Communicating through art. Interview with Silvina Mizrahi
The Arts are an important vehicle to built community and to communicate emotions, experiences and our interpretation for society. For 40 years, IBA has used the arts to do this, among other things. In the fall of 2014, Boston-based Argentinian artist Silvina Mizrahi, showed her work at IBA's La Galeria. Silvina was born in Tucumán, a small town in northern Argentina. Her childhood was marked with beautiful memories of outdoor games, time to create and a lot of love from grandmothers. She studied Fine Arts at the University of Tucumán and then specialized in the "lost wax" technique in Buenos Aires, where her exhibitions of sculpture and dance began. This gave her exposure to renowned galleries and cultural centers until she finally arrived in Boston, a city she has called home for 14 years. Besides continuing to work as an artist, she devotes her time to be an educator at the Museum of Fine Arts. She has received numerous awards, including the one awarded in 2011 when she was named "One of the 100 Most Influential people for the Latino Community in Massachusetts". This is what Silvina shared with us about her exhibit, Internal Topographies, at IBA's La Galeria. Give a description of the exhibit at The Gallery Internal Topographies, the sample I presented in The Gallery, is an invitation to go into the inner world, a look inside our being. A tour we observe as spectators because it has already been created, a space with its own music that is heard only when the intellect is muted. The daily experiences with their colors, flavors, dances and winds capriciously accommodate our Interior landscape, as in dreams, beyond our control, managed by its own laws, but still linked to our deepest desires. Internal Topographies is a way to go without thinking of getting anywhere... Tell us a little about the type of work you do, the goals you want to achieve through your works. My work consists of sculptures and paintings. The sculptures are of figurative expressionist style, made mostly in bronze. The paintings are abstract expressionists made with mixed media and collage. I have no scheduled goals when I work, I like the viewer to enjoy seeing my work in the same way that I enjoy creating it, sharing with them my thoughts, colors and shapes, so my only rule is to always be honest with my work. Describe your experience at the show? My experience during the exhibition in Villa Victoria was positive from all points of view; The Gallery is managed with professionalism during the installation and presentation. This also includes the human quality of its members, who made me feel as part of IBA’s family. Comments from visitors were very enthusiastic and especially those who feel proud that Latino art has a prominent place in Boston, thanks to the efforts of IBA to promote it. What do you think of IBA and its efforts to promote art? Since I came to Boston, I started hearing great reviews about a gallery which promoted Latino Art; that’s how I reached IBA, for different reasons, the possibility of having an exhibit there was patiently waited until this year. It was worth it!...