MOLAA
exhibit shows liberation
By Monica Levette Clark
On-line Forty-Niner
 For
his first solo U.S. museum exhibition, Uruguayan
artist, Bruno Widmann, will hang his work
on the walls of the Museum of Latin American
Art for the first time.
“Dos estaciones” (Two Stages) is an exhibition
of thematic paintings dealing with the human
experience in a bustling society.
The presence of Widmann’s work at the museum
strengthens its mission to promote creative
talents from all Spanish speaking countries
of Latin America, MOLAA said.
Since 1963, Widmann has had over 100 solo
and group exhibitions. His work has been
included in significant public collections
around the world including the French National
Endowment and the Museum of Modern Art in
Mexico.
Born in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1930, Widmann
studied under Italian artist Sergio Corto.
His art speaks of his cultural existence
with a touch of modernism, wit and virtuosic
technique. “Two Stages” referring to the
different stages in his art.
“The lights the music bands, the human groups,
they are exponents of groups about to explode,”
Widmann said of his theme of pieces dealing
with liberation.
In these pieces, Widmann uses dark colors
to contrast with the stark whites and beige,
creating a work that is sharp and extroverted.
“In these works, geometric structures have
a strong presence,” MOLAA said. “The result
of this pictorial direction is that now
the figures emerge from their dark prisons
and slowly find the liberation they have
sought after for so long.”
In dealing with the theme of hope, Widmann
said in almost all the figures presented
in his work, there is an undying search
for “the road to hope.” Most of the paintings
in this theme were presented in “Expectros
y Acrobacias” (Ghosts and Acrobatics) at
an exhibit in Museum of Modern Art in Mexico
City.
The works deal essentially with man’s quest
for emancipation. The characters he presents
in the paintings are sometimes fading into
the dark space behind them. But, they
emerge once again, brilliantly jumping off
of the canvas.
These works show man as a ghost within the
“circus of life,” as Widmann calls it. The
work is dedicated to monochromatic earth
tones with brown, gray and black backgrounds.
“The palette is rarely composed of light
colors,” Widmann said. “The effect is much
more than just the aesthetic effect. It
is profoundly a suggestive response.”
Widmann said he used the light colors against
the seemingly dark backdrops for a dual
approach. Bringing in the light and the
dark colors represent a different kind of
light, juxtaposing the two thematic exhibitions
of liberation and hope.
“Dos Estaciones,” organized by Praxis Mexico
will be on display through July 6.
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