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An amazing collaboration between Cuban painter José Bedia and Swiss artist Katja Loher, Interplanetary Kisses is a revolutionary art exhibition in Santo Domingo. So knowing our beloved Casa de Campo community are always hungry for a little art and culture, let’s take a look at this newly opened exhibit.
Some things are like chocolate and peanut butter. Delicious when separate, not as much so when together. This is not one of those things. Interplanetary Kisses is a wonderful combination of two very different artists from two very different art styles, united in an amazing blend of artworks that, despite their differences, compliment each other in amazing ways.
First we have Cuban painter José Bedia, known for his vibrant paintings that deal with social issues in beautifully symbolic ways, as seen in Espacio Vital, which depicts fighter planes silhouetted against a sunset, as a man stands below, aiming at them with a primitive bow and arrow. The explosion of greens and reds, further highlighted by the utter blackness of the silhouettes, makes for a fantastic first impression when it comes to his art.
On the very opposite end of the spectrum in seemingly every way is Swiss “video-artist” Katja Loher who creates surreal artwork using pictures and technology edited on computer, a far cry from the paint-and-easel approach used by Bedia. We can observe pictures welded together in oddly fitting ways, such as in the still pictures below, in which she has welded an image of a woman dressed as a bee several times into a painting of actual bees in a circular hive.
While the two artists are vastly dissimilar, their artwork seems to compliment one another in odd ways, one leaning more towards the traditional, another towards the modern – both beautiful and delightfully avant-garde.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. An exhibition like that could only be found in some art nouveau museum in Paris or Berlin – well, you’re wrong. Famed German curator Jeanette Zwingenberger has brought to the Lyle O. Reitzel Gallery in Santo Domingo! Only a little over an hour’s drive away from Casa de Campo on the new Autovía del Este, this exhibit is a must-see for anyone even mildly interested in art.
Besides, while you’re over in the capital, why not stroll through the streets of Santo Domingo’s Colonial Zone, the first permanent settlement in the New World – or go for a shop in the nation’s largest malls, if you were the sort of person to yawn through history class.
Seeing the Caribbean in the summer is a no-brainer, but there’s more to us island nations than white sand and blue sky, and maybe it’s about time more of that comes to light. Art, history, and nature have a home in Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic, and in all of the Caribbean.
Interplanetary Kisses – Art Exhibit
When: Open until July 23, 2014
Where: Lyle O. Reitzel Gallery, Torre Piantini Suite 1 y 2a, Gustavo Mejía Ricart, Esq. Av. Abraham Lincoln, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Contact: 1 (809) 227-8361