In conversation: Yovani Bauta

In conversation: Yovani Bauta

Image Credit: Yovani Bauta & The Cuban Art Project

In Conversation: Yovani Bauta & Toa Castellanos
Thursday, June 13, 2013-6 p.m.

MDC Museum of Art + Design

600 Biscayne Blvd
Miami, FL 33132

Please join the MDC Museum of Art + Design this Thursday evening at 6 p.m. for a lively discussion between artists Yovani Bauta and Toa Castellanos. The conversation is presented in conjunction with Invisible Presence, Bauta's solo exhibition currently on view at the Museum.

Yovani Bauta is a Cuban born, American Painter. Spanning a career of over 25 years, Invisible Presence is an exhibition of recent works, including a new interactive installation, Head in the Bathroom, which explores levels of privacy and false senses of security.

Toa Castellanos was born in Cuba, grew up in the Midwest, lived extensively in Colombia, South America, and currently lives and works in Miami. Her multidisciplinary work derives from her interest and research in displacement, exile, homelessness and female position in society. Toa is currently a resident artist at the Bakehouse Art Complex.

Admission is FREE and open to the public. To RSVP please call (305) 237-7725

Invisible Presence is presented with the support of the Miami-Dade County  Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council,  the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners. ©2013 Miami Dade College - Museum of Art + Design | 600 Biscayne Blvd. Miami, Florida 33132

Invisible Presence & Head in the Bathroom

Jeremy Mikolajczak, Director del MDC Museum of Arts + Design

Recent works by Yovani Bauta

June 7 – August 10, 2013

The current exhibition of paintings and drawings by Cuban-born American Artist Yovani Bauta, Invisible Presence, explores resilience in the face of daunting obstacles. The artworks depict intimate portraits of immigrants, homeless, the elderly and even a stray dog, in a heavy impasto of varying degrees of emotion. Politically irreverent in nature and often considered marginal or “outsiders” by society, the subjects in the work render themselves invisible. In an unassuming portrayal, their suffering and misfortune is far too real for the everyday person to comprehend, thus paralyzing any form of helpful action; falling upon empathy and pity.

Bauta’s project, Head in the Bathroom is a project that focuses on the so-called privacy of public restrooms and challenges the traditional means of public exhibition installation. A series of portraits are placed at eye level on the bathroom walls of the Museum, creating an unnerving sense of being watched. The uncertainty creates a false sense of security and challenges the promise of privacy that a bathroom typically offers.

Yovani Bauta holds a Law Degree from the University Of Matanzas, Cuba. After shifting careers and focusing his life’s passion as an artist, Bauta has presented over 26 solo exhibitions and numerous group exhibitions across North America and Europe. His artwork has manifested in many forms including traditional painting, drawing and sculpture; as well as installation, performance and interactive art. Bauta is a frequent lecturer and author on artists of the Cuban Diaspora. Spanning a career of over 25 years, Invisible Presence is Bauta’s first solo exhibition at the MDC Museum of Art + Design.

Invisible Presence & Head in the Bathroom was organized by the MDC Museum of Art + Design

Head in the Bathroom

In Part I of The Godfather, Mike Corleone, Vito's son, enters a restaurant bathroom to get the gun hidden behind the toilet tank. In All the President's Men, Robert Redford is a presidential candidate who gets slapped around in the privacy of a public bathroom. Society understands that things happen behind the closed doors of bathrooms and not only in movies: secret deals, murders, drugs, sex, voyeurism, police arrests, secret service surveillance, etc. The intimate space meant to accommodate our most personal needs is also a place for a multitude of other actions and events that have little or nothing to do with  le toilette.

http://www.mdcmoad.org

Invisible Presence / Recent works by Yovani Bauta

Invisible Presence. Recent works by Yovani Bauta
June 7 - August 10, 2013 
MDC Museum of Art + Design

Opening Reception: Friday, June 7, 2013. 6 p.m.

Invisible Presence is Yovani Bauta’s first solo exhibition at the MDC Museum of Art + Design. Bauta’s artwork –spanning over 25 years --has manifested in many forms including traditional painting, drawing and sculpture; as well as installation, performance and interactive art. Invisible Presence presents an exhibition of recent works, including a new interactive installation, Head in the Bathroom, which explores levels of privacy and false senses of security.

A complete schedule, including lectures and open discussions to be held throughout the summer will be announced in early June. The exhibition will be on display through Aug. 10. Museum hours are Wednesday - Sunday, noon – 5 p.m. Admission is free and private tours are available.

http://www.mdcmoad.org