"GODS AND FEARS"

Chair Sculpture Window Art Exhibit

By HUGO SALINAS

(El Salvador, lives in Virginia)

June 6 - July 10, 2000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: (202) 256-6542
June 6, 2000 Mario Cáder, Director
"GODS & FEARS" MIXED MEDIA CHAIR SCULPTURES
BY HUGO SALINAS

PUBLIC ART ON VIEW AT THE WINDOW OF
1739 CONNECTICUT AVE NW, JUNE 6 - JULY 10, 2000WASHINGTON, D.C.

“Gods & Fears” represents five original colorful mixed media “Chair” sculptures by long time D.C. resident, Salvadoran born artist, Hugo Salinas. The artist embellishes ordinary chairs and creates mix media art sculptures, including controversial religious themes. The exhibition offers insights into the new American-Latino pop arts & crafts movement. On view in the window space of 1739 Connecticut Avenue NW generously donated by Starwood Urban Investments LLC. The window exhibit is on view 24 hours a day, Monday through Sunday, June 6 through July 10, 2000. The new rise of American-Latino pop arts & crafts is gaining recognition by major museums exhibits including the Whitney 2000 Biennial in New York and the Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C. “... I believe art should represent the individual believes, desires, and fears. By juxtaposing my most beloved religious personas in the seat of a chair, I bring all my feelings into one. The explosion of colors that contrast each chair represents each feeling, or the mixed feelings, accordingly to the theme...” says the artist.
Salinas, like his American-Latino contemporaries have created arts and crafts from found objects in the Latino “barrios” of the United States, depicting cotidian lifestyles and sometimes even controversial religious themes such as those of Andres Serrano’s photographs.

The artist’s endeavor in creating art that can be used not only as a sculptural piece on top of a pedestal, but also as an useful furniture piece depending on the buyers desires, fills the void of the Latino community stagnation in buying art due to costs and space limitations.
The exhibition was organized by Mario Cáder-Frech, Director Ad-Honorem and Curator of the Espacio Cultural Salvadoreño located in the Dupont Circle area, and made possible by the Starwood Urban Investments Project for the Arts. The Espacio Cultural Salvadoreño is an all-volunteer not for profit center dedicated to promoting the arts and culture of El Salvador.