Künstlerhaus Bethanien
Kottbusser Str. 10
10999 Berlin
Germany
FLORA ars+natura
Calle 77 # 20C-48
Bogotá, Cundinamarca
Colombia
Red Gate Gallery
9 Chongwenmen E St
Dongcheng Qu, Beijing Shi
China, 100005
davidoffartinitiative.com
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The Davidoff Art Initiative (DAI) is delighted to announce the artists selected to embark on the residencies with global partner institutions for the first half of 2017. The artists chosen are Patricia Castillo (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) who will be in residence at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin, Germany; Jorge González (San Juan, Puerto Rico) who will be the second resident to take part in the program at FLORA ars+natura in Bogota, Colombia; and Jesús
“Bubu” Negrón (San Juan, Puerto Rico) will be at the Red Gate Gallery in Beijing, China. Castillo studied at Altos de Chavón School of Design, the hotbed of creative discourse and exchange that also hosts the DAI International Residents, while Jorge González and Jesús Bubu Negrón both were raised and work in Puerto Rico, signaling Davidoff’s commitment to strengthened visibility to art-making in the Caribbean as a multivariate whole.
Following the conclusion of international resident artists at Altos de Chavón in April 2017, these three Caribbean artists will assume their residencies at the DAI’s three partner institutions. Jesús “Bubu” Negrón re-contextualizes the everyday with minimal intervention and relational approximation, revealing historic, social, and economic vitality. He will begin his residency in April, building upon the foundation of a cross-cultural exchange project he commenced with Puerto Rico’s local Chinese population. Patricia Castillo activates and energizes space through geometric structures of carefully considered, utilitarian forms. Through amassing found materials, she seeks an equilibrium between rote mass production and unique human relationships and will use Berlin’s “permanent transformation” and alternative spaces to inform her experiential practice.
Jorge González researches landscape, its ecology and material output, and through the lens of modern architecture manifests a sculptural practice with a deep socio-economic context. His collective platform Escuela de Oficios and its discourse with the Rio Piedras Campus of the University of Puerto Rico—and the collaborative local traditions stemming from it—will align with the Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Ciudad Bianca) and the Instituto Entologico Nacional, employing communal research into indigenous experiences from the greater Caribbean basin while constituting a self-managed educational model. The Davidoff Art Initiative congratulates the artists and their respective, thoughtful projects for their planned residencies abroad. Further information on the artists’ progress and events such as open studios will be announced in the coming year.
About the Davidoff Art Initiative
The Davidoff Art Initiative supports contemporary art and artists in the Caribbean, strengthens art organizations in the Dominican Republic, shares knowledge and expertise about contemporary art, and fosters cultural engagement between the Caribbean and the rest of the world. At the core of the Art Initiative, Davidoff aims to engage closely with the arts and culture of the Dominican Republic, where much of its production and many of its employees are based, bringing opportunity and visibility to the art and culture of the Caribbean region, and extending the company’s long-standing commitment to artistry, craftsmanship, community and quality. The Davidoff Art Initiative’s four global program areas are Art Residency, Art Dialogues, Art Grants, and Art Editions. For further information, please visit davidoffartinitiative.com.
Media contacts
For further information, images, or to arrange an interview please contact:
Blue Medium, Inc.
Kat Mills, [email protected], T +1 212 675 1800
Oettinger Davidoff AG
Albertine Kopp, Manager Davidoff Art Initiative, [email protected]
