Florida Weekly : Artistic Innovator...Rolando Chang Barrero...fires up Palm Beach art scene.
"Artistic innovator...fires up Palm Beach art scene!"
"EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE A PERSON MAKES A BIG impact. Five years ago, that person arrived in Palm Beach County and his activism, leadership and energy ripple through the arts community. "
- Katie Deits, Florida Weekly Correspondent
Thank you Katie Deits, Scott Simmons, and The Florida Weekly!
Art Call expected to bring out top talent for the Florida Flora and Fauna Exhibition,
With 4 days left to submit work (deadline is August 15) the submissions are pouring in every day. Here are few of over 100 works already received for consideration in what may turn out to be one of
the best exhibition this summer!
This is s an amazing showcase of works by some of the top artists of Florida!
The work of Cuban artist Pedro C. Ortiz (1932-2001) Reception: Friday, April 24, 2015 | 6-9 pm RSVP This exhibition is free. Exhibition dates: April 24-May 15, 2015 Rolando Chang Barrero Fine Art Gallery 711 Lucerne AvenueLake Worth, Florida 33460 Contact: Rolando Chang Barrero RCBfineart@gmail.com for more information Exhibition is organized by curator, Rolando Chang Barrero and Tony Montiel. Sponsored by Florida Arts Association® LAKE WORTH-An exhibition of works by the late artist, Perdro Carlos Ortiz. Ortiz ws a master of many media, possessed an extraordinary sensitivity and simplicity. His works capture the great love he devoted to his beloved homeland, a place he never abandoned in his heart and mind.
The eclectic style of artist Pedro Carlos Ortiz transports the viewer on a journey from the working class neighborhoods of mid-twentieth century Cuba to the sun-splashed streets of Madrid. Using surreal oils and inks, he conjures the rituals and mysticism of healers and mediums who practiced a mix of indigenous African religions and Roman Catholicism, while conversely, he employs bright colors and bold strokes to evoke the purity and spirituality of the Madonna and San Rafael. Highly collected, the paintings of Perdo C. Ortiz are found in prominent collections in the United States and abroad. Among the collectors of Ortiz' works are: The Cuban Museum, Miami FL OAS (Organization of American States) Museum of Latin Art Radio Marti, Private Collection of Jose Antonio Font.
History: Pedro Carlos Ortizwas born in the province of Matanzas, Cuba, on October 20, 1932. He began his university studies in architecture at the University of Havana. In 1964, he left his homeland as a political exile and headed to Madrid, Spain, where he finished his studies and received a Doctorate in Architecture.
"What I paint are images and shadows that emerge from within me and that become realities." -- P. C. Ortiz " I collected Pedro for over 10 years and have a collection of 15 painting hanging in my home. I love the magic they add to my walls and my collection". --Evy Baird Willis, Private Collector of Cuban Art and French Post Impressionist Art.
Excerpt from letter from the Estate of Pedro Carlos Ortiz to Rolando Chang Barrero.
" I am honored that Rolando Chang Barrero has chosen my Husband's work to begin his series on Cuban Masters from the early Vanguard to the Present. Although my husband was a successful architect, as well as, a fine artist here in the United States I can honestly say his art gave him his greatest satisfaction. Pedro Loved creating and sharing his art with as many as possible.
He was honored in his lifetime with several awards and Honors but there was not greater accomplishment to him than to place his paintings and acquire new Collectors. I am certain that Pedro would be thrilled to introduce his work to a new audience in Palm Beach County. Again I thank Rolando for this great opportunity and Homage".--Irma Ortiz, wife of the late Perdro Carlos Ortiz For images contact: RCBFINEART@Gmail.com
The city and the art walk’s organizer Rolando Chang Barrero met today after the city said the walk wasn’t going to be allowed anymore.
Here’s a statement from Barrero:
“In a short meeting held today at the City of Boynton Beach City Hall the long awaited “process”, was laid out. The Florida Arts Association, the not-for-profit that organizes the Art Walk, was given a set of clear steps to attain a yearly permit. Although the permit process will go through the Arts Commission and then must be approved, there was no doubt that the new process will be approved.
Cost for the permit will be at a substansial savings to the Art District if it were to apply monthly for the Special Events Permit.
This agreement will also allow the Florida Arts Association to keep the names: Boynton Beach Art District Art Walk, and Boynton Beach Live which are the names which have been branded over the last few years.
Many thanks are due to the City of Boynton Beach, the resident artists of BBAD, the art community of Palm Beach, Broward and Dade Counties, the press, and all of our friends and supporters throughout the country!
Celebrate with us! Let’s BBAD on Thursday!!
AUGUST 28, 2014 | 6-11 PM
-Rolando Chang Barrero”
What’s All The Buzz About, which opened Friday at the Lake Park’s Art on Park gallery, features four members of South Florida EcoArtists who are combining their talents to educate the public about bees.
“This is my answer to all of the hoopla and activism going around about the extinction of bees, and GMOs. ... To bring people together to discover and connect through their separate and unique identities (and mediums), and create an environment where these connections can be made” said artist and curator Rolando Chang Barrero.
The featured EcoArtists are Xavier Cortada, Jesse Etelson, Lucy Keshavarz and Kelly Rogers.
Recipient of Congressional Letter of Commendation, 2014
Curator of Best Art Exhibition, 2014
Producer of Best Art Walk 2013
With over 30 years of experience in the arts...
Rolando Chang Barrero, began his career in his mid teens as a male model for Allied Department Stores (Macy’s , Burdines) and Associated Dry Goods (Jordan Marsh). By the time he was 18 he had transitioned into the fashion world as a stylist and ultimately a designer with his apparel designs on various covers of Details Magazine an Women’s Wear Daily. He has worked as a personal fashion stylist and merchandiser for individuals, as well as boutiques in Beverly Hills.
By the late 80’s having accumulated impeccable references, resulting from work with many notable artists and filmmakers, Rolando was accepted into the most prestigious art programs in the U.S.: Harvard (art history), Rhode Island School of design (graphic design), and The School of The Art Institute (studio art) where he was offered a full scholarship.
After graduating with honors and being awarded The Ryerson Travelling Fellowship in 1990 Rolando began a masters program in art therapy. He also began to travel Europe, Latin America, and Asia. His studies and travel were abruptly interrupted in 1993 when he was diagnosed with brain cancer.
Rolando retuned to the art scene 18 years later in 2011. Since his returned he has organized and developed the thriving Boynton Beach Art District, won many accolades for the press, been featured in many magazines, and successfully established himself as an exhibiting visual artists once again.
Lake Worth kids to convert beach trash into treasures
By Ana M. Valdes Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Beach trash will become artistic treasure for dozens of elementary students from Lake Worth today, as they make an art piece out of bottles, glass and other garbage they collect at Boynton Beach Oceanfront Park.
The students, kindergarten through fifth graders at Manatee Elementary in Lake Worth, will gather at the beach at 10 a.m. under the direction of local artist “Tiki” Tom Bazinet.
After cleaning the beach, they will head to the Boynton Beach Arts District on West Industrial Avenue, where after breaking into groups, they will create a piece of environmental art that will eventually be donated to their school.
The kids will also see “Tiki’s” permanent public art project, “The Island of Tiki People,” and hear from a graffiti artist.
Rolando Chang Barrero of ActivistArtistA and the organizer of the event said the idea is to get kids out of the classroom and learn about art and the importance of taking care of the environment.
It’s the first time, Barrero added, that art district officials have gone off district property for an educational program, but he says it is well worth the children’s time.
“They are going to go to the beach, find the objects just like ‘Tiki’ does and return to the art district, where they are goingto compare to see if what they found is anywhere in (Tiki’s) work in the gallery,” Barrero said.
Debby Coles-Dobay, public art manager for Boynton Beach, said the event highlights the importance of public art.
Other schools are also choosing Boynton Beach to allow their children to learn about art in the outdoors. On Thursday, 45 fifth-graders and four teachers from Country Oak Elementary School in LaBelle will visit Boynton Beach to study kinetic art.
“We love the idea that teachers are utilizing public art for outdoor classrooms,” Coles-Dobay said. avaldes@pbpost.com
Trash? Not to Tom Bazinet, who searches the beaches for litter that he transforms into treasured art. The 53-year-old Lake Worth resident not only helps keep the beaches clean, he nurtures his artistic spirit.
His zany artwork – tikis, mosaics made from broken bottles, objects d’art – will be on exhibit at the ActivistArtistA Gallery, 422 W. Industrial Ave. in Boynton Beach through Dec. 20.
The show, aptly called “One Man’s Trash,” is designed to be an arty, ecological wonderland. “Everywhere you look you will see things from the beach that have been made into art. It will be an ecological environment people can walk through. They’ll see there are uses for this stuff,” explains the Forest Hills High School grad.
“I like the fact that I have a different way to recycle. It makes me sad when I see all the trash on the beach and I get a lot of satisfaction when I take the trash away,” he says. “I found 100 syringes on the beach in one day. I used them to make a sun. The syringes became the rays.”
Even the former Marine’s “day job” is intertwined with his environmental art. He’s a tree trimmer and landscaper – and many of the discarded tree limbs and branches have been carved into ornamental tikis or totems.
Nothing ever goes to waste, he emphasizes: “I add plants to a lot of pieces. I love the way the plants become part of the art and it brings life back to the trunk.” (He carved a huge face in a decaying tree in front of a house at Third Avenue and Federal Highway in Lake Worth)
Bazinet, who was born at Good Samaritan Hospital in West Palm Beach, has even decorated his van with his artwork (it definitely draws attention from others, he admits).
These days, he’s branched out – even using dolls he finds washed up on the beach. “The first one I found, I put a plant in its head. Ever since I sold that piece, I have been making artwork with dolls. Some people think they are scary, but I sell a lot of them,” he says.
He’s discovered dive watches, soda bottle caps, doll legs – and other litter - on his hunts.
The one thing he’d like to find?
“A duffel bag full of money,” he quips.
Q&A
What are your hobbies?
Walking on the beach and beachcombing.
What’s one thing you’d like to do?
I want to go to Easter Island. I’ve always had a fascination with that place.
Who is your favorite author?
Dean Koontz. I like his writing style, it fuels my imagination.
What inspires you?
Walking on the beach and listening to the sound of the waves. I love it when I am the only person on the beach.
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