Recently, I had the pleasure of writing an essay for a new monograph on the contemporary Colombian artist Federico Uribe – whose haunting mixed-media paintings and sculptures draw on a difficult childhood, his complex relationship with Roman Catholicism and the violence of his homeland to explore issues of sex/gender, passion and the body, among others. Now the book is set to be released.
“Federico Uribe: Watch the Parade” (Skira, Tuesday, April 24, 208 pages, $50) is truly a local labor of love. It originated with Manhattan’s Adelson Galleries, owned by Warren and Jan Adelson, who lived in Westchester County for many years. (Jan is the former chair of the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers, where Uribe made a sensational showing in “Fantasy River,” a 2013 exhibit of his work.)
The book is edited by Bartholomew F. Bland, executive director of the Lehman College Art Gallery in the Bronx and former deputy director of the Hudson River Museum. (He continues his relationship with the museum as guest curator of “The Neo-Victorians: Contemporary Artists Revive Gilded Age Glamour,” through May 13.)
“Watch the Parade” also gives Uribe fans and newcomers alike an opportunity to explore the breadth of his interests, including a love of nature and a willingness to consider its shadow side.
My essay plumbs but one facet of an artist whose work is often located where many of us live – at the intersection of fear and desire.
“Federico Uribe: Watch the Parade” is available on Amazon.
– Georgette Gouveia
