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Karem Arrieta: Bringing Mystery and Culture from France

Currently at La Galería we have a special exhibit rich in culture and a touch of mystery, “Gitanas, Madonas Negras, y Otras Salvajes,” by Venezuelan artist, Karem Arrieta. On opening night, this past Wednesday Oct. 14, we had the pleasure of talking with her as she helped shed some light on the mysterious aspects of her work and revealed other elements of her craft. Arrieta always felt passionate about painting, she took classes from a very early age and received her formal teaching at the School of Fine Arts in Maracaibo, Venezuela. Later on she moved to France, where she still lives, and continued her education in Paris. However, she shared that even though she lived and studied in France, she brought her culture with her through her paintings. “When I arrived in France, back in the 90s, what was “in” at the time was videos, pictures, performances, everything was minimalist -- and when I got there with my pieces people would tell me I should abandon painting,” she said. “But I said I do what I want. I’ve fought hard to do so, now I showcase my art in very contemporary exhibits, and the truth is that it belongs there, now they’re much more open and my style is well received.” [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sPJwJsc4Q0[/embed] Her paintings have a classical air about them, replicating old postcards and photographs that the artist collects, but adapting them to her vision which is full of color; according to her imagination, since she works with black and white pictures. A lot of the main characters in her works are children, “It was a subject matter I sort of imposed on myself, it could have been something else, but I’ve found so much material it’s almost inexhaustible. I’ve been doing it for 25 years and I still have paintings in my head that I want to do.” One of the mysteries about her inspiration and subject matter is that she doesn’t believe in the popular myth of childhood. “For me, innocence is a cultural construct. Children aren’t innocent or not innocent,” she said. “They are people that grow up and they have a whole world that is a lot more complicated than what we think.” This is apparent in her works, her children have intense looks that captivate and have even scared some audiences. “There were people who couldn’t take their looks. They said it seemed like their eyes were following them,” the artist explained. The main characters of her paintings don’t smile, “There are people that ask why the children in my artwork never smile, and I in turn ask, do you see children smiling all day long? It’s the opposite,” she said. “People with children know how it is when they are mad, or bored, and it’s a lot more common than smiling all the time.” All of her pieces represent different cultures: Venezuelan, French, Indigenous… that’s why we knew our gallery would be the perfect place to showcase them. “There should be initiatives like the IBA arts program everywhere in the world, it is with culture that we can save our communities,” Arrieta said. Don’t miss this exhibit, with incredible success in France it is finally in Boston until November 6th. For more information visit http://bit.ly/karem-arrietaexhibit or contact Lex Vásquez: (617) 927-1717, avazquez@ibaboston.org...