Finding Home Exhibition Opening Reception
Curated by Wilfredo Valladares
What defines home?
is it a circuitous route one takes to find what can be called and adapted as “home.” is it a place, a feeling, a memory, an emotion, or a relationship? in the exhibition “finding home” all of these concepts are explored through the combined artistic voices and personal experiences of the featured artists and are embedded in each of the individual works and art installations that are composed of a vibrant and vast combination of materials and time-based medium.
Curator: Wilfredo Valladares
Wilfredo Valladares is an award-winning, internationally known artist, educator, and curator. Valladares is the founder of Arte Studio 28 and Perspectivas Latinas, initiatives that promote and foster Latinx and Caribbean artists, traditions, and cultures. His artwork is in collections in the U.S., Latin and Central America, South Korea, and Italy. He serves as Visual Arts Academic Chair and Coordinator of the Sculpture Program at Anne Arundel Community College (AACC). He is a board member and co-chair, as well as the Visual Arts Curator, for the American Poetry Museum in Washington, DC. A tenured Full-Professor in the Visual Arts Department, Valladares holds the following degrees: MFA (University of Maryland College Park); BFA (Maryland Institute College of Art); Teaching Certificate (Normal Mixta Matilde Cordova Viuda de Suazo). His international installations include: “Terzo Millenio” (Milan, Italy; 1997), and “Near and Far” (Exhibition; Outdoor Installation: Daegu, South Korea; 2014). Valladares’ notable art commissions include: “Petalos Reflejantes ” (Silver Spring, Maryland; 2009); “Journey: Anacostia" (Washington, DC; 2013).
Valladares was born in Trujillo Colon, Honduras, where he began his career as an artist and teacher. His perspectives in the role of educator challenged the status quo during a time of conflict in his country, necessitating his pursuit of political asylum in the United States. Adopting a new country came with its own challenges, which Valladares met and overcame as he continued forging his path as an artist. Transcending the traditional paradigm of cross-cultural art, Valladares’ work respectfully bridges boundaries and connects multiple cultures, incorporating history and heart in each piece.