Juana Valdés: Embodied Memories, Ancestral Histories. Sarasota Art Museum

Juana Valdés: Embodied Memories, Ancestral Histories. Sarasota Art Museum

^{10/15/2023Sarasota Art Museum Features Powerful Works Anchored in Historical and Personal Narratives}The artist’s first solo museum exhibition presents selected works from throughout her 30-year career and explores the history of migration between the Caribbean and the United States, gender, race, and the representation of the female body.

SARASOTA, Fla. (Sept. 27, 2023) - Sarasota  Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design is pleased to present Juana Valdés: Embodied Memories, Ancestral  Histories, on view Oct. 22, 2023-Feb. 11, 2024. For 30 years, Juana Valdés  has transformed ideas, thoughts, and feelings into works of art anchored in  stories, many of which are inspired by her personal experiences.

Embodied Memories,  Ancestral Histories, Valdés’ first solo exhibition at a museum,  encompasses many concepts and complexities. The story she tells unravels as the  visitor moves through the galleries and becomes acquainted with three main  topics that are not necessarily exclusive: “The History of Migration,” “Representation  and Subjectivity,” and “Materiality.” Through many of the works featured in the  exhibition, Valdés has generated a voice and a discourse inspired by themes  such as colonization’s history and migration’s impact.

“We are delighted to  showcase Juana’s world-renowned works in her first solo museum exhibition,”  said Virginia Shearer, executive director of Sarasota Art Museum. “Many people  in our community have lived the experiences interwoven throughout Embodied Memories, Ancestral Histories.  By sharing these diverse works of art illustrating those experiences, we hope  to elevate their own unique histories and their important place in our broader  human narrative.”

Another significant theme in Embodied Memories, Ancestral Histories, is the issue of gender and  the representation of the feminine body. Through several works, Valdés invites  the public to reflect on the objectification of the female body and the  “whitening of race” as a legacy of colonialism. Race is a connecting thread  that links the different sections of the exhibition, an issue that she  addresses from her experience as a woman of color living in the United States.

Valdés’ choice of materials is as important as the  themes she conveys. Working in a range of both traditional and non-traditional  media—from ceramics, with all its associations of feminine and manual work, to  new media—she communicates ideas of the personal and subjective while at the  same time challenging the canon of art. Her audiovisual work highlights her  entire oeuvre as an archive through which she analyzes and recodifies topics  that include transnationalism, migration, race, gender, and discrimination at  work, and the Latinx discourse she deals with from her experience as an  Afro-Cuban woman residing in the United States.

Juana Valdés (b. Pinar  del Rio, Cuba) is the recipient of the Ford and Mellon Foundations Latinx  Artists Fellowship (2022), the Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant (2018), and The  Hermitage Artist Retreat residency (2017-2020), among others. In 2022, the City  of Miami Beach selected Valdés’ work shown at Art Basel Miami Beach for its  2022 Legacy Purchase Program acquisition. Her work has also been included in  group exhibitions at institutions such as SITE Santa Fe, New Mexico; El Museo  del Barrio, New York; MoMA PS1, New York; Galerie Verein Berliner Künstler,  Berlin; The Newark Museum of Art, New Jersey; Galerie Binnen, Amsterdam; and  FreeSpace, Sydney.

"As an artist, I  make art to create a space in which others can enter and reflect on their own  experiences,” said Valdés.

“I am excited for Juana  to present her first one-artist show representative of 30 years of her life and  work. Seeing Juana's works together for the first time is like reading a novel  from the beginning instead of a few chapters here and there. It is meaningful  that this exhibition takes place in Florida, where she arrived as a Cuban  immigrant at seven years old. Her art allows us to relate to and learn from her  journey and the significant issues she addresses,” said the guest curator, Francine  Birbragher-Rozencwaig.

Embodied Memories,  Ancestral Histories is organized by Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling  College of Art and Design and curated by Francine Birbragher-Rozencwaig, Ph.D.,  independent curator.

This exhibition is made possible, in part, by Sarasota  County Tourist Development Tax revenues.

Sarasota Art Museum is Ringling College of Art and  Design’s dynamic laboratory for the exploration and advancement of contemporary  art. As Sarasota’s only museum solely focused on contemporary artists and their  work, Sarasota Art Museum showcases art that is happening now. Audiences can  learn more about Embodied Memories,  Ancestral Histories by visiting sarasotaartmuseum.org/juana-valdes

Related Public Programs:

Opening Day Talk: Juana Valdés and Francine Birbragher-Rozencwaig, Ph.D.
Saturday, Oct. 21 at 1 pm
Sarasota High School Alumni Auditorium at Sarasota Art Museum
Members: FREE; Not-Yet Members: $20 (includes Museum Admission)
Registration Required

For this special conversation, artist Juana Valdés and guest curator Francine Birbragher-Rozencwaig, Ph.D., will discuss the artist's career and the works exhibited in
Embodied Memories, Ancestral Histories. Valdés will draw from her personal history to speak on her Afro-Cuban heritage and how that identity is addressed in her work
from a feminist perspective. She will also share how her Caribbean roots intermix with themes related to the ocean, including migration, transnationalism, and exile.

About Sarasota Art  Museum

Sarasota Art Museum is Ringling College of Art and Design’s dynamic laboratory for the exploration and advancement of contemporary art. As Sarasota’s only museum solely focused on contemporary artists and their work, Sarasota Art Museum offers visitors a place to see thought-provoking exhibitions and participate in education programs that start conversations and amplify the city’s creative spirit.
Located in the historic Sarasota High School, Sarasota Art Museum opened to the public in 2019 and features 15,000 square feet of dedicated exhibition space, the outdoor Marcy & Michael Klein Plaza, the Great Lawn featuring temporary sculpture and site-specific installations, Bistro, and SHOP. Sarasota Art Museum is home to a robust portfolio of education programs for all ages, including the Studios @ SAM, a vibrant studio arts program, and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Ringling College, which offers a variety of courses for adult learners.
Sarasota Art Museum is located at 1001 South Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, Florida, 34236. To stay in the know, become a Sarasota Art Museum Member, sign up for Museum email updates, visit our website at SarasotaArtMuseum.org, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

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