution and the inauguration of a new American president, one hopes it may also mark a new beginning in relations, cultural as well as political, between the United States and Cuba.

The exhibit included both self-taught artists, such as Javier Gonzalez Gallosa, José Garcia Montebravo, Abel Perez Mainegra, Luis Rodriguez Arias, Roberto Torres Lameda, Alejandro Lazo, and Wayacon and such trained artists as Joel Jover, Alicia Leal and Manuel Mendive.

The exhibit opened on March 12th, 2009. The Philadelphia Bulletin published an artcle about the exhibition and Indigo Arts Gallery, "A Second Look at Cuba".

Also opening March 12th in the Crane Building's Icebox Project Space: Dialogo 365, an exhibition of work by 39 artists from Latin America and the US, presented by Casa de Venezuela.

Nicaraguan painter Ignacio Fletes Cruz
at Indigo Arts. February 2nd, 2007

Una Tarde de Mayo
Fernando Olivera
Oaxaca, Mexico, 2005

José Garcia Montebravo:
Cuban Self-Taught Painter
&
Prints from Oaxaca:
Masters of the Mexican Tradition

Marking its 20th year of exhibiting international folk and contemporary art in Philadelphia, Indigo Arts Gallery offered two shows featuring the arts of Latin America: José Garcia Montebravo: Cuban Self-taught Painter and Prints from Oaxaca: Masters of the Mexican Tradition.
The first exhibit focused on the visionary work of self-taught Cuban artist José Garcia Montebravo.
The second includes aquatints, lithographs, serigraphs, woodcuts and linoprints by artists from Oaxaca, Mexico, including Modesto Bernardo, Enrique Flores, Abelardo Lopez, Eddie Martinez, Leovigildo Martinez, Lorena Montes, Felipe Morales, Fernando Olivera, and the late master, Rodolfo Morales.
Indigo Arts was a community partner for the two fall shows at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Tesoros/Treasures/Tesouros: The Arts of Latin America, 1492-1820, and Mexico and Modern Printmaking: A Revolution in the Graphic Arts, 1920-1950.

The exhibit opened with a reception on First Friday, October 6th, from 5:00 to 9:30 pm. It continued on display through the month of January, 2007.

See our full selection of José Garcia Montebravo andArt from Oaxaca in our Oaxaca Gallery.

Note: At this writing Oaxaca appears to emerging from the turmoil it has been in since May 2006. It has been very painful to see such conflict in a place we have come to know and love over the last twenty years. We hope for the safety for our many friends there, for wisdom for both the government and its opponents, and a quick return to peace and reconciliation for Oaxaca.

Claro de Luna
Lorena Montes
Oaxaca, Mexico, 2002

The exhibition includes paintings and prints by Modesto Bernardo, Enrique Flores, Abelardo Lopez, Eddie Martinez, Leovigildo Martinez, Lorena Montes, Felipe Morales, Fernando Olivera, Filemon Santiago, and Oaxaca’s late master, Rodolfo Morales.

The exhibit opened with a reception on First Friday, May 5th, from 5:00 to 9:30 pm. It continued on display through September, 2006.

See our full selection of Art from Oaxaca in our Oaxaca Gallery.

Dragon Village
Binod Moktan
Nepal

Sky Above and Earth Below, which opened at Indigo Arts Gallery on December 2nd, 2005, features the work of three Tibetan artists. Karma Tsering Lama and Nima Gyamcho Lama are masters of the intricate Tibetan Buddhist devotional paintings known as Thangkas. Binod Moktan, also skilled a painter of thangkas, applies his talents to painting the Himalayan landscape of his memory.

The exhibit opened with a reception on First Friday, December 2nd, from 5:00 to 9:30 pm. It continues on display through the month of April, 2006.

Roberto Rodriguez CD Release Party at 92nd St. Y - Tribeca branch, in New York on June 20th

Cienfuegos, Cuba artist Javier Gonzalez Gallosa's painting Mujer con Pez was chosen for the cover of the new album Timba Talmud, by the Sexteto Rodriguez, lead by Roberto Juan Rodriguez, on John Zorn's Tzadik label.

Born in 1975, Javier Gonzalez Gallosa is a self-taught artist who has exhibited his work since 2000. He has had several solo exhibitions in his home city of Cienfuegos, Cuba. He has participated in group shows in Spain, France and the United States as well as in Cuba. His work has been featured in several shows at Indigo Arts Gallery, including the recent, Visiones 2: New Art from Cuba. Some of his work is still on view at Indigo Arts Gallery, and will be exhibited at the Timba Talmud CD Release Party and Cuban Jewish Music Library Benefit in New York on Saturday, June 20th.

Press Release below:

Multi-Media Cuban-Jewish Blowout Bash

New York, NY - June 20, 2009 - An evening filled with music, dance, video, and art will be held at the 92Y Tribeca (200 Hudson Street) in celebration of Cuban Jewish life. Doors open at 7 PM, show time at 8 PM on Saturday, June 20th. Tickets are $15 in advance/$18 at the door.
For tickets: http://www.92y.org/92yTribeca/

Sexteto Rodriguez and Tzadik Records release their new album, Timba Talmud, and will set the night with their Havana-inspired, contagious Latin Klezmer sound. Composer/percussionist Roberto Rodriguez's imaginative Cuban-Jewish fusion is some of the most charming and popular music on Tzadik. Continuing his creative reading of imaginary music from Havana's Jewish community, Roberto draws upon several traditions in Timba Talmud, his best CD yet. Performed by a tight band of musical all-stars, Son Monuno and Guaracha meet the Jewish tradition in this beautiful and sensitive collection of Latin Klezmer.

Receiving international accolades for their collaboration of original Ladino-themed, Cuban-inspired music, the evening will also feature Rodriguez and Ladino singer, Sarah Aroeste (http://www.saraharoeste.com), premiering their original Cuban-Sephardic music project, with special guests.

Also featured will be a salsa presentation and dance party led by famed Franck Muhel (http://www.myelproductions.com/), art exhibit from acclaimed Cuban painter, Javier Gonzalez Gallosa, documentary film screenings, and other special Cuban Jewish surprises!

The night will be in support of the Cuban Jewish Music Library (CJML) project, a grassroots effort founded by Aroeste and Rodriguez to help build Jewish music libraries across Cuba. A portion of proceeds from the night will go towards the CJML initiative.

Haitian Art from the Collection of Jonathan Demme showing at FIAF in New York

Through his films, his public stands, and his philanthropy, director Jonathan Demme has long been one of the foremost American proponents for the people and culture of Haiti. He is also one of the leading collectors of Haitian art in recent years. This is a rare opportunity to see selections from this fine collection. Jonathan Demme Collection: Inspiration of Haitian Art is presented from May 7th to June 13th, 2009, at the French Institute/Alliance Francaise , 22 E. 60th St., in New York as part of the month-long World Nomads: Haiti festival:

"The FIAF Gallery presents a special exhibition of Haitian paintings from the personal collection of the parrain of this year’s World Nomads Haiti festival: Academy Award-winning American film director Jonathan Demme. Known for his films Silence of the Lambs and the recent Rachel Getting Married , Demme curates the exhibition featuring the works of ten Haitian artists. A long-time Haitian art enthusiast and avid collector, Demme has been a fervent advocate for Haiti through the years. He’s embraced Haiti both through his films and his collaborations with Haitian writers such as Edwidge Danticat and musicians such as RAM and Wyclef Jean."
"Though each of the self-taught artists showcased in the exhibition has a unique style of painting, their topic—the rich cultural landscape of daily life in Haiti—unites them, presenting a detailed and poignant portrait of their country."

You may read an article about this show, A Show of Demme's Treasured Art in the Philadelphia Inquirer (May 7, 2009).

Mystical Imagination: The Art of Haitian Master Hector Hyppolite at the Museum of the Americas, Washington, D.C., May 18th to July 5th, 2009 presented by the Haitian Art Society and the Waterloo Center for the Arts.

"The Haitian government has declared 2008-2009 as the year of Hector Hyppolite.

In recognition of this momentous event, the Haitian Art Society (national and Washington DC chapters) and the Waterloo Center for the Arts are partnering to present a major retrospective exhibition of the work of Hyppolite to open at the Art Museum of the Americas in Washington, DC in May 2009.

The exhibition, which will remain on view into early July 2009, will include 50-100 works, will be accompanied by a full-color catalogue and is expected to tour to several other U.S venues. This project will not only honor Hyppolite as a great master artist of international importance, but will also serve to further interest in Haitian art as a whole. "

To coincide with the Hyppolite show, the Haitian Art Society held its annual Haitian Art Conference in Washington, DC (various locations) June 12th and 13th, 2009.

As an American, and a "citizen of the world" who grew up in Africa, I wouldn't miss Barack Obama's inauguration for anything. We didn't have tickets, but by leaving Philadelphia by bus at 2 in the morning, and persevering through immense crowds, frigid weather and major logistical snafus, we were on the mall with the multitudes to watch the inauaguration on the Jumbotron. The communal euphoria was infectious, and we were grateful to be there. It felt like the Woodstock of the Obama generation - in which I am probably too old to count myself, but I didn't make it to Woodstock, so this would do. The Kenyans in the crowd were treated like rock-stars, eager to show their national pride and everyone eager to identify with them. A fleeting moment, I know, as world events will converge on the new presidency, but the most hope I've had in many years. (For a good travelogue and photos of the inauguration see the account of Sean Barlow and Banning Eyre of Afropop Worldwide).

Ndio, tunaweza!

¡Si se puede!

Celebrating Inauguration day, January 20, 2009, with the Kenyan and American flags. .

We have learned that Huichol artist José Benitez Sanchez passed away on July 2nd, 2009. Known in his language as the "Silent Walker" he was a renkowned shaman, a respected public figure among the Huichol Indians of Mexico, and certainly the most celebrated artist of "Nierika" yarn paintings. He had been ill for some time, and recently suffered some serious injuries. May his spirit rest.

All photographs and text Copyright Indigo Arts Gallery, LLC., 1998-2010. Use without permission prohibited.