With this series, the artist delving into the exploration and celebration of the freedom of movement between abstract and figurative painting, performance, and action painting, allowing these forms to intersect within the boundless framework of space. A recurring motif in this series is the concept of "connection." The artist often incorporate string, plastic ribbon, and rope in my installations, sculptures, and performance work for both metaphorical and practical reasons. These materials signify binding, gathering, and tying, embodying a natural symbolism of connection. Her initial references are the Nkisi Nkondi sculptures and the Paquet Kongo of Haitian Vodou - where strings serve as symbolic umbilical cords, linking and amplifying the power of the loas. These African objects facilitated connections between living individuals and communities with the spirit world for divination, healing, and protection. Additionally, the ideas of string theory in quantum physics are a reference, highlighting the interconnectedness of all matter, a concept that holds significance in our understanding of the universe.
Together and Better Together, 2023
Together and Better Together, 2023
Mixed media
From the series Materials, Connections, and Rituals: A Celebration of Cultural Tapestry
Dimensions:
Overall size: 55” x 31” x 14”
Individual size:
Together: 32” x 31” x 14”
Better Together: 23” x 26” x 11”
Unique
Charo Oquet is a Miami-based artist that uses painting, installation, performance, photography and film, among other media, to investigate issues of the displacement, identity, migration, gender, or sociopolitical and cultural issues and to document and reflect on issues of de-colonial aesthesis and the role of contemporary culture in a global reality. Her work is a subjective observation by someone who is concerned with her surroundings and the culture she left behind. Her interdisciplinary work has been extensively exhibited internationally and has been well-reviewed by art critics and recognized by scholars in books and other publications. In addition to reviews in the Miami Herald, Atlantica Art Journal, African Arts, Art in America, Art Nexus, and Art New Zealand, among others, Antonio Zaya Publisher produced and distributed a book of her work, Charo Oquet – Lo Que Ve La Sirena (2002). Her work is also included in such books and catalogs as New Hoodoo - Art of a Forgotten Faith (2008), Files by Octavio Zaya, Miami Contemporary Artists New Zealand's National Museum Te Papa Calendar 2009, Dominican Contemporary Artists, and Supermix. Oquet has had numerous solo exhibitions in Museums and galleries around the world such as the Bass Museum, Miami Beach; Casal Solleric, Palma de Mallorca, Convento de Santo Domingo, Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain ( curated by Antonio Zaya) and Oquet’s work has been included in numerous international exhibitions. Oquet’s work is in several museum collections such as the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art, Frost Art Museum, Florida International University, Miami, FL; CAAM, Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno, Word Bank, Las Palmas de Gran Canarias, Spain; Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach, Florida; New Zealand National Museum, Wellington, N.Z.; Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt, New Zealand; Govett-Brewter Art Gallery, New Plymouth, New Zealand; Foresight Collection, Auckland, New Zealand; Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wellington, New Zealand; Gulf & Western Americas Corp., New York; Museo de las Casas Reales, Dominican Republic and Museo del Arte Moderno, Dominican Republic.
