Event Details
This event has already taken place.
View the Latest Events
This event has already taken place. View the Latest Events
Art in Focus: Joel Gaitan
Rockefeller Center and Art Production Fund kickoff their abstraction themed 2023 Art in Focus program with site-specific public art installation by Nicaraguan-American artist, JOEL GAITAN. Presented in multiple public locations throughout the Rockefeller Center campus, Gaitan’s installations will be on view until April 23rd.
Gaitan's practice is a profoundly personal exploration of his family ancestry and identity as a first-generation Nicaraguan living in Miami, Florida. This cross-cultural study has brought Gaitan to challenge historical hierarchies within his art practices, liberating terracotta vessels to their exalted position within the sacred traditions from Nicaragua & Central America.
In the lobby of 45 Rockefeller Plaza, layered installations in the vitrine spaces will feature photography, Central American aesthetics, and Gaitan's terracotta vessels as a celebration of earthly pigments. The windows will include imagery of Nicaragua faces, including some of Gaitan's family members. The spaces will underscore Gaitan's spiritual beliefs and connection to the core elements: water, air, wind, and fire, which play vital roles in our life cycle and the laborious process of hand-sculpting and firing terracotta.
Reflecting on life, death, and the afterlife, Gaitan's terracotta vessels also take on a form of personhood. The 125-foot mural in the concourse of 45 Rockefeller Plaza features voluptuous forms with expressive faces ornamented with jewelry and text. These works are engaged in acts of pleasure as they reclaim and embrace a state that is true to their stories and cultural history.
Visitors can enjoy Gaitan's murals which feature his signature use of bold and vibrant colors inside 10 Rockefeller Plaza, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, and the street and concourse levels of 45 Rockefeller Plaza
The Art in Focus program at Rockefeller Center, presented in partnership with Art Production Fund, presents the work of artists who are exploring and reinterpreting materials as a way to capture the human experience. A selection of painters, sculptures, photographers and more, these artists use materials in innovative ways to offer a closer look at the unique characteristics of people, objects and elements that are found in their daily lives.
Venue: Rockefeller Center
Between 49th & 50th Streets and 5th & 6th Avenues
Map
929--21-5-6608
What do you think?
More Events...
Salon 21: Holiday Bazaar at Salon 21
Through Dec 14 Thu
Join Salon 21 from November 30 - December 14 for a one-of-a-kind Holiday Bazaar. Shop some of Salon 21’s favorite brands - the perfect gifts for everyone on your list. A thoughtful convergence of art,...
Painted Pop at Acquavella Galleries Panel Discussion at Acquavella Galleries
Through Dec 15 Tue
Acquavella Galleries is pleased to announce Painted Pop, an exhibition featuring painted works by key figures of the American Pop movement. The exhibition includes important works by featured artists ...
Цlумихъ (Tsumikh – Avar for “At the Eagle’s”) at Canal Projects
Through Dec 16 Fri
Canal Projects is pleased to present the U.S. premiere of Taus Makhacheva’s newest film Цlумихъ (Tsumikh – Avar for “At the Eagle’s”). In the film, Makhacheva interrogates the fraught relationship bet...