Juan Boza · art. This provides a much needed outlet for promising talent while enhancing ... I-IazGwood's own creative abilities. I offer him my gratitude for designing an exhibition

Juan Boza Victor Davson Scott Dedecker James Elaine Jonathan EUis Manuel Macarrulla Kathy Muehlernann Dan Rice Nieves Saah

Curator: Carl Hazlewood

@a - -~yQ=Jme61137 H A L L W A L L S

cknowledgements I would like to thank Catherine Howe for her patience and encouragement while REVELATIONS was being organized. I am also grateful to the nine artists in the exhibition and to Gallery Casas Toledo Oosterom, Gracie Mansion Gallery, Oscarsson Siegeltuch Gallery, and Lang & O'Hara for their

 cooperation and generosity. Also to those lenders who are parted from much loved works for the duration of this exhibition, Audrey and Richard Ralph, Newark, N.J., and Stephen Shenker, N.Y.C.. a very special thank you.

Carl Hazlewood

Hallwalls 700 Main Street Buffalo, New York

el987 Hallwalls. Inc. ISBN 0-936739-07-X

Unless noted otherwise, all work courtesy of the artist. This exhibition has been funded in part by grants from the Museum Program of the National Endowment for the Arts. a Federal Agency. and The New York State Council on the Arts.

Design: Paul Szpakowski

Revelations is the fourth exhibition made possible by Hallwalls' Visiting Curators Program. With generous support from the Museum Program of the National Endowment for the Arts, this program enables artists and indepen- dent curators to implement their ideas for new exhibitions of contemporary art. This provides a much needed outlet for promising talent while enhancing the variety and quality of Hallwalls' Exhibitions Program.

Carl Hazlewood's curatorial effort, Revelations, is testimony to both the ongoing success of the Visiting Curators Program and Mr. I-IazGwood's own creative abilities. I offer him my gratitude for designing an exhibition which is challenging and insightful.

1 would also like to thank Hallwalls staff, and in particular Chuck Agro, for his ever-capable assistance. Catherine Howe Curator

u REVELATIONS a Revelations features nine artists whose work bear an associative and evoca- tive power beyond current style or fashion. Although they each have a very individual approach to painting (and sculpture), what distinguishes them as a group is their profound empathic response through personal visual struc- tures to a world increasingly deficient in human values.

The international Afrodiaspora scattered people throughout many areas of the world. In North and South America, and in various Caribbean countries such as Haiti and Cuba, even after having been cut off from Africa for centuries, people still remember and worship the ancient gods of their ancestors. Art traditions related to this worship also survived the crossing. JuanBozawas born on the plains of Cuba. He iiapainter, engraver,and heir to the full expression of Yoruban culture as revealed through religion. Before our western eyes he conjures a world alive with spiritual essences. For this exhibition Boza creates magnetic environments to attract and detain major occult personalities of the Afro-Cuban pantheon. Kathy Muchiemaim also seeks akind of ecstasy through a contemplative almost &n-like approach to painting. Without relying on an obvious religious source as philosophical ground for these small, carefully worked rectangles, the artist somehow manages to invest them with a metaphysical presence all out of proportion to their actual sizes. In the sidereal spaces of her best paintings elliptical 'motes' of various sizes seem to dance with restrained energy.

One recognizes that romanticism is ultimately about death and loss, orat least about longing. We pine always for better times, personal safety, good government, and love that would last. Scott Dedecker and Manuel Macar- rulla both take a look at humanity in its more cruel aspect .. .Scott Dedecker sees the tragic evidence of conflict around the world the way most Americans do, as pictures on television and in the newspapers. Such media presenta- tions are usually both undramatic and distancing. It is difficult to get emotionally involved. Dedecker focuses on newspaper photo-reproductions of various international upheavals and re-presents them as full-blown oil paint- ings. The viewer is forced to confront subjects such as 'Beirut' in all its irony and perverse romanticism.

Ideas about media and modes of representation are not a major concern for Manuel Macarrulla. He is originallv from the Dominican Republic and has observed political repression di&ctly.ln Goat Song No. 1: struggle, the artist uses the full power of his classical technique to unleash a truly unforgettable and horrific image of death and destruction in a pleasant country side. Macarrulla's highly charged fantasies and imaginative concepts add potency to the tradition of humanist figuration.

Victor Davson's somber abstractions are imbued with a subtle poetic power. One senses in these pigment-paintings nascent leanings toward a symbolist content The paintings reach out to engage the wodd even as they define the artist's formal concerns. Buried Object 1. and the operatic Someto Elegy engenders and maintains an emotional tone that makes dear and meaningful its dedication to South Africa.

Jonathan Ellis' figures are perhaps c m w of the artist's psyche, but they quickly intrude on our own imaginations; taking up residence In places where we hide our fears. The uneasiness we feel in the presence of these mute. altered, shadows of ourselves. is the sudden recognition of the potentialities of death and apocalypse.

If Ellis' work poses questions about the survival of humanity in general, James Elaine views the individual body as ground zero of a raging cellular holocaust. This vulnerable universe of blood and conuptable flesh is thor- oughly explored to find its secret source of power to find where the spirit resides is to know freedom from the pervasive presense of death. A red painting with imagery of cells and what seems to be an invading virus. has a three dimensional heart attached to it - a "medal" - poignant trophy from an unwinnable war.

Dan Rice's world is also invaded, not by virus, butwith too many cars and too many people. The effect, however, is much the same, a kind of urban sickness marked by violence and crime. Rice is one of few young contempor- ary painters whose work takes a clear moral stance about common urban

His Intersections series suggests an active social conscience com- bined with a vigorous and inventive formal sense, yet still reveals essential truths.

Nicves Saah paints bright images of life and death, archetypal forms, and current topics. These are richly worked pieces where the love of painting Itself threatens to overwhelm the ostensible subiectmatter. But the artist's sense of fantasy, her innate sensitivity to theway her innerand outerworlds intersect, helps maintain a kind of painterly equilibrium. One of the paintings on view, Ana's Exit, which is about the tragic death of artist Ana Mendieta, is especially effective in balancing herworlds of reality, fantasy, and its painterly expression.

Finally, the work of these nine artists are related only by their individual- ism, and by an ability to make their visions clear and accessible. The "art scene" currently seems dominated by young people of unassailable erudition, and unquestionable talent. The only thing lacking is a certain warmth and emotional resonance. Perhaps the most important thing revealed by this exhibition is that there are alternatives.

CARL HAZLEWOOD '87

Place of Birth: Camaguey, Cuba Education: Academy of San Alejandro. National Academy of Art. Experimental Art Printmaking Workshop, Cuba. Art Students League, Printmaking Workshop, New York, N.Y. Selected Exhibitions With and Without Acclaim International Black and Hispanic Artists, Aljira Arts, Newark, N.J., 1987. Caribbean Art: African Currents. Riverside-Goddard Community Center, NYC, 1985. Carnival: Ritual of Reversal. Kenkeleba Gallery. NYC, 1985. Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art, NYC, 1985. Museum of African-Americans, Buffalo. N.Y.. 1984. Third Latin American Graphic Arts Biennial. Cayman Gallery, NYC. 1984. African American Museum of Life and Culture. Dallas. TX. 1984. Juan Bozo: Black Mysticism. INTAR Latin American Gallery, NYC. 1983.

JuanBoza Lazarus - Get up and raise your voice! 1986. mixed-media installation. dimensions variable. MOCHA Photo: A1 Santana

ictor Damn Place of Birth: Guyana, South America Education: Art Students League, New York, N.Y. Rratt Institute, Brooklyn, N.Y., B.FA, 1981.

Selected Exhibitions Vodra Art Gallery, Jersey City State College, 1987. With and Without Acclaim International Black and Hispanic Artists. Aljira Arts, Newark, NJ., 1987. William Carlos Williams Center for the Arts, Rutherford, N.J., 1987. New Approaches to Drawing, Newark Museum. Newark, N.J., 1985/86. Twenffeth-Century Afro-American Artists. Newark Museum, Newark, N.J., 1985. Art Against Apartheid Works Gallery, Newark. N.J., 1984. Trends, Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art, NYC, 1984. 6th International Drawing Biennale. Middlesbrough Art Gallery. Cleveland, England, 1983. Guyana National Library, Georgetown, Guyana. 1977.

I Victor Davon Soweto Elegy 1986. powder pigment on canvas, 38 x 100" Photo: Erik Landsberg Collection: Richard and Audrey Ralph, NJ.

cott Dedecker Place of Birth: Buffalo, New York Education: Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J., M.FA, 1983. Kansas City Art Institute, B.FA, 1977. selected Ti'vhihitionc Lang & O'Hara Gallery, NYC, 1987 The Clocktower. National and International Studio Artists of Art & Urban Resources, NYC. 1985. ARCO, International Exhibition of Contemporary Art, Madrid, Spain, 1985. Una-ffiltoted Artists 11, Hillwood Art Gallery, Long Island University. 1984. Tossan-Tossan Gallery. NYC, 1984. The Clocktower. National and International Studio Artists of Art & Urban Resources, NYC, 1984. Voorhees Gallery of Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ., 1983. Donald Bateman Gallery, Kansas City, MO, 1981.

T Scott Dedecker Beirut 1986, oil on canvas, 74 x 82" photo: courtesy Lane O'Hara Gallery. N.Y.C.

Place of Birth: Dallas, Texas Education: North Texas State University, Denton. TX, B.FA., 1977. Selected Ehhibidonc Rotunda Gallery, Brooklyn, N.Y.. 1987. Paine Webber Gallery, NYC, 1986. Gallery Casas Toledo Oosterom, NYC, 1986. White Columns, NYC, 1985. Tower Gallery, NYC, 1985. Paolo Salvador Gallery, NYC, 1984. The New Museum, NYC, 1984. Aljira Arts. Newark, N.J., 1984. The Drawing Center, NYC, 1984. University Art Gallery, NTSU, Denton. TX, 1983.

I JunesElaine Chaos on the Edge ofForm 1985. burlap. debris, acrylic on canvas. 96 x 204" Courtesy Gallery Casas Toledo Oosterom. N.Y.C.

OM- E m Place of Birth: Washington, D.C. Education: Beloit College, B A Selected Exhibitions Gracie Mansion Gallery, solo exhibitions, 1987, 1985. Heads. New York Studio School. 1986. . . The East Village, The Fashion Institute of Technology, NYC, 1986. . . . New York's Finest. Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles, CA. 1985. . The Figwe a s a n Image of the Psyche. Sculpture Center, NYC, 1985. . Playtnfl a t Natural Selection. Windows on White, NYC, 1984. . post Contemporary Art, Gracie Mansion Gallery, NYC, 1984. . Mixed Breeds, Art Galaxy. NYC, 1982: Hallwalls, Buffalo, N.Y., 1983. Post Modem Man, P.S. 122 Gallery, NYC. 1983. Termin0.l New York. Brooklyn, N.Y., 1983.

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I J o M ~ ~ Ellis detail. 1986. oil. hydrocal. polyadarn. cloth. metal. wood. with base. 66 x 12 x 12" Photo: Ellis Courtesy Gracie Mansion Gallery. N.Y.C.

anuel Macarrulla Place of Birth: Dominican Republic Education: The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, B.FA, M.FA., 1979.

Selected Exhibitions AH the News That's Fit for Prints. PPOW, NYC. 1987. Imagery of Black America - Personal a n d Political Statements, Robeson Center, Newark, N.J., 1987. With a n d Without Acclaim International Black a n d Hispanic Artists, Aljira Arts. NYC. Special Project Exhibition, P.S. 1, Long Island City, N.Y.. 1986. Cdrribean Art -African Cuments, Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art, NYC, 1986. In the Tropics, Longwood Center Art Gallery, Bronx, N.Y.. 1986. We're All in the Same Boat, a calendar project made by socially concerned artists. The Bronx River Art Center Gallery. Minor Injury. Printed Matter. ABC No Rio, and the Brecht Forum, NYC, 1985-86. Trends. MOCHA. NYC. 1985. Dimensions in Dissent, Kenkeleba House. NYC, 1985. Painted Light, Artists' Choice Museum. NYC, traveled to: the Reading Public Museum, the Colby College Art Museum, the Butler Institute of American Art. 1983.

T Manuel MaCamilla Goat Song *1: Struggle 1986. oil on canvas. 88 x 105'

athy Muehlemann Place of Birth: Austin, Texas Education: Empire State College of the State University of New York, B.P.S. Aflected Ekhibitions Oscarason Siegeltuch, NYC, 1986. Inspiration Comes from Nature. Jack Tflton Gallery, NYC. 1986.

rn New Abstract Paintings. Cork Gallery Lincoln Center, NYC, 1986. An Invitational, Condeso/Lawler Gallery. NYC, 1985. The Non-Objectice World, Kamikaze, NYC, 1985. Heresies, Bess Cutler Gallery, NYC, 1984. Drawing with Respect to Painting, The New York Studio School, NYC, 1984. Inaugural Exhibition, Jourdan Arpelle Fine Art. NYC, 1983. The New Spiritualism, Oscarrson Hood Gallery, NYC: Robert Hull Fleming Museum, University of Vermont; Jorgensen Gallery, University of Connecticut. 1981. Memorial Art Gallery. University of Rochester. Rochester. N.Y.. 1972.

I Kathy Muehlemann Leda 1986. oil on linen. 20 x 16" Courtesy Oscarsson Siegeltuch Gallery. N.Y.C.

Place of Birth: Portland, Oregon Education: University of California. Davis. M.F.A.. 1982. The Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Summer, 1981. Central Washington University, B.FA. 1980. .~~1~wtcdRxhthitionc -

Rush Hour Paintings, C.U.N.Y., Graduate Center Mall, NYC. 1987 Realities, Aljira Arts, Newark, N.J., 1987. Contemporary Art, Boca Raton Museum of Art, Florida, 1987. Seattle Pacific University, Seattle, WA, 1985. P.S. 1 Studio Artist. Art & Urban Resources. NYC. 1985-8L. Curator's Choice 11. Bronx Museum. 1986. Boulder Center for the Visual Arts, Boulder, CO, 1985. Notes from the Underground, Alan Frumkin Gallery, NYC, 1984. Images of Eclectic Energy, Cheney Cowles Memorial Museum. Spokane. WA, 1984. P.S. 1, Special Project Room. P.S. 1, Long Island City, N.Y., 1984. Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum, Santa Barbara, CA, 1983. New Work, Thomas Segal Gallery, Boston, MA. 1983. Montana State University-Haynes Fine Arts Gallery, Bozeman. MT, 1982. The Urban Show, Olive Hyde Art Center. Fremont, CA, 1982.

ieves Saah Place of Birth: Bilbao, Spain Education: American University, Washington, D.C.. 1974-76. The Maryland Institute, College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland, B.FA, 1982. Selected Exhibitions

a Solo Show. Edward Williams College Gallery, Fairleigh-Dickenson University, 1987. Tmnsculture/Tmnsmedia. Exit Art. NYC. 1986. Endangered Species. Artists for Artists Auction at the Puck Building, NYC, 1986. Salon West 3, Cork Gallery, Lincoln Center, N.Y.C., 1986. Moss, Aljira Arts. Newark, N.J. 22 Wooster Gallery, NYC. 1985. Outside Manhattan, The 9th Precinct Gallery. NYC, 1985. Artists Look at War. St. John's United Methodist Church. Baltimore, Maryland. 1983.

a N i e v e s W Ana's Exit 1985. oil on linen. 55 x 7 7