East Stroudsburg University’s Madelon Powers Gallery will present Amazon: F.L.O.W., an exhibition of art curated by Darlene Farris-LaBar, about the Amazon Rainforest. Amazon F.L.O.W. – “Forest Life on Water” was created by artists Hugo Fortes, Sissi Fonseca, Nivalda Assunção, and Farris-LaBar, with the aim of producing a collective works from an artistic residency organized in 2022 by the artists and held at the Uakari Reserve, in the heart of Brazilian Amazon Rainforest.
A reception for the artists, featuring a live performance by Fonseca, will be held Tuesday, July 25 from 4 – 6 p.m. in the gallery located in the university’s Fine and Performing Arts Center, Normal and Marguerite streets. Both the exhibit and reception are open to the public at no cost. The exhibit will run August 28 – September 8, Monday – Friday, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Prior to August 28 it can be viewed by appointment only.
After a brief stay in Manaus and surroundings, the artists headed to Tefé, in the Alto Solimões, where they took a boat to the Mamiraua Reserve, inhabiting for a week on a floating lodge in the middle of the forest. Almost without stepping on the earth, since the forest was totally flooded, the artists visited indigenous riverside communities by boats and captured images, sounds and impressions of the Amazonian fauna and flora. This exhibition brings together a collective and individual works that aim to sensitize viewers to the importance of preserving the Amazon, the beauty of its fauna, flora and geography, as well as the life of the communities that inhabit it.
The artists have already been collaborating in international exhibitions and seminars, presenting their work in joint exhibitions in Brazil, India, Italy, the United States and other countries since 2014. From 2022 onwards, the group asserts itself as a collective and starts to carry out residencies and collective works systematically and frequently.
Fortes is a visual artist, curator, designer and associate professor at the University of São Paulo. He has presented his work in more than 15 countries. He wrote Times and Spaces: Thoughts on Art and Nature. His research is focused on the relationship between art and nature, with emphasis on questions related to forests, animals and water.
Fonseca is a visual artist, working mainly with performance. Since 1994, she has presented her performances all around the world, in countries such as India, France, Germany, Brazil and the United States. Her work focuses on nature through the use of emotion, body and movement.
Assunção is an associate professor at the department of visual arts / IdA / UnB. researcher/leader of GEPPA and presented at Imagens da Natureza/USP and GP Arte & Naturza, Processes and Hybrid Poetics. Her artistic research relates to the body, the landscape, mainly nature through walks in the Cerrado and in artistic actions and installations.
Farris-LaBar’s work requires research through environmental interaction and the study of various ecosystems. She focuses on preserving plant and flower species through various media and emerging technology such as 3D printing. Her work has been exhibited around the world. She is the chair professor of the Art + Media + Design Department at East Stroudsburg University.
For more information about the exhibition or reception, email kdevine5@esu.edu or call (570) 422-3694.