BE THEREJose Bedia : A Survey of Paintings and Works on Paper 1992 -2006Presented by George Adams Gallery February 14, 2007- March 31, 2007Reception: March 8, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pmJose BediaDuring February and March, the George Adams Gallery will show a survey of paintings and drawings by JOSE BEDIA. The exhibition will include seven paintings and four drawings made between 1992 and 2006. Bedia, who came to the United States from Cuba in 1993, had his first solo exhibition in this country at the gallery in 1991. He continued to exhibit his paintings, drawings, carved objects and installations regularly at the gallery through 2001. This exhibition will survey the artist's works in various media and scales, and includes work from several of Bediaıs most important series, including Mi Esencialismo and the dramatic Warship series. The earliest work in the exhibition is a five-panel painting titled Del otro lado/From the Other Side (1992), painted just after he moved from Cuba to Mexico City. Llegada a Kunanbansa, a large canvas from 1993 also included in the show, is one the last works he completed before moving to the US with support from an international Guggenheim grant. In 1995, he began a series of paintings dealing with Yoruban and American Indian (Lakota Sioux) themes; titled Mi Esencialismo (My Essentialism), the series toured internationally before going on view at the gallery in New York in 1996. Two works from the series, Mato Paho/Bear Mountain and Initipi, both based on Lakota traditions, are included in the current exhibition. Later, in 2000, Bedia made a series of black and gray "warship" paintings that expressed his feelings of sorrow and helplessness following the tragic death of his wife. This exhibition features one of the most powerful, Lo que hace falta/The Things I Need, which depicts an aircraft carrier whose shape alludes to the Palo Monte orisha (god) Ogun. Other works in the exhibition include a large early amate drawing, El senor de los pesces/Master of the Fish from 1993, a recent painting of the looming prow of an oil tanker ironically titled El futuro promisorio and two newly completed amate drawings reflecting on a recent trip to East Africa. Jose Bedia: Paintings and Drawings, 1992 - 2006 will be on view from February 14 through the month of March. Gallery hours are Tuesday - Saturday, 10 to 6 and Mondays by appointment. Please visit the galleryıs website to view images and descriptions of works in the exhibition: www.georgeadamsgallery.com.
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