Mexican Cultural Center hosts Alvaro Santiago to open his art exhibit

June 29, 6:05 PMMiami Travel ExaminerGeorge Leposky

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Mexican Consul Arturo Morell (left), director of the
Mexican Cultural Center in Miami, welcomes artist
Álvaro Santiago to the opening of Santiago’s exhibit.
Credit: © 2009 George Leposky
 

The Mexican Cultural Center of Miami  opened an exhibit of works by contemporary Mexican artist Álvaro Santiago on Sunday, June 28, with Santiago himself in attendance.

Entitled Me Rento para Soñar (I Rent Myself for Dreaming), the exhibit includes paintings, engravings, sculptures, drawings on paper, ceramics, and three-dimensional art objects. Although they appear to blend elements of elements of cubism and surrealism, Santiago describes his distinctive style as “neo-figurative.”

In an interview at the exhibit opening, Santiago said his inspiration is discipline and work – “a lot of work.” His images come from a wide variety of sources – novels, literature, poetry, movies, theater, dance, and personal experience. “I try to do at least five sketches a day,” he said. “I paint 12 hours a day. In the other 12 hours, I eat, sleep, read a lot, watch TV, and attend performances.”

A well-traveled exhibit

The 50 images on display in the Mexican Cultural Center are a selection from the entire Me Rento para Soñar project, which encompasses a total of 200 works of art. Most were created in 2006. Previous venues where portions of the project have been displayed include the Universidad de las Américas in Puebla, Mexico; El Paso and San Antonio, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri; Washington, DC.; and Montréal, Québec, Canada.

Born in 1953 in Oaxaca, Mexico, Santiago studied at the Fine Arts School of the Autonomous University Benito Juarez in Oaxaca, and at the National School of Painting, Sculpture and Engraving “La Esmeralda” in Mexico City.

His works are in the collections of museums in Mexico and other countries.  He has presented individual exhibitions in Mexico, the United States, and France; and participated in group showings in Mexico, the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, and Spain.

The exhibit will be on view through August 14.

The Mexican Cultural Center is at 5975 SW 72nd Ave. (Sunset Drive), Suite 101, Miami FL 33143.  786-268-4910. 

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For more info: The Mexican Cultural Center