Artist Spotlight
Name: Xavier Cortada
City: Miami
Birthplace: Albany, New York
Artistic Medium: I don't think the medium
is as important as the voice. In expressing voice, I've
experimented with a variety of traditional media, such as
oils, acrylics, glass mosaic, charcoal and pencil. I have
also used more unusual materials, including an airplane,
found objects, refrigerators, expressways and
bridges, uneaten food and mangrove seedlings.
How did you get started?
My dad and uncle are artists. I grew up in a
studio surrounded by paint and easels. As a kid, I'd go
with Dad to the now extinct Grove House, their gallery on
Coral Way and the art shows at Vizcaya and the Coconut Grove
Art Festival.
I doodled my way through college and law school, and after a
short stint as a professor found my way back to world of
art.
Who or what are your influences?
Picasso, Beuys and Bacon.
What inspires your work?
Injustice, ambiguity, destruction, resilience.
How does Miami/South Florida influence your work?
I am completely informed by Miami. It's the only
place I've ever called home.
How would you describe your work?
In my work, I explore voice and transformation.
What has been the most unusual reaction to your
work from the public?
Some folks thought the Miami Mangrove Forest seedlings
painted on the columns holding up I-95 were salamanders.
One even told me they thought they were aliens.
What would you like to achieve as an artist?
I use art as a vehicle to explore my world and connect to
others.
Upcoming shows:
Solo exhibit at the Artel Gallery in
Pensacola, FL, in February 2006.
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Where is your work available?
Currently, my work is on exhibit at the World Arts
Building, 2214 N. Miami Avenue, in the “PLURAL Miami” group
show curated by Antonio Zaya.
Publicly exhibited paintings hang at the entrance of
Miami City Hall, the foyer of the Miami-Dade County
Commission Chambers and the Miami Children's Museum.
External pieces hang on the facade of the Juvenile
Courthouse, Niketown, and Parrot Jungle Island.
My work is always available on-line at
http://www.cortada.com/
Painted Cuban Plane and Freedom Luggage
Installation, 2005
Mangroves (on Blue),
acrylic on canvas, 48" x 36", 2005 |
The Incorporators:1896,
acrylic on canvas, 96" x 78", 2005 |
Music, acrylic on canvas, 60" x
96", 2005
Miami Mangrove Forest's Downtown Columns,
acrylic paint on concrete, 2004
Horseshoe Crab 4,
72" x 36", charcoal on canvas, 2004 |
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