New body of work, poetic just is: Cuban spirit revealed, to be on View February 27 to March 27 at the Armory
Opening ceremony on 28 February from 4:30 to 5:30 pm featuring Tibetan healing ritual
Closing reception and party on 20 March from 6 to 9pm during Walk on White
The Studios of Key West presents an exhibition of bold new images and text gathered by writer Cricket Desmarais on journalistic visits to Cuba in 2007. The body of mixed-media works, “poetic just is,” will be on view at the Key West Armory from 27 February to 27 March. The pictures reveal Desmarais’s investigation and interpretation of the Cuban spirit, and the precarious balance and collective sense of courage she witnessed during her recent sanctioned visits there.
“My intention is to create a bridge of understanding and a sense of connect with the Cuban people,” she says. “And to create a forum for dialogue, beginning with art, for those that have their own history with our nearby island."
Over twenty new giclee images will be presented at The Studios of Key West, some traditionally stretched and others embracing the Cuban notion of “resolver”— to resolve, make it work (regardless of the lack of resources). Desmarais also utilizes multi-media effects, including photographic images printed on canvas strung and hung with sugarcane, images printed on rusty tools, large canvases with text.
“Cuba is so often misunderstood or misrepresented,” she continues. “I think it’s important to honor the truth of what is actually happening over there, but in a way that is subtle enough to allow room for people to have their own reflections of what they are viewing.”
Her first one person show, "poetic just is" also serves as a kind of inner retrospective for a woman who was born of Cuban culture but did not experience it growing up.
“The process of putting together the pieces and writing the text has allowed me to explore a new connection with that side of my family,” says the half Cuban artist, whose father and his family escaped political turmoil there in the early sixties. “I try to live with a poet’s heart,” says Desmarais, “which helps develop my ability to reflect on the world, transcend the politics of place, and celebrate the simple beauty and truth of being human.”
Desmarais was trained as a writer, where she learned to use words to cull through the superfluous and go straight to the core. Many Key Westers also know her as the editor of the popular cultural periodical the secret of salt: an indigenous journal, and as a frequent literary voice on the island. For her first major one-person exhibition, she wants to do the same with a newly discovered visual language.
“This show, for me, is also about giving the Cubans a sense of the poetic justice they’ve long deserved in the best way I know how.”
The Studios of Key West will present "poetic just is" from 27 February 27 March, and the public is invited. An opening Tibetan healing ritual is planned for Thursday 28 February from 4:30 to 5:30 to honor the opening of the show and the Cuban people it represents. A closing reception and public celebration is planned for the 20 March Walk on White from 6 to 9pm. That event will also feature a few short readings by Desmarais, live music, refreshments, and open tours of The Studios of Key West facilities. For more information, contact TSKW at 296-0458. To learn more about "poetic just is," contact Desmarais at 923-6013.
