from the Collector's Series

Diaspora Vibe's

Invitation Only Collector's Series: October 13, 2010

Trinidad Carnival Costume by Brian Wong Won

Valerie Davis-Bailey, Rosie Gordon-Wallace, Patricia Roldan, Lisa Remeny

'Ruby' by Norma Trimborn


Carla Hill with Jean Chiang



Brian Wong Won, Rosie Gordon-Wallace and Jeremy Powell

Brian Wong Won and Carole Ann Taylor

Artist Lisa Remeny (center) and guests

Ahnk by Carol Jaime

Rosie Gordon-Wallace and Guests

Patricia Roldan and her Tropicalis work

Lisa Remeny and Patricia Roldan

Carol Ann Taylor and guests

Collector's Series Event: Wednesday, October 13

Wednesday, October 13, 6-8pm

Diaspora Vibe Gallery

3938 N. Miami Ave

Miami, FL 33127

Please RSVP:
305-573-4046
rgw@diasporavibe.net or rogwall3@yahoo.com

This is a one night only event. Please join us in this exciting Collector’s Series Event. We will have a wide range of art for your viewing and collecting pleasure. This is a once a year event, and we look forward to your presence.

South Florida Times Reviews Carib~bean Exhibit

This article was originally published in the South Florida Times.

Diaspora Exhibit Captures Carib~bean Essence

by Kimberly Grant

I’m not one for attending gallery exhibits. Most of the time, what people deem as art is just one hot mess to me. When I do view art, I tend to gravitate to art that is aesthetically pleasing, which probably makes me an art neophyte.

The Diaspora Vibe Gallery, the only gallery I seem to have an interest in these days, is a good space for art catering to an urban clientele. It’s a decent-sized space with solid hard wood floors and white walls that come alive with art. The gallery’s latest exhibit is an ode to Caribbean artwork, called Carib~bean, The Way You Like It. Seven artists have chosen the gallery to showcase a few of their paintings and renderings of Caribbean life.

Patricia Boyd-Roldan, whose inspiration came from living in the Philippines for a period of time, has a collection of paintings that are of tropical flora. The detailing in Roldan’s paintings is magnificent and aesthetically pleasing. The artist also captures the serenity and beauty of nature at its most colorful.

Lisa Remeny, a native of Miami and a California College of the Arts graduate, loves to paint seascapes and play with the sun and the moon. Her oil-based paintings, inspired by islands from the Caribbean to the South Pacific, are large and seem to bring rays of sunshine to any space. Remeny’s A Little Way Different, with its turquoise-colored wood and splash of orange is gorgeous.

A Little Way actually made me want to escape within the turquoise of the wood. With its shadow of palm leaves and vibrant colors, it creates the perfect Caribbean vibe.

Brian Wong Won, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, grew up a stone’s throw away from where Carnival is held and his paintings are inspired by happenings in the annual street celebration. The artist had a bad experience at Carnival when he was 4 years old that obviously influenced his view of the festival. His paintings seem happy, at first, but the worried looks on the faces of some of his people convey an eerie vibe.

Paul Chang, a native of Surinam, has always been inspired by flora and fauna and bright colors, but has taken a different approach to his paintings on show.

They don’t appear to say much. With their splashes of earthy colors and random shapes in the middle of seeming chaos, his collection is the least sensical of the entire exhibit. None of his paintings have any rhyme or reason and don’t appear to match up with their titles. I didn’t like this collection.

Jeremy Powell, a native of Port Arthur, Texas, has lived in Puerto Rico and Barbados. He refers to his style as “expressive vignettes of the moment.” His six paintings, simply titled Marchand, are essentially expressions of the same unattractive woman. Assuming her name is Marchand, she looks different in each painting, old in one and younger in another.

Carol Ann Taylor, a famous Caribbean artist, was nice enough to make available on loan to Diaspora Vibe a few pieces from her collection, especially by Carol Jaime and Norma Trimborn. Jaime’s entry, a black-and-white piece titled Ruby, conveys a certain depth but is not easy to look at. Trimborn, on the other hand, seems to have captured life in a small Caribbean town called Simpson Bay. Her people are all faceless and can signify any one person living in the Caribbean.

They live in run-down houses next to a beautiful ocean. The contrast speaks to the poverty of the people and the beauty of the landscape. It’s brilliant.

There are wonderful pieces in the showroom, including the archaic, yet modern furniture courtesy of Koji Collection and Madoka Design.

Diaspora Vibe’s curator, Rosie Gordon-Wallace, adds a nice touch to the entire exhibit by displaying art books dedicated to Caribbean painters and artwork. If you go to this exhibit, be sure to take a look into these books; they are just as engaging as the paintings on the wall.

Kimberly Grant may be reached at KAliciaG@aol.com.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DISAPORA VIBE GALLERY. EXPRESSIVE: Ruby, painted by Norma Trimbourne, is on display in the Carib~bean, The Way You Like It exhibition at the Diaspora Vibe Gallery in Miami.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Art exhibition titled Carib~bean, The Way You Like It

WHEN: 11 a.m.- 6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday through Sept. 23 and Saturday by appointment.

WHERE: Diaspora Vibe Gallery, 3938 N. Miami Ave., Miami

COST: Free to the public

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Call 305-573-4046 or log on to www.diasporavibe.net.

Jean Chiang honors 'Mama G' in Revolution Gallery's 'Tea, Glorious Tea' Exhibition

Artist Jean Chiang honors 'Mama G' in the exhibition 'Tea, Glorious Tea' at Revolution Gallery in Jamaica. In the article below, Chiang recalls her memories of Eglantine Melita Buchanan Gordon and discusses the work included in this show.



FROM HANOVER TO MIAMI

“Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength” St. Francis de Sales (August 21, 1567 - December 28, 1622)

Eglantine Melita Buchanan Gordon came to mind when I heard this quote in May of this year.

I met Mama G in June, 2001, probably during my first show with Rosie Gordon Wallace and Diaspora Vibe Gallery in Miami. Mama G was undeniably the matriarch, wise, warm and welcoming with a beautiful smile, asking everyone to sign the guestbook at DVG openings. Her gentleness and strength were evident to me from the beginning. Only years later, did I find out that Mama G had purchased one of my pieces, Hand, a clay wall piece of my handprint, from that show. I was moved to hear about Mama G’s early support of my artwork.

Mama G with Roy, Rosie’s husband and Gordon, their son, was one of DVG’s staunchest supporters. Through the years, she attended many openings, always fashionably dressed for the occasion, meeting and greeting the many guests and friends. Mama G was a perfect ambassador for the artists and the gallery and we were always happy to have her presence and positive energy.

During the last nine years of working with Rosie and DVG, I saw Mama G countless times at home, sometimes having a meal together; sometimes Mama G was in her room watching her programs, enjoying Jeopardy, American Idol or Dancing With the Stars; sometimes we sat at the dining table with a cup of tea.

I remember having my first cup of ginger tea with Mama G, “good for the digestion”, I was told. I enjoyed our conversations together and I would try to tell Mama G funny stories or incidents to hear her laugh and shake her head at me as if to say, “Are you serious ?!” I’m sure that I told her about the 7’ dancing bear on a leash on the roadside in India or being asked if I was a ninja by an older woman in black on an overnight Greek ferry or being served an entire loaf or “tower of toast” served vertically on a tea saucer in a quick stop Mexican rail station.


In our times together, I knew Mama G to be “a virtuous woman -- dutiful, loyal, generous, faithful and strong” and....gentle. I never heard her raise her voice on any occasion but I knew that she could certainly make her opinions or ideas known without ever doing so. Twenty nine years ago, Mama G came from Jamaica, from Hanover to Miami. Nine years ago, I came from New York to Miami and became a better person for having known Mama G.


From Hanover to Miami is a mixed media work on paper to honor the life of Eglantine Melita Buchanan Gordon ( November 26, 1916 - June 10, 2010 ). Mama G touched so many lives in so many different ways; she will always be remembered and loved.

Many thanks to Carol Campbell and Revolution Gallery for continuing the tradition of Tea, Glorious Tea. This is the fourth year of my participation in the show.

Special thanks to Rosie Gordon Wallace, Roy Wallace, Gordon Myers and family for sharing their beloved Mama G with the world.

Sincere thanks, appreciation and much love to Rosie Gordon Wallace, Patricia Roldan and Diaspora Vibe Gallery for their support of my artwork through the years.

Interview with Rosie Gordon-Wallace on WLRN

01 JB-Diaspora Vibe Gallery, 6-22-07

Carib~bean, The Way You Like It

by Patricia Roldan

Carib~bean, The Way You Like It

August 12-September 23, 2010

Artists:
Paul Chang
Carol Jaime
Jeremy Powell
Lisa Remeny
Patricia Roldan
Norma Trimborn
Brian Wong Won


Diaspora Vibe Gallery
3938 N. Miami Avenue
Miami Design District
Miami, FL 33127
305.573.4046
305.573.7675

Jeremy Powell


by Paul Chang

Lisa Remeny

Carol Jaime

Norma Trimborn

by Jacquenette Arnette

***

Ogunji's 'Incidents at the 22 Hotel' Premieres in Austin, Texas

Wura-Natasha Ogunji's performance work 'Incidents at the 22 Hotel' premieres at The Off Center in Austin, Texas this August 13 and 14.

Incidents at the 22 Hotel takes a post-apocalyptic landscape and imagines what it is to be part of that future. The main character, called ‘Unexplained Presence’ struggles to imagine her own existence. During the performance, she lives two lives, one as an African artifact, full of ancient power, yet motionless. In the other, she must choose to be human and imagine herself into the future. The Porter, a trickster-like character, wears a fantastical mask which also doubles as the hotel itself and accompanies Unexplained Presence on her journey. The Runners keep track of time as they literally run for as long as this futuristic world exists.

Dinorah de Jesus Rodriguez featured in Miami New Times

Experimental Filmmaker Takes Over Miami's Legion Park
By Amanda McCorquodale

This article was originally published on the Miami New Times blog July 14, 2010
Full article here.

We don't know what will surprise you more -- the dancing, flickering images bouncing off the oak trees at Legion Park or the fact that there are actually people in a Miami-Dade park. This Saturday from 8 to 10 p.m., experimental film lovers and curious passersby will swarm the park for Dinorah de Jesús Rodríguez's "Elusive Landscape," a site-specific film installation projected onto foliage. Sound designer Ricardo Lastre will provide a soundscape of ambient noise.

But does Miami have an appetite for abstract cinema? Rodríguez believes Miami's "audience that will purposely seek out experimental film is very limited. But the audience that can be surprised by it in the street is everywhere."

"Elusive Landscape" recently took over the Tequesta mounds and dark trails of Arch Creek Park. And after turning Legion Park into a theater of trees this Saturday, Rodríguez will take her projectors to E.G. Sewell Park, where, according to the artist, the beauty of royal palms and poinciana trees meets the grotesqueness of discarded Santería offerings.

New Times: Describe "Elusive Landscape."
Dinorah de Jesús Rodríguez: This project is a celebration of Miami's neighborhoods, greenspaces, and eco-systems, and yes, our extreme weather, complete with humidity and bugs. The project is a series of 16mm film installations at five separate outdoor locations over the course of five months.


​
Is there an audience for experimental film in Miami?
I think it is a very new concept here, but fortunately we have enough transplants from other cities who know what experimental film is. I think with the upcoming expansion of the Cinematheque in Miami Beach, the opening of the new Cinematheque in the Gables, and the development of yet a third alternative film venue, O Cinema. The South Florida community is about to be bombarded by this very expansive genre in a big way. And I think our audiences are ready for this, just like they were ready for the visual art explosion that Art Basel brought our way. It may take a little time for people to realize that this type of work is already happening here, and for audiences to wholeheartedly support it, but I believe that Miami is ready for this type of art, and it will eventually take off.

Do you only work with film?
No. I work primarily in film, mainly because no other discipline allows me to play with the interface between visual art and cinema so well. I stick mainly to 16mm because, over time, I have acquired the equipment for this format (as opposed to the equipment for working in 35mm which is prohibitively expensive). I love the physicality and chemical properties of film, and I try to exploit and push these as much as possible in my work.

What filmmakers inspire you?
I became an experimental filmmaker upon seeing the works of Maya Deren, so it probably all begins there. Stan Brakhage, of course, is a major influence, as is Len Lye, though it's possible that many people in Miami have no idea who they are. Nam June Paik - what can I say? I think he may well have been my favorite artist of all time. Paul Sharits with his multiple projections, and artists like Bruce Conner and Chick Strand, who worked a lot with found footage and really blurred the line between documentary and abstraction. Among more contemporary artists, I am blown away by Pipilotti Rist and really love the work of Lorna Simpson.

You worked with Trinh T. Minh-ha. What was that experience like?
Minh-ha has been a very important mentor in my career, as I admire her tremendously both as a theorist and as a filmmaker. The most powerful influences Minh-ha has had on my work have been the understanding of time as a visual element - to really be able to feel the way pacing manipulates an audience and drives the soul of the film - and the concept of deconstruction of entrenched cinematic formulas by way of such simple gestures as separating image from sound, or by joining sound and images that "don't belong together."

"Elusive Landscape" By Dinorah de Jesus Rodriguez

Dinorah de Jesus Rodriguez, recipient of the 2009 Funding Arts Network Knight New Works Award, presents Elusive Landscape

Elusive Landscape will be presented at five public parks in Miami from June to October 2010. This work consists of multiple hand-crafted 16mm films depicting the forms and colors of natural landscapes projected directly into the landscapes themselves. These events will be free and open to the public. All events take place from 8-10 PM

Saturday, June 12: Arch Creek Park
1855 NE 135th Street, North Miami

Saturday, July 17: Legion Park
6630 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami

Saturday, August 14: Sewell Park
1801 NW South River Drive, Miami

Saturday, September 11: Miami Beach Botanical Garden
2000 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach

Thursday, October 7: Vizcaya Gardens
3251 South Miami Ave., Miami

November 18-25: Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator, Culminating
Exhibition - 3938 N. Miami Ave, Miami 33127

Opening Reception
Thursday, November 18, 7:00- 10:00pm

A project website is set up to facilitate the on-going project and final exhibition: www.elusivelandscape.blogspot.com

Remembering 'Mama G'

Eglantine Melita Gordon, nee Buchanan
November 26, 1916 – June 10, 2010

Born in Riverside, Hanover, Jamaica and known affectionately as ‘Mama G’, Eglantine Melita Buchanan Gordon spent the last twenty-nine years of her life living in Miami, Florida.

A member of Bay Shore Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Women Missionary League (LWML), she was recognized in her community as a matriarch. On June 10th at 8:05pm, she passed peacefully at her home in Morningside at 93 years of age, surrounded by several family members and friends.

She spent most of her youthful life as an elementary school educator and Sunday school teacher in Jamaica, West Indies, after graduating from Bethlehem Teacher’s College. Eglantine enjoyed teaching in the classroom almost as much as she loved mentoring young people within and outside of her family.

She is remembered as a virtuous woman—dutiful, loyal, generous, faithful and strong.

She traveled faithfully each year to participate in Easter celebrations at Meadowbrook United Church, her former church in Kingston, Jamaica.

Widowed from Rupert Wesley Gordon, she is survived by her three daughters—Yvonne Elaine Hill, Patricia Evadne Ferdinand, and Rosemarie Gordon-Wallace. Sons-in-law: Tyrone Hill, Donald Ferdinand, Frederick Myers and Roy Anthony Wallace. Grand children: Marc Hill, Michael Hill, Marlon Hill and Misha Hill, Michelle Ferdinand-Liu, Andree Ferdinand and Gordon Myers. Great grandchildren: Brianna Hill, Brandon Hill, Braxton Hill, Tereese Hill, Ezra Liu and Esther Grace Liu. Sisters Thelma Buchanan Campbell, Daphne Buchanan Henry, Essie Johnson, Emel Johnson, Ethlyn Johnson and Lynda Shaw. And many nieces, nephews; grand and great grand, cousins in Jamaica, Canada, United Kingdom, the Lutheran Church and Meadowbrook United Church (Jamaica), family, neighbors and friends.

Visitation, Friday, June 18, 2010, 6:30pm to 8:30pm, Gregg L. Mason Funeral Home, 10936 N.E. 6th Avenue, Miami Shores, FL 33131. (305-757-9000)

Funeral Services, Saturday, June 19, 2010, 10am. Bay Shore Lutheran Church, 5051 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, FL 33131 (305-758-1344)

Internment, Cabellero Rivero Woodlawn, 1655 SW 117th Avenue, Miami, FL 33186, (305-238-3672)

In lieu of flowers, please make contributions to The Eglantine Melita Gordon Memorial Fund, c/o, Dade Community Foundation, 200 S. Biscayne Blvd. Suite 505, Miami, FL 33131.