Latinovisualsource Presents
Wind and Water/Viento y Agua
An exhibition reflecting an artist’s passion for environmental concerns

Small Fish Diptych, 2007

What:             Wind and Water/Viento y Agua Exhibition by Felisa Federman
When:              Opens September 1 Columbia Heights Starbucks and September 13 at GALA Hispanic Theatre through October 31. Reception September 20, 5:30 – 7:30 pm Columbia Heights Starbucks.
Where:             14th Street, NW and Columbia Road, Starbucks Coffee and 3333 14th Street, NW GALA Hispanic Theatre
Contact:         Teresa Diaz, terediaz@yahoo.com or (202)368-9793

Felisa Federman, a graduate from the National Fine Arts Academy in Buenos Aires and an Argentinean national, is a multifaceted painter, fiber and assemblage artist who continually reinvents herself.  Using fabric –Felisa’s initial technique– to create dimensional illusions, she sculpts the surface by layering, rolling, singing, pleating, and tearing pieces of cloth, yarn and burlap.  Up close, textures, cavities, voids, and protrusions denote the lifelike qualities of mounds, caves and valleys found in the natural global landscape. Appearing afar like abstract manipulations of charcoal and medium, they take the viewer by surprise resulting in an ironic turn of events.

Inspired by her former layering and mounting technique, Felisa’s Wind and Waterseries comprises hard, delineated shapes in black seeming to be silhouettes of limbs, fish, birds and vegetation filled in overlays of translucent, bright, rich color. These rhythmic shapes and creatures swim or fly frantically in a sea or sky of blues, oranges and reds with an occasional space of somberness alluding to a breath of fresh air.  In some, hard-edges and bold areas of color recede and swell with movement and volume as if following a costumed dance crew across the stage. However in others, the large spaces seem to crush the smaller ones, while whimsical, child-like shapes flutter to the surface for help through the chaos.

By incorporating subjects of angst, powerlessness, oppression and hope, the message found in Felisa’s work becomes highly an ecological and conceptual one. Her current concern with the environment and recognition of her mother-country’s rapid industrialization and neglect of nature seeps through her art and sets the tone for the theme.  As art critic Lenny Campello explains, “Her latest work seeks to engage the viewer in multiple levels, ranging from highly conceptual and serious work, to entertaining and almost humorous pieces.”

Wind and Water will be on view in the two locations until October 31.  The exhibit is made possible through a partnership with Starbucks, GALA Hispanic Theatre and Curator Teresa Diaz.

Wind and Water was organized by Teresa Diaz, a local Curator dedicated to the Latino arts community. For more information about the artist and the venture visit www.felisafederman.com or www.latinovisualsource.com. For information about prices, please contact Teresa Diaz at terediaz@yahoo.com or call (202)368-9793.