Agora Gallery - Special Exhibitions

Supreme masters of the imagination, Latin American artists have always captivated us and found resonance in our lives. Now in its second year, the 2003 Latin American Fine Art Exhibition at Agora Gallery has generated a great deal of interest in the artists. This exciting exhibition features some of the most compelling work available today.

Pedro Portugal

Pedro Portugal is a painter, engraver, sculptor, illustrator and decorator, who searches for translucence in color. The still, hieratic figures, shapes and landscapes are closely connected to those that need to escape the canvas, the paper, the space itself. Born in La Paz, Portugal received a master’s in Plastic Arts at the University of Tucuman. He studied under renowned artists throughout the world, including the art of lithography and engraving in Spain, and the impressionists and the masters in Paris. Portugal has to his credit more than 300 personal and collective exhibitions in South America, Europe and the U.S.

"Composition Musicale"
Acrylic on Canvas
32.00'' x 40.00''

"Je Me Promene"
Acrylic on Canvas
25.00'' x 28.00''

Fer Veriga

Inspired by her Brazilian upbringing, Veriga's broad stroke style and vibrant color palette create richness, liveliness and passion in her paintings. The beauty of the finished piece is driven to capture the core essence of emotion, vitality and truth of the subject matter. Her natural ability to dissipate barriers and perceptions provides us with new and vibrant visions of the familiar. Veriga continually tries to evolve herself by challenging her style in varied environments, whether she is painting at her home, her studio or during her many travels. She lets her emotions guide her work, resulting in bright colors and dramatic contrasts that capture the mood of the subject in a unique style for which she has become known.

"Aviva Over Burnt Sienna"
Oil on Canvas
30.00'' x 30.00''

"Maria"
Oil on Canvas
30.00'' x 40.00''

Fernando Tovar

If there is an outstanding ingredient in Fernando Tovar's work, it is the way he handles the light, focusing it in an arbitrary way, to elements he wants to emphasize, to create an atmosphere of serene intimacy that invites you to reflect about sensuality. The women in his paintings are a tribute to the human anatomy, and his still life paintings pay homage to nature. After practicing architecture for several years, he decided to pursue formal training as an artist and completed four years' work at The School of the Museum of Fine Art. While there, he participated in the Pan-American Graphic Arts Portfolio and in an exhibition of Colombian artists at The Museum of Contemporary Art at the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C.

"Still Life #2"
Oil
40.00'' x 30.00''

"Still Life"
Oil
40.00'' x 30.00''

Lorena Rodríguez

Two thousand years of Mexico's vibrant culture go into the art of Lorena Rodriguez. The cultures of the Mayans, Aztecs and Teotihuacans influence her work, as do the Lacandons and Hulchols. She says, "I try to include this on a thematic level, but exclude it figuratively, so that my paintings represent a more modern Mexico." She admits that the physical similarities between her models and herself lend egocentric undertones. In addition to the human figure, short texts appear in her paintings in an effort to leave something in the viewer's subconscious. She says, "I know many will see my work without understanding it, while others who do understand it may not like it."

"The Wave (La Ola)"
Acrylic
47.00'' x 39.00''

"Oaxaca (Se Me Subio Oaxaca)"
Acrylic
59.00'' x 39.00''

Francesca Rota-Loiseau

"I have always been sensitive to what people express through their eyes. People's gazes often are more revealing than words and that is why they fascinate me. I like to think that I get to my subject's soul when I am able to capture his/her glance through my painting. I realized that my memory had kept hundreds of eyes that suddenly flooded my memory. Charcoal, pastel, oil and later acrylic let me bring back the powerful stares of the people that live on the Pacific coast of Ecuador, Esmeraldas, and inland Chota. Later I needed to rejuvenate and revive the strength in the eyes of significant people and friends."

"Vientos"
Oil on Canvas
16.00'' x 12.00''

"Verde"
Acrylic on Canvas
20.00'' x 24.00''

Vitor Azambuja

Flowers are a recurring theme in Azambuja’s work. A monothematic painter, he uses flowers as a springboard to create abstractions. Azambuja uses a recurring theme as a point of departure and, as another artist once said, he is forming a picture out of color. The most important factor in Azambuja’s paintings is the use of color, the gradation and the juxtaposition of the individual hues that brings out an unparalleled luminosity. In addition, the brush strokes used for the flower stems and the background washes add to the richness of the texture and give a sense of direction.

"Sky"
Acrylic on Canvas
12.00'' x 20.00''

"Hortela"
Acrylic on Canvas
28.00'' x 39.00''

Jorge Humberto Gonçalves-Romero

Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Jorge Humberto Gonçalves-Romero’s artwork reflects his free view of painting. Through strong colors and shapes, he seeks to convey the strength and power of men and women, who end up being one single entity. His aim is to reflect their personalities and to represent their inner expressions and their souls. Gonçalves-Romero’s work revolves around the study of light. He tries to explore different ways of contrasting tones. Gonçalves-Romero has dedicated eight years of his life to research and development. “Art gives me the balance in life. Things can be explained up to a certain point, which is exactly the border between logic and art.”

"Human Trees X"
Mixed Media
67.00'' x 33.00''

"The City"
Oil on Canvas
62.00'' x 47.00''

Rodrigo Hernandez

Rodrigo Hernandez describes the imagery in his three-dimensional mixed media paintings as “keyholes through which we can see that there is a whole universe inside of everyone and everything.” Rodrigo layers acrylic paint to the point where the surface starts to look like glass. At the same time, he builds chambers literally inside the painting that contain mixtures of dry pigments, tobacco, sand, petals and soil. Originally from Mexico City, Rodrigo is basically a self-taught artist, he has studied at the Toronto School of Art and York University.

"Laura"
Mixed Media
42.00'' x 72.00''

"Manuel"
Mixed Media
42.00'' x 72.00''

Adan Dorfman

In the work of Adan Dorfman, color is emotion. In his work there is always an underlying current of emotion transmitted through a fearless use of color. His work, which is distinctive in its straightforward use of color and form, produces a clear emotional reaction from the spectator. Although the artist is reluctant to try to classify his work, when asked to, he may say that it is naïve surrealism. In his work I see the subconscious world, in all of it´s complexity and depth, as seen through the eyes of a child. For Adan, life is the greatest work of art and, as a result, he approaches every day with the spontaneity and passion we see in his work.

"Civilized Headache"
Oil
39.00'' x 48.00''

"Green Future"
Oil on Canvas
28.00'' x 55.00''

Renato Dorfman

Since his beginnings as a sculptor Renato Dorfman has been relentless in his search for “originality”, in its purest sense. He is able to abandon himself in the moment of creation by trusting the material to reveal itself. More than objects, we find spaces that hold untold stories. Regardless of the dimensions, his work almost always transmits the feeling of monumental proportions. In contemplating his sculptures, we often have a desire to become minute, so that we can explore the organic architecture while inhabiting a space that seems to have grown out of clay. This creative expression was incorporated into the decoration of hotels, restaurants and public areas in Cancun, Cozumel and the Riviera Maya.

"The Perversity of Ego"
Mixed Media
29.00'' x 50.00''

"The Pain of the Sea Sponge"
Mixed Media
25.00'' x 28.00''

Susana Bonnet

Through her paintings, Argentinian-born artist Susana Bonnet introduces the viewer to a world of metaphysical projections. Bonnet's work is strong in colors and structure, and full of life. The human beings as well as her abstract paintings, with excellent composition and brilliant colors, are symbols of humanity in contact with its spiritual and material surroundings and appear to express a fusion between nature and man. Bonnet is a member of the Argentine Artists Society. Her work made the cover of "Violence and Aggression Towards the Parents" (2000), and she illustrated a tale in the literary magazine "Metafora" (2002). She has received several awards for her work.

"La Sociedad de Consumo"
Oil on Canvas
40.00'' x 40.00''

"Ultimo Vuelo"
Oil on Canvas
40.00'' x 47.00''

Karen Deicas DePodesta

"I paint believing that the act of creating and one's reactions to art should be near subconscious perceptions, causing ones instincts to come alive. The movement of my body and the subtle rhythm of shifting forms of color lead the way as I use different sensations of light and patchwork to allow the elements on the canvas to dialogue with one another. These subtle instincts are clearly linked to my past, to my upbringing and to my heritage. I was born and raised in Mexico City and have traveled throughout Central and South America extensively. Though for the sake of exploration and expression I tend to abandon such easily recognizable imagery when I paint, these images from my past remain present."

"Formal Attire Suggested #5"
Acrylic & Oil Pastel on Paper
36.00'' x 36.00''

"Formal Attire Suggested #4"
Acrylic & Oil Pastel on Paper
30.00'' x 40.00''

Marynes Avila

Timeless colors and rhythms of Australia and South America resound in the work of Argentinian-born artist Marynes Avila. Avila’s work is characterized by vibrant colors, powerful images and expressionistic qualities. A strong and unique element of her art is the fusion between her South American heritage and her contemporary life in Australia. Her figurative art focuses on the vital and complex role of women in our society and the dynamics of every day life and human emotions. Avila is a prolific artist whose imagination and versatility is evident in her artwork, which has been widely accepted by galleries, art critics and government bodies.

"Womanhood"
Oil
19.00'' x 27.00''

"Individuality I"
Oil
19.00'' x 27.00''

Sabrina Villasenor

Villaseñor's heritage coupled with her very particular interest in Mexican tradition and art have been major players in her development as a painter. Every year she's invited to exhibit her interpretive piece for the Altar for the Dead, an important cultural event, in an assortment of locations throughout Mexico. Villaseñor's paintings appear to have been gleaned from her subconscious, these ephemeral apparitions, with only mere touches of color, paled carmine to blush and black splashes, and the concentration of positive and negative space has the feel of a meditative Asian scroll painting.

"Intrinsicate"
Mixed Media
36.00'' x 36.00''

"Evolution"
Mixed Media
36.00'' x 36.00''

Tuma Pacheco

Tuma Pacheco's abstract oil paintings are bold, dramatic and exuberant, incredibly striking, evocative, even haunting. The themes range from Mayan culture to cityscapes and dreams. Pacheco comes from a family of internationally recognized artists. Pacheco was strongly influenced by the artistic atmosphere of his family and has been an artist since age seven. His paintings have been included in solo and group shows in the Caribbean, as well as Central and South America, and his work is included in numerous private collections. His art has been recognized in books published by the author Teresa Madrid de Prada.

"Crucified"
Oil on Canvas
32.00'' x 47.00''

"Animals"
Oil on Canvas
32.00'' x 47.00''