Ramón Serrano
Words, Textures and
other Silly Things
Opening, Saturday, November 26, 2011, 2-5pm
Working from images of his native Havana, Serrano explores psychological displacement as a Cuban expatriate. The paintings show prominent Havana landmarks - the waterfront wall (el malecon), public buildings, interiors of schools - yet Serrano focuses on the ordinary visual minutiae of which memory is comprised. Imagery is pushed towards abstraction and appears to grasp the fading recollection of a world left behind.
The paintings read like memories seen through a jewel-like filter, suggesting a separation between what is being depicted and the artist's current life in Canada. Sensuous brushwork in deep monochromes arouse feelings of aesthetic detachment and estrangement from his native country. Ramón moved to Toronto in 2008 and became a Canadian in the fall of 2011.
Serrano intricately connects paintings, photographs and installations through ideas. He blends the histories of politics, architecture, and art with personal memories and public associations. As part of the Cuban diaspora, his work grapples with the legacy of utopian dreams, turning politics into poetry.
Ramón Serrano graduated from the High Institute of Fine Art in Havana (Instituto Superiore de Arte de Habana) in 1995. He became the Dean of the Graduate Department in the Faculty of Visual Arts. Serrano has been the recipient of two important awards for painting in Cuba. His work is in the Museum of Modern Art collection, New York, and the Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain.
Distillery District, 7 Tank House Lane, Toronto, Canada M5A 3C4
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