DETRAS DEL MURO @ THE 8th FLOOR

(Behind the Wall)

Curated by Juan Delgado Calzadilla and Rachel Perera Weingeist

September 26^th -  January 23^rd 2014

September 13, 2013 New York, NY—Two New York-based philanthropic organizations, the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund announce a groundbreaking collaboration with Havana-based, independent curator Juan Delgado Calzadilla of Cuban Arts Project. With a grant from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Rubin Foundation will produce a New York incarnation of the outdoor exhibition Detrás del Muro (“Behind the Wall”), curated for the 11^th Havana Biennial in 2012 by Delgado. Installed along the iconic Malecón, Havana’s four-mile seaside esplanade, Detrás consisted of twenty-five installations and performances. The 8^th Floor version Detrás del Muro will feature original work by twenty-two Cuban artists, which include sculpture, photography, video and models that allude to the artists’ contributions to the 2012 presentation.

Detrás del Muro celebrates the unprecedented installation that took over Havana’s popular destination and landmark, the Malecón. Ambitious both in size and scope, Detrás del Muro examined the symbolic nature of the sea wall and its situational prominence as a geographic border, protective barrier, convenient passageway and destination unto itself. One of the largest public art projects in Cuba’s history, Detrás del Muro captivated viewers and critics alike for its self-reflective subject matter as well as its accessibility. Many of the installations and interventions involved participation from pedestrians and viewers wandering the Malecón. Detrás highlighted works that played with illusion, many of which were further activated when approached, touched, and explored by the public.

A full color, 218-page book on the original Detrás del Muro as well as a documentary commemorating the original installation will accompany the exhibition. Co-Curated by Juan Delgado Calzadilla, the Cuban Artists Fund’s 2013 Visiting Curator, and Rachel Perera Weingeist, Director of The 8^th Floor, Detrás del Muro (“Behind the Wall”) will open Thursday, September 26^th, 2013.

“The highlight of the Havana Biennial, this monumental show represents a community of artists working together to achieve something greater than any one artist could accomplish. Bringing it to New York will further the dialogue and give us an opportunity to reach new audiences.” – Ben Rodriguez-Cubeñas, Rockefeller Brothers Fund

Aimée García, Pureza (“Purity”), 2013. Digital print on canvas, embroidery. 37 4/5 x 78 ¾ in. Courtesy the artist and Cuban Arts Project.

The 8^th Floor exhibition, initiated by the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation as a way to share the original site-specific Detrás del Muro with an American audience, is enabled by a grant from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Viewers are offered a unique opportunity to see “behind the wall. ” The 8^th Floor presentation initiates a boundary-crossing dialogue for Cuban artists, who for the most part live and work on the island. Aimée García’s 20-meter-long black shawl, Pureza (“Purity”), crocheted by two women perched along the sea wall as a performance during the 2012 Biennial is featured with a canvas depicting the Malecón’s iconic horizon, embroidered by the artist. Esterio Segura’s inventive Homemade Submarine, a vintage car transformed into an amphibious vehicle then driven along the seaside highway, is represented by an immense canvas plan of the project and a fiberglass model. Possible Chances an installation of large, red, overlapping open doors by Rafael Domenench, through which viewers were encouraged to walk, is presented as a preparatory watercolor as well as a maquette.

The book, Detrás del Muro will launch during a formal event on Thursday, October 3^rd, 2013 and includes essays by architect and architectural historian Mario Coyula, art critic Elvia Rosa Castro and curator Juan Delgado Calzadilla. The documentary film of the same name will accompany the exhibition and further enrich the context of the New York programming.

Detrás del Muro features the work of twenty-two emerging and established Cuban artists: Adonis Flores, Aimée García, Alejandro Gonzales, Alexandre Arrechea, Arlés del Rio, Carlos Martiel, Carlos Montes de Oca, Donis Dayan, Duvier del Dago, Elizabet Cerviño, Esterio Segura, Florencio Gelabert, Humberto Diaz, Inti Hernandez, Jorge Wellesley, María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Marianela Orozco, Rachel Valdes-Camejo, Rafael Domenech, Reynier Leyva Novo, Roberto Fabelo and Roberto Fabelo Hung.

 The 8^th Floor is a private exhibition space established to promote cultural and philanthropic initiatives. Opened in 2010, recent shows have primarily focused on the presentation of contemporary Cuban art under the direction of curator Rachel Perera Weingeist, and working with partners in Cuba. The 8^th Floor is free and open to the public. School groups are encouraged; viewing hours are Tuesday through Friday, 11-6 pm.

For more information about the exhibition, or to request press images, please contact Anna Gonick, anna@the8thfloor.org or (646) 738-3988.