Visionary Caribbean Artist at Cremata Gallery
The visually stunning work of Puerto Rican painter Edwin Guevarez arrives in South Florida
Friday, April 3rd, 2009

Opening reception: Friday, April 3rd, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.
Location: Cremata Gallery. 1646 SW 8th Street. Miami, FL 33135

Indifference is not an option. The viewer cannot remain impassive to the characters in Edwin Guevarez’s universe. Contemporary but firmly rooted in Renaissance beauty the men and women that populate the artist’s canvases talk about passion and repression, virtue and chastity, inequality, lust, and desire. Luxurious fabrics frame the sitter and serve as visual commentary. Sixteenth century Italy is a constant presence in this exhibit: from the silks and taffetas to the Venetian carnival and the portraiture style.
Rigorously constructed, the work of Edwin Guevarez offers the formal structure of a trained artist who thinks seriously about his craft. The striking elegance of the painter’s opus draws the viewer’s attention to the essential questions usually masked by civilized exchange. “The Courage to Look” establishes a dialogue with Magritte, neo-Pop, and even the traditions of Late Renaissance and Mannerist portraiture that the artist would have encountered in his years as a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
“Edwin Guevarez forces us to look at ourselves and the world around us, critically, forcefully,” stated Raúl Cremata, Director of Cremata Gallery. “We are in a universe of transformation where the critical point of view this artist proposes has renewed resonance.”
Justo J. Sánchez, curator, adds: “These are visual sonnets, odes, with different rhythms and meters. They are all inspired by humanity’s complexity, its contradictions and drama. ‘The Courage to Look’ is for me a book of poems to the beauty of the human condition.”
Edwin Guevarez, born in San Juan de Puerto Rico, has had a distinguished career having participated in important fairs (including Zurich, Arteaméricas, and Shanghai). He has had a number of one-person exhibits at Viota Gallery, one of Puerto Rico’s leading galleries for contemporary art. His work appears in several important Caribbean collections. Cremata Gallery hosts his first U.S. exhibit.

Cremata Gallery
1646 SW 8th Street
Miami, FL 33135
Ph: 305.644.3315
Cell: 305.300.0068
Fax: 305.644.3319
cremata@crematagallery.com
www.crematagallery.com

For more information about local openings and events, please visit www.miamiartguide.com