Eric López
The Institute of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture (IPRAC) opened a new exhibit entitled “Úteros” by the artist Richard Santiago on Saturday, April 3.
Santiago is a renowned Puerto Rican painter and filmmaker who resides in Puerto Rico and has exhibited work in galleries all over the world. He has a B.A. in Art from Marist College in New York and an MFA in Painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art.
The artist recently returned to painting, after pursuing film for several years. His return to this medium coincided with the birth of his son. Santiago spoke about the symbolic meaning of pregnancy and compared the universe to a womb. He poses that there is a cosmic connection between women and the
universe.
“Úteros” is a collection of over 20 paintings that contrast retrospective pieces from the period before Santiago stopped painting with his most recent work.
The images in Santiago’s paintings range from surrealistic landscapes with human figures to cosmic phenomena like black holes. Whether using vibrant colors to create abstract representations of space or depicting Puerto Rican peasants from the 1940’s, Santiago’s images are captivating and powerful.
The pieces in this exhibit show sensitivity to and an acute awareness of the intersection and inter-relatedness of the human experience, the universe, art and Puerto Rican historical memory. “Úteros” can be viewed at IPRAC until June.
