There will also be a live reception featuring works on paper by Mr. Ballester at Diaspora Now Inc. in Harlem on Saturday, December 11, 1-6 pm. This reception will coincide with the Harlem Arts Stroll which takes visitors to Harlem on a stroll to art galleries, studios, and independent spaces filled with creative output from many recognized and emerging artists.
One of the most accomplished artists in the Americas, Diogenes Ballester was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, receiving his education and training at the Catholic University of Puerto Rico, Miguel Pou Visual Art School, Ponce, and University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin. Since the 1980s his work has been exhibited in numerous gallery and museum exhibitions and selected for prestigious Biennales in Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Republic of China, Cuba, Japan, Poland, Yugoslavia, and of course the USA. He was won over 50 awards and honors, while his work is part of corporate and public collections in Brazil, China, Cuba, Germany, Haiti, Italy, Puerto Rico, and several US states.
M Boncher writes in a 2006 catalog, “Ballester’s art manifests the idea of Tres Hercencias (Three Heritages), the orthodox notion of Puerto Rican identity that emerged only after a long process of synthesis and debate of the role particularly of Africa in the making of the island. One sees the elements of his cultural and spiritual heritage not only in the symbols and iconography of his artistic language but also in the process of blending and layering of images and materials”.
Diogenes Ballester’s mastery of encaustic art takes us back to the ancient Egyptians and their desire to preserve a legacy for future generations. His practice coalesces the intersecting forces which manifest themselves in the Caribbean identity. Native ancestry with an African spirit cloaked by the vagaries of European Colonialism, striving for that clean air to breathe. The artwork selected for this exhibit features monoprints, woodcuts, paintings, and installations created from the late 1980s to this year. From his conceptual work to his paintings and printmaking, his skill in each discipline is superlative.
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