ART after BASEL

by Brinson Renda on February 2, 2010

Oh Art Basel, you came and went… we scurried like ants searching for the next delicious sugar cube, trampling those that were in the way just to get our fill. It should be considered an extreme sport to be able to soak in the entire over saturation of art that spills into the streets of Miami Beach for those few days… drowning most. There are many established galleries, specifically in the Wynwood Art District that embrace the flood of art lovers, gallerists & critics alike each year.

One of the newer galleries that surfaced out of the chaos was next door to mine named after the artist & owner: Claudia Calle. She is an emerging artist whose discipline is photography and mixed media with a background in advertising. Setting up for Basel the month prior, I spent a lot of time getting to know this new artist & the body of work that she was debuting. The series that caught most of the attention from the public was “The Republic of China,” a propaganda based series with each detailed print displaying quite the pregnant moment. I am personally drawn to propaganda imagery due to its reflection of a society’s issues with the sarcastic overtones & half-truth twists.

She told me that when she visited China, she began to realize the impact the ‘West’ had on the once traditional based culture.

“More and more Chinese people are adopting our Western culture, forgetting their ancestral heritage and methodologies. They dream of buying new cars and wearing foreign clothing brands; now they not only produce these products, they want to buy them too. The illusion of progress is changing their “Long life” for a lifestyle that is short, solitary, unhealthy and stressful.”

I agreed; the rapid growth (economically speaking) is growing at an exponential rate and is simultaneously creating a new social class. The rise of this new working class reminds me of the French’s 18th Century ‘le petite bourgeoisie.’ Her work sort of harks back to 18th Century Orientalism too, but with an obvious update to meet today’s pop-culture symbolism that is displayed in most of her prints. Moreover, Claudia’s perspective has translated this matter for the public in such a clear, clever & didactic way. Keep an eye out for this artist and visit her site or gallery to learn more.

>>>Wynwood Art District (2722 NW 2 Ave)<<<