Point of Contact Gallery will host an opening reception and artist talk for “The Imagined Word,” an exhibition by Puerto Rican artist Rafael Trelles, on Friday, Jan. 24, from 6 to 8 p.m. The gallery is located in the Nancy Cantor Warehouse, 350 W. Fayette St., and the event is free and open to the public. Light hors d’oeuvres will be served and a cash bar will be available. Free parking will be available on the reception night in the Syracuse University lot on the corner of West Street and West Fayette Street.
Photo courtesy of l’Artban.
“The Imagined Word” will be on view through March 13 at the Point of Contact Gallery. Admission is free, and gallery hours are Monday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m., or by appointment.
A native of Santurce, Puerto Rico, Rafael Trelles is one of the most recognized artists in the Caribbean as a master painter, printmaker, installation artist, stage and costume designer. Trelles completed a bachelor’s degree at the University of Puerto Rico and conducted his postgraduate studies at the National University of Mexico. In the mid-1980s, Trelles resided in the Canary Islands, where he produced a series of paintings titled “The Universal Tarot,” resembling his later works’ use of mysticism and magic. Returning to Puerto Rico in 1986, he dedicated himself to his art and to the artist group El Alfil (Image and Word), which he co-founded in 1994. Trelles also does public art using a pressure hose on walls, sidewalks and other surfaces, a genre he calls “urban graphic art” that is seen in the 2007 documentary “En Concreto” (“On Concrete”). The film illustrates this experimental graphic work specifically designed for abandoned sectors of cities around the world.
In “The Imagined Word,” Trelles employs references to Hispanic and world literature. A creator of alternate worlds, he brings the viewer on a voyage to an esoteric world of characters in dreamlike settings, where solitude reigns.
This exhibition is possible thanks to the support of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Office of Cultural Engagement for the Hispanic Community, the Coalition of Museum and Art Centers (CMAC) at Syracuse University and the Puerto Rican Student Association (PRSA).
