by Natasha Khairullah
Staff Writer
The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Jacksonville’s newest exhibit will be giving visitors a heads up on one of the United States newest up-and-coming artists – 108 heads up, actually.
The museum’s next featured Exhibition, titled “Impermanence,” showcases the installation, “Awa,” – a collection of 108 Buddha heads cast in glycerin soap that will be suspended from an iron grid hanging from the ceiling. The installation is presented by Venezuelan multi-discplinery artist Andres Michelena and will run from April 28 through Aug. 26.
Museum Director George Kinghorn, who will also be curating the show, says introducing Michelena’s work and artistic approaches will serve two purposes by not only providing guests with an introduction to one of South America’s most respected visual artists, but also throwing out a glimpse of different spiritual principles and cultural themes.
“He’s an artist of exceptional depth,” said Kinghorn. “He works across many disciplines – he’s a painter, a sculpture, a video artist and all of those things will be reflected in the exhibition here at the museum.”
Michelena, currently a resident of Miami, explains that the ideas behind “Impermanence” came about after deciding that the constant change in one’s life is something that everyone experiences on a day-to-day basis – the Zen principal of impermanence – meaning, it’s an idea that everyone can relate to, and one that he wanted to capture visually.
“He’s an artist that works with conceptual ideas. He comes up with a theme and then carries it out through different types of work,” said Kinghorn.
Each of the 108 Buddha heads encases a message that’s printed on this strips of acetate.
“Change is unavoidable and something you have to deal with in your everyday life,” said Michelena. “Nothing stays the same and things are constantly changing. One of the things that I decided I wanted to do in order to express that idea was to use some type of material in the art work that would be very easily degradable, impermanent.”
Michelena said he wanted to illustrate the transformation of matter and consciousness. There is a reason behind all change and in the case with the Buddha heads in “Awa,” he says, that rationale is the reason why glycerin soap is used instead of another indestructible material.
“The idea behind change is that you always gain something from what is lost,” he said. “In this case, the only way you get to read the message inside the head is if the head itself dissolves, changes. You cannot read the message unless you use the soap, meaning, you have to experience first in order to reach knowledge.”
Michelena and Kinghorn originally started conceptualizing for the show about six months ago after the two met while Kinghorn was visiting various studios in Miami, a place he refers to as a “hotbed of creativity.”
“Immediately, the pieces from Awa called to me,” he said. “I thought they were visually stunning.”
For Michelena, the opportunity couldn’t have come at a better time. Originally from Venezuela, he moved to south Florida in 2000 after obtaining a bachelor’s of fine art, in hopes of sharing his works with people in the United States.
“I was originally studying to become an architect but then I transitioned and so far, things have gone well,” he said. “This exhibition can only help express my ideas.”
To an extent, Michelena says the messages he tries to convey do, in fact, reflect some of his own spiritual sentiment.
“There is a wide range of approaches to Buddhism. I think Zen is the most abstract way to approach Buddhism and approach everything in life.”
However, tapping into mainstream art venues has been something of a challenge, he said, citing people’s lack of understanding of different artistic approaches.
“This is the greatest opportunity I’ve been afforded so far,” he said. “I’m participating in many shows right now, including two in Spain, but the most important thing going on for me right now is Impermanence.
“I’m taking it very seriously because I know the importance, not only for me but for the community and for the things I’ve been trying to express.”
Michelena will be in Jacksonville for the opening of the show.
For more information on him, visit www.andresmichelena.com.