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The Venezuelan Artist Who Wants You To Know That "Censorship Is Coming Your Way"

Cultura Colectiva

Updated: Mar 19, 2021


For now, the advertisement for Arturo Correa's next exhibition is just a phrase: "Wynwood be careful... Censorship coming your way..." Learn why this fascinating painter is rocking the Miami art scene.

Arturo Correa was born on June 18, 1967, in Venezuela, where he graduated from high school. He moved to the United States in 1989 and began his career as a visual artist. In 1996, Correa graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Central Florida, in Orlando.

Then, he relocated to New York City and earned a Master of Arts degree with a major in Painting at New York University. His first exhibition was held in 1995 in his hometown of Valencia.

Since then, Correa has had over 40 individual and collective exhibitions. His works have been featured in solo exhibitions at museums, galleries, and other institutions around the world. In 2009, Arturo Correa organized a highly successful exhibition entitled "Paisajes de la Nostalgia" (Landscapes of Nostalgia) in his native Venezuela

Arturo Correa’s vibrant art draws inspiration from the best of the 80s post-modern scene, with a heavy influence from Jean Michel Basquiat and, to a lesser degree, Robert Rauschenberg. His novel use of everyday objects and pop imagery also pays homage to the iconic works of Andy Warhol.

His most recent project, which he has shared with Cultura Colectiva’s readers, is going to be completed by the end of the year, and it will be shown in Wynwood, Miami. Here we bring you the first four paintings that will be part of this show.

The common thread among all the works is the label “Censorship.” According to the artist, this is his way of making sense of how indifferent we have all become to the social and global issues that are most urgent and that affect us.

For now, the advertisement for this exhibition is just a phrase: "Wynwood be careful... Censorship coming your way..."

Correa's paintings combine figure, text, and contemporary and historic iconic imagery, where objects from the past and of current pop trends appear in an intricately woven tapestry. Their apparently random appearance is a reflection on life’s absurdities, and how the world around us sometimes appears to be more confusing and senseless every day. All of these themes are, in turn, treated with a healthy dose of humor and irony.

His colorful palette is probably a result of his upbringing in Venezuela and his later years in Miami, where the characteristic colors, flavors, and rhythms of the Caribbean co-exist seamlessly alongside tall skyscrapers.

About his search for a deeper understanding of the world around him, he has said in interviews: “Right since we are born, our life is a search… For air to breathe, food to satisfy hunger, company, so as not to be lonely, faith before desolation, and even in death, we yearn for eternal life… The work grows in me every day, and this explains the diversity of objects and elements thereof. Life is but an immense collage in front of our eyes for us to put it together, to interiorize the parts and experience them.”

By: Storyteller

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