Aguas Malas
November 20, 2014 through February 1, 2015
Leslie Sardinias, Oscuro (Obscure), 2014. Courtesy of the artist. [Image Description: On a white piece of paper with uneven edges is an abstract painting, comprised of black, blue, gray, red, and white circles on a black background that is flicked white small dabs of white paint. The circles are clustered densely on the edge of the painting, gradually decreasing towards the center of the image, where there are smaller black and red circles over a light gray orb.]
Aguas Malas features new work by New York-based Cuban artist Leslie Sardinias. Through his mixed media works, Sardinias creates an imagined world located within the 90-mile expanse between Cuba and the United States, and pays tribute to those who traveled those troubled waters and risk everything in pursuit of a better future. The exhibition is also a poetic tribute to the sea, simultaneously an archetype of hope and opportunity, as well as isolation and despair.
Installation views of “Aguas Malas” at The 8th Floor, November 2014. Photos by Jean Vong. Courtesy of the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation.