Lake Price Seaside – When Boca Raton-based skilled artist Sonya Sanchez Arias discovered a few e book written by her great-great grandfather within the Smithsonian Libraries’ on-line archives in 2022, she knew she had discovered one thing particular.
The e book affords a historic snapshot of life on the southern Caribbean island of Trinidad, the place Sanchez Arias grew up. A fifth technology Trinidadian (whose mom’s paternal French Creole aspect of the household stretches again even additional), the e book so impressed Sanchez Arias that she created an exhibition honoring her ancestors, her wealthy cultural heritage and celebrating range discovered each in Trinidad and South Florida.
Pairing discovered objects with digitally collaged hybrid portraits and texts to attach previous and future, the result’s a dramatic, not-to-be-missed solo artwork exhibition in downtown Lake Price Seaside.
Artwork Exhibition
Sonya Sanchez Arias: Sister From One other Mom
The exhibition Sonya Sanchez Arias: Then and Now (One thing Previous One thing New) will happen January 26 by March 9 on the Cultural Council for Palm Seaside County’s Solo Gallery at its Lake Price Seaside headquarters. Free and open to the general public, exhibition hours are Tuesday by Saturday from midday to five p.m.
Utilizing discarded, recycled and different materials to create her work, Sonya Sanchez Arias challenges the idea of magnificence, addresses nostalgia, and honors the tenacity of her ancestors and numerous discovered objects which have survived over time. By pairing these objects with digitally collaged hybrid portraits and texts, she makes an attempt to visually join the previous and the longer term and begin conversations about matters from then and now.
“Sonya Sanchez Arias breathes new life into discarded objects by meticulously recombining them to create her narrative,” stated Jessica Ransom, the Cultural Council’s director of artist companies, who curated the exhibition. “Viewers ought to anticipate to spend a while discerning the person objects within the amalgamation after which stepping again to view the entire because it has been conceived by Sanchez Arias.”
Chosen by a extremely aggressive utility course of, Sanchez Arias is considered one of six Palm Seaside County-based skilled artists whose work was chosen by a committee for one of many Cultural Council’s coveted Solo Gallery exhibition spots. All of the artists chosen for the 2023-2024 season are girls.
Sonya Sanchez Arias: Then and Now (One thing Previous One thing New) tells the story of Sanchez Arias’s journey and viewpoint shifting from one multi-racial and culturally various island to a brand new and equally various expertise in South Florida.
Sonya Sanchez Arias
“My work incorporates the knowledge and expertise of ancestors — each mine and others — by issues they left behind,” she stated. “Each bit on this physique of labor incorporates one thing outdated and classic with one thing newly created with digital artwork and present-day expertise. My aim is to have a good time the ‘now’ by merging these two collectively.”
Household Inspiration
And she or he was particularly moved by uncovering her nice great-grandfather’s book (circa 1874-1912), which impressed her to analysis the historical past of her residence island and the way its racial and cultural range has advanced by the centuries. That analysis led to this physique of labor, and the e book itself will likely be current on the exhibition, she stated.
“Typically to go ahead, we should return. By revisiting and understanding our historical past, we are able to transfer ahead with higher knowledge and appreciation,” Sanchez Arias stated.
Along with creating combined media assemblages, paper attire and a preferred line of artwork jewellery, Sanchez Arias has spent greater than 25 years working as a profitable photographic stylist, business photographer, and photographic artwork director.
Her one-of-a-kind artwork and distinctive model have been acknowledged internationally, nationally and all through the Caribbean, with work in latest exhibitions at Useful resource Depot’s GalleRE, the Armory Artwork Heart and the Field Gallery in West Palm Seaside, in addition to the Cornell Museum, Arts Warehouse and Arts Storage in Delray Seaside.
“All of my artwork items are the results of manipulating or rearranging used and discarded supplies,” she stated. “These repurposed supplies give my artwork a robust id with distinctive traits successfully making each bit distinct and distinctive.”
Sonya Sanchez Arias: Then and Now (One thing Previous One thing New) will run from January 26 by March 9 on the Cultural Council’s headquarters in Lake Price Seaside. Exhibition hours are Tuesday by Saturday from midday to five p.m.
Go to palmbeachculture.com for extra info or to register for the opening artist reception on Saturday, January 27, from 3 p.m. to five p.m.; to RSVP, go to palmbeachculture.com/arias. To see extra of her work, go to https://sonyasanchezarias.com/ or discover her on Instagram at @cre8tivechild.
