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  • by Beláxis Buil

    We met a few years back. Our meeting encounter happened during an exhibition Intersectionality, 2016 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Miami, Florida. Eurydice Kamvyselli struck me as a woman who resists nonsense, but more so, foolishness from any opponent who questions her prerogative. But her confrontation is directed towards men (since it has been men creating most sex scandals), and rescuing our vaginas and womanhood, as an agency. Her ammunition deeply roots in communication and literature, with an array of published books on sexual identity, investigations on socio-sexual practices and the raging plague of sexual violation women face every day.

    In her first novel, F/32, she tells the story of a “woman’s vagina abandoning her body as a stranger on the street is assaulting her.” It is not to say Eurydice has a problem with sex, but more specifically, she reminds us of how women are silenced when faced with the woe of the patriarchs’ contamination of its true meaning and intention. After all, sex should be an element of power for women in both public and private spaces, not a transactional feature as compromised in Western capitalism.

    Her practice as a writer, visual artist, speaker, and activist has given her a voice: one that aims to dismantle “the patriarchy that binds women to its words, laws, paradigms, and aesthetics.” Since the #METOO movement, Eurydice grabbed the “bull by its horns” and commenced a new project: SpeakSex Podcast. Here she allows female and male guests to speak candidly about sex, what it means to them and their bodies, how it defines their identity and most imperative, how we can embrace the topic of sex as a language of power in contemporary society.

    Eurydice Kamvyselli at home. Photo courtesy the artist

    The podcast features discussions from a diverse community of ethnicities, genders, ages, sexual orientation, and perspectives. Sometimes Eurydice invites artists to speak on the topic, and at other times, she brings in alluring specialists linked to the field of sex. Eurydice leaves the podcast open to individuals who can share experience and insight to the listeners. Some of the episodes have included guests such as Dr. Amir Marashi, known as the vagina whisperer and a “board-certified gynecologist who specializes in cosmetic gynecology and female anatomical improvement,” or Bishop Alex Guldbeck, a practitioner of sexological hypnotherapy on Gnostic and post-Freudian gender archetypes. The list goes on. Likewise, her listeners call in to comment on talks, express ideas, share stories, and even to thank her for the contributions of knowledge she is delivering to the public, through her podcast. Many listeners confess to feeling changed or yet enlightened by the messages delivered on air. Because she has had several captivating folks on the show, I asked what plans await her audience in the future…

    Below is a segment of our conversation, recorded in the privacy of her home.




  • Art for Progress Summer Arts Program 2018

    Art for Progress (AFP) is pleased to announce The Pierre & Tana Matisse Foundation has awarded the organization a three year grant in support of its Summer Arts Program. After a highly successful launch of the program in 2018, the foundation requested a multi year proposal to support the program which was recently granted in May.

    Art for Progress will receive $52,500 to fund the program through 2021. The program was developed with the purpose of providing instruction in both music and visual arts over the summer months for students and young adults who are interested in careers in art and music. Although the focus is to provide instruction, knowledge and insight for career oriented students, the program is open to anyone interested (ages 13-24). Some of the key objectives of the program include:

    • providing a challenging curriculum while giving students the opportunity to choose and learn skills they desire
    • presenting professional, engaging artists to speak to attendees about the challenges of choosing a career in arts
    • sharing information and knowledge that’s typically not offered in formal school programs such as “Key Tenets for the Professional Artist.”
    • providing teaching opportunities for students who are interested in education careers

    The workshops will take place on four consecutive Sundays beginning July 14th (July 21st, July 28th, August 4th) from 10:30am-4:30pm. There is no cost for students and lunch will be provided. Students can attend as many of the workshops as they like, but space will be limited. The workshops will be held at Humanities Preparatory Academy, 351 West 18th Street, 3rd floor in Manhattan.

    Anyone planning to attend will need to fill out an application. If under the age of 18, an adult signature will be required.

    You can download the application below.

    Download Application Here 

    E-mail completed application to:   summerprograms@artforprogress.org

    Please direct all questions about the program to admin@artforprogress.org.


  • Mademoiselle Paradis

    The 11th edition of the Panorama Europe film festival, co-presented by Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) and the members of European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC), will take place from Friday, May 3, through Sunday, May 19. 

    The 17 films screening this year, programmed by David Schwartz, MoMI curator-at-large, represent some of the continent’s most intriguing emerging directors, nine of them women. Included are both documentaries and fiction, many of them set in contemporary Europe, reflecting its current state of flux. Though the films tackle weighty subjects such as politics, history, labor, and feminism, their stories focus on the lives of individuals. 

    In addition to films from cinematically prolific countries such as Germany, Spain and France, there are entries from Malta, Slovakia, and Croatia, among other places that are not as widely represented on screen, providing welcome glimpses into those cultures.

    Screenings will take place at the Museum of the Moving Image (36-01 35th Avenue, Astoria) and Bohemian National Hall (321 East 73rd Street, Manhattan).

    The festival opens with the U.S. premiere of Mademoiselle Paradis, Barbara Albert’s excellent period drama, starring Romanian actress Maria Dragus as blind, 18th-century pianist Maria-Theresia Paradis. Though visually lush and authentic to its time, this mildly satirical film is also feminist in its depiction of a determined young woman fighting the expectations of her parents and patriarchal Austrian society.

    Mademoiselle Paradis

    Dragus is compelling and believable as the teenage von Paradis, who we first see playing piano with abandon for a crowd of Viennese aristocrats. The empress has given her parents (Lukas Miko and Katja Kolm) a substantial pension for her disability, and the couple exploit “Resi” via performances of piano playing as well as dancing. Audiences are impressed by her talent, but openly pity her, generally treating the teen as a freakish outcast.

    As in real life, famed German doctor Franz Anton Mesmer (Devid Streisow) agrees to treat Marie-Teresia at his compound, where people with various afflictions receive his cutting-edge (and controversial) magnetism therapy. Miraculously, his approach seems to work and Marie-Teresia slowly recovers her vision. However, due to this new sensory wiring, her piano playing suffers as does attendance at her concerts. Moreover, rumors about Mesmer’s methods and supposed improprieties with his patient abound; the triumph is short-lived for them both. The fact that this striking, sensual film is based on the life of an actual person (Paradis would go on to compose music and tour the world) makes it all the more fascinating. 

    Mademoiselle Paradis screens 7 pm Friday, May 3, at MoMI (with Maria Dragus in person (followed by discussion and reception); and 7 pm on Monday, May 6, at Bohemian Hall. 

    Return to Bollène

    Among the other films screening at the festival are Abigail Mallia’s Limestone Cowboy, a raucous, comedic portrait of a wildly eccentric, America-worshipping Maltese man (Paul Portelli) who is convinced that he should run for the office of Prime Minister. In addition to a coterie of rough drinking buddies, who encourage his aspirations, Karist must contend with his respectable son John (Davide Tucci), who is mortified by his father’s shenanigans.  Though the film and its characters are often over-the-top, even cartoonish, it’s fascinating alone for its depiction of the sociopolitical climate of the small island nation, where the Catholic Church wields outsize power. Also culturally insightful is Saïd Hamich’s Return to Bollènein which a young French Moroccan man (Anas El Baz) returns to his hometown in southern France with an American fiancée, after years of living abroad. In doing so, he must confront both his family’s complicated dynamics and a culture from which he has cut himself off, as well as a city that has swung to the far right politically. It’s a bittersweet homecoming, to say the least.

    Lada Kamenski

    From Croatia, Lada Kamenski (co-directed by Sara Hribar and Marko Santic) explores a universal theme. The film stars Frano Mašković as a director whose feature debut is inspired by his aunt and other women who once worked in the region’s textile factories. He invites three middle-aged actresses to his home for what they think is an informal reading, but winds up being much more. Ksenija Marinković, Nataša Dorčić, and Doris Šarić-Kukuljica are excellent as three women whose personal and professional lives collide in the course of the evening.

    For the full schedule of festival screenings, click here.

    —Marina Zogbi

  • This year IKT Congress (International Association of curators of contemporary art) gathered in Miami, Florida for a four-day program of discussions, artist studio visits, presentations and exhibition tours. One of IKT’s board members and Miami resident Ombretta Agró Andruff organized the sprawling, successful itinerary throughout Miami and Miami Beach. It included ICA, RFC ( Rubell Family Collection), PAMM ( Peréz Art Museum), Wolfsonian among a few others.

    Curators introducing themselves during
    IKT General Assembly at Faena Forum, Miami Beach.

    One of the best aspects of this year’s curatorial assembly, was the theme “exploring issues of resilience and sustainability in cultural production.” The assembly connected Latin American and Caribbean curators to an impressive network of European, Canadian, Mediterranean, North American and Australian scholars in the field. Curators of diverse backgrounds had the chance to speak intimately, exchange ideas and establish professional connections that could lead to future collaborations in Miami and abroad. Additionally, Miami-Dade County Art in Public Places offered scholarships to local curators that covered expenses for the four-days. Plus, they selected visual artists to present 5- minute rounds during Long of Arts in Public Places. This was lead by Amanda Sanfilippo at the RFC ( Rubell Family Collection).

    Over the four days, curators traveled throughout the city and experienced highlights such as a first-time public walk through of RFC’s future museum location, a group exhibition Room for Failure curated by Omar López-Chahoud at Piero Atchugarry and hearing Rosa De La Cruz speak candidly on the De la Cruz Collection and their approach to helping young artists at NWSA ( New World School of the Arts). These particular moments exemplified the fire that exists in Miami’s art ecology. With a focus on figures in the community with a passion for moving Miami’s artistic landscape forward, it allows the attendees one step closer to their private space of familiarity. Other moments, such as the 5-minute rounds at the RFC, seemed to trail off a bit. Some of the artists veered away from the structure, and at times even the dialogue was sloppy. The result was a lengthy discussion that distracted the curators from sitting through the visual presentation and seeing compelling works Miami has to offer.

    Fortunately, the last day of IKT Congress, PAMM presented Suiting-Up, an outstanding collaboration between artists Lucinda Liberman and Kim Yantis. Both artists paired up to create fashion that intersects survival gear, functionality, and performance. The performance opened with a video projection. Liberman narrated a small segment that described each performer’s style as a character, set in the bleak future of Miami’s climatically altered environment. Each person’s wardrobe enabled them to adapt to their new home. It was a simple presentation that went straight to the point, and IKT’s assembly of curators responded well.

    The four days not only offered a close view of artist’s work to the curators, but also a healthy challenge for Miami artists to be innovative and engage in new opportunities. IKT Congress’ team did a great job at rounding up Miami’s gems, nurturing talent and connecting cultural institutions to fresh curatorial voices. Additionally, the association opened windows for curators looking to collaborate with other curators, and exposed the city to new, possible ventures.

    Written by Beláxis Buil


  • Traveling opens one’s eyes to truths that otherwise become lost to distance, suspicions, and misinformation. By traveling, we connect with cultures and find out about crippling circumstances that may impair individuals from being included in global communications in which they should participate.

    During a recent trip to Costa Rica, I found some surprising facts on the local view on art. First, I must disclose: aside from national institutions, there are hardly any galleries in the city of San Jose. Some of the residents claim an enormous problem with the few public works facing vandalism or individuals uncertain of art’s purpose in a town, or even as a serious career.

    It is true that cultural institutions such as the National Museum of Costa Rica and the Jade Museum boast an extraordinary dose of Pre-Columbian art and jade artifacts. MADC ( Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo) exudes a lovely exterior and has gained the public interest of many traveling abroad because it is one of the only contemporary art spaces in the city.

    Upon entering the space, there were two modestly small galleries. The first had a few paintings wrapped in plastic. It seemed as though a transition of works was taking place. The second displayed smaller pieces lined up in a row or salon-style arrangements.

    Towards the back wall, a larger-scaled painting with jagged angles in vibrant blues textured, ragged greens, and crisp whites stood out as a lovely landscape. Perhaps, one of Costa Rica’s micro-climates. Unfortunately, there was no clear label and at the very least it was not easy to locate one for the artist. And just as mysterious, a television was sitting on the floor. The video presented close-ups of a paint brush’s strokes on canvas. Subtexts translated the information to the viewer. Even though the landscape painting, television, and smaller works lacked to inform the public with educational content, there was something pertinent about the ambiguity of place, space and time in the art.

    It almost felt as if I did not belong at the location, as I stared with wide eyes. It’s a pleasant environment where the terrain and objects in the smaller paintings made it all feel like home, but I wondered if the viewer was expected to feel this way. Just like an advertisement sells the idea of a faraway place making one feel relaxed and at ease. Or, do we take environments such as depicted in the landscape for granted?

    Although MADC has a fantastic center gallery with high ceilings and vast walls to take advantage of with prolific works of art, I lamented the barren walls that bounced off the voices of a large group of school children. Nonetheless, I appreciated the density of the space and its ability to include the public’s presence in the white cube. It’s a public spectacle only visible to those at its inception. Once I descended to the zig zagged corridors, large paintings greeted my eyes. How refreshing!

    The curator Daniel Soto Morúa organized the group exhibition Modernos & Universales. Its central theme revolves around ” preserving the explorations of painting and as a preferred language among artists, collectors, fairs, and museums.”

    Moruá invited Adolfo Ramírez, Andrés Murillo, Rebecca Martinez, Roberto Carter, and a few others to present works to the public who “can appreciate palettes of color, themes, lines and other formal concepts, contexts, and discourses that speak evidence of infinite possibilities.” From the listed artists, it is the works of Roberto Carter whose explorations denote Moruá’s statement- a fresh and untainted relationship between a painter, the brush and the canvas.

    Figuras en su Paseo Diario, 2018 is a fun, young at heart painting in a rich umber yellow. The strokes are linear, simplistic markings in primary colors of reds, blues and green. Each mark resembles a scratch in thought. The subject stands tall in the center plane and seems to pour specks of blue water onto the hillside. It is a minimalistic animation. Perhaps it is the artist feeding the somewhat famished environment, or maybe he is reliving his boyhood memories of playing in the wild, charming the viewer to think they are a significantly playing along.

    2 Figuras interactuando junto a un arbol, 2018 then shows the same environment in a dusky, peachy rose. This time the setting presents a second form standing parallel to another in a laid-back, slouched demeanor. Both subjects appear clueless yet content in a” now what” unspoken conversation. What importance does the environment contain to the artist or is it the same ambiguity of space, place and time I noticed before in the smaller gallery? Carter begins to reform his environment by concealing the background under thin layers of paint in Figuras de su Paseo, 2018. It is by the process of elimination that we start to understand Carter’s intention to remove the subject from an entirely, realized environment.

    The painting exhibition was a treat to see considering the saddening news of a disinterested public in contemporary art in San Jose. There are artists whose works should grace international news. Muruá like a few other curators in San Jose need all the support they can get from the art world outside Costa Rica. I hope this year the International Art Festival will succeed last years tragic mishap of failed contracts and logistical problems in the city.* So much awaits the new generation of Central American Artists and their voices must not fall to the wayside.

    • I investigated the topic on the International Art Festival: no information was available online. Residents ranging in a variety of backgrounds sat during the interviews. All statements provided the same information.
    Written by Beláxis Buil