Avant Garde Art in the Americas Focus of New Exhibition at Foosaner Art Museum
‘Pan American Modernism’ Opens April 29
MELBOURNE, FLA. — Florida Institute of Technology’s Foosaner Art Museum presents Pan American Modernism: Avant-Garde Art in Latin America and the United States, from Saturday, April 29, through July 29.
The works in the exhibition highlight the rich visual dialogue between objects produced by artists working in 13 countries in North, South and Central America, and the Caribbean, between 1919 and 1979.
Organized by the Lowe Art Museum at the University of Miami and curated by University of Miami Assistant Professor Nathan Timpano, Pan American Modernism showcases more than 70 works of art, including paintings, sculpture, works on paper, photography, and mixed media.
Pan American Modernism uses thematic sections to analyze how processes of artistic exchange contributed to the expansion of modernism as an intercontinental phenomenon across the Americas in the 20th century. Dialogues among the Cuban avant-garde, Mexican muralism and its legacy counterpoints, Abstract Expressionism, modernist photography, and geometric abstraction explore commonalities and disconnects throughout the Americas.
Artists featured in the exhibition include Eduardo Abela, Wilfredo Lam, Man Ray, Amelia Peláez, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Adolph Gottlieb, Jacob Lawrence, Hans Hoffmann, Gordon Matta-Clark and Roberto Matta.
“Using pointed juxtapositions of artists from different countries and cultural backgrounds, the pieces explore how artistic practices across two continents in the 20th century were interrelated,” said Carla Funk, director of university museums. “Pan American Modernism presents modernism as intercontinental, decentralized and interdisciplinary.”
Related Programming
- Curating Modern Art in the Americas: 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 29, Harris Auditorium at Foosaner Art Museum. Join the curator of Pan American Modernism, Nathan Timpano, Ph.D., for a discussion of the making of the exhibition and some of the larger issues surrounding the show’s themes. Timpano is assistant professor of art history at the University of Miami. He has also held positions at the National Gallery of Art, the Kreeger Museum, and the Harvard Art Museums. His publications on modern and avant-garde art in the Caribbean region include the exhibition catalogue for Pan American Modernism, as well as essays and scholarly articles on the Afro-Chinese Cuban artist Wifredo Lam and the Cuban Los Once/Los Cinco expressionist artists.
- Family Day: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 20, Foosaner Art Museum. Bring the family to the museum for a special day of kid-friendly activities including a bilingual story hour, interactive tours, hands-on art activities in the nearby Renee Foosaner Education Center, and food trucks in Eau Gallie Square.
Foosaner Art Museum, 1463 Highland Ave. in the Eau Gallie Arts District of Melbourne, features changing exhibitions of nationally and internationally recognized art. The museum also draws from its permanent collection of over 5,000 objects to present exhibitions relevant to the community and revealing of art historical movements. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Free admission. Find out more at www.foosanerartmuseum.org or by calling 321-674-8916.
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