The West Harlem Art Fund and NY Artist Equity Association will present sculptor Otero Fuentes and his latest work XOXO on Governors Island this spring in Nolan Park.
XOXO emerges from the sculptor’s 8 year practice informed by an extensive experimentation and study of circular forms and their boundless capacity to exist in space and impart universal narratives. Additionally, Otero Fuentes draws from his university training in architecture, digital fabrication, and 10 years of work experience translating architectural designs into buildable solutions that serve the technical aspects of a project while preserving the intent and spirit of the original design concepts.
XOXO is an interactive installation that invites the public to perform as shapes of love within a heart-shaped opening framed by two interlocking circles. Beyond the physical presence of this proposal, the project remains forever in transition as it displays ephemeral interactions with the public and it extends into digital space when it is turned to pixels and shared in digital social platforms. Public interaction is the primary material used to convert this sculpture into a multi-dimensional sphere of connection and unity.
Funding for XOXO was made possible by a generous New York Council on the Arts (NYSCA) grant.
About Otero Fuentes Profile…
Miguel Otero Fuentes is a Puerto Rico-born USA migrant, university trained architect, and self-taught sculptor specializing in façade system design, 3D modeling and facilitating collaboration between design and engineering teams. He holds a Master of Architecture degree from Georgia Institute of Technology, where he was awarded the T. Gordon Little Fellowship, participated in design-build studios, worked as a teaching assistant abroad and was involved in research in the areas of digital design and fabrication. During his academic career he won three first place prizes including the distinguished Portman Prize. He also holds a Bachelor of Environmental Design degree (with honors) from the University of Puerto Rico.
From 2015 until the start of 2022, Otero Fuentes worked as a facade designer in a New York based engineering firm. He was involved in a range of high profile projects ranging from skyscrapers to cultural institutions such as museums and academic facilities. In these projects, he worked implementing groundbreaking facade design technologies using a range of materials such as concrete, terracotta, stone, glass, aluminum and other metals.
At present, Otero Fuentes works full time in his Brooklyn studio taking on architectural design commissions and sculpture projects experimenting with material, dimension, number, light, space, form, and meaning.
About NY Artist Equity Association (https://nyartistsequity.org)
More than160 leading American artists of the 1940s founded the organization, including Will Barnet, Thomas Hart Benton, George Biddle, Paul Cadmus, Stuart Davis, Arthur Dove, Marsden Hartley, Edward Hopper, Leon Kroll, Jacob Lawrence, John Marin, Louise Nevelson, John Sloan and the first President Yasuo Kuniyoshi. These diverse artists were all clear on one point — they had to band together to establish and protect artists’ economic well-being.
Originally a chapter of Artists Equity Association, the New York chapter split from the national organization in 1965 and opened its Broome Street Gallery in SoHo later that year.
Today NYAE continues to support the professional aspirations of unrecognized and emerging artists, particularly those from underrepresented groups, by providing them with exhibition opportunities, educational programing, and a vibrant community of artists, collectors, curators, and art educators.
About the West Harlem Art Fund (https://westharlem.art)
The West Harlem Art Fund (WHAF) is a twenty-five year old, public art and new media organization. Like explorers from the past, who searched for new lands and people, WHAF seek opportunities for artists and creative professionals throughout NYC and beyond wishing to showcase and share their talent. The West Harlem Art Fund presents art and culture in open and public spaces to add aesthetic interest; promote historical and cultural heritage; and support community involvement in local development. Our heritage symbol Afuntummireku-denkyemmtreku: is the double crocodile from West Africa Ghana which means unity in diversity.