Mumbo Jumbo
“Though beauty is, with the most apt similitude, I had almost said with the most literal truth, called a flower that fades and dies almost in the very moment of its maturity; yet there is, methinks, a kind of beauty which lives even to old age; a beauty that is not in the features, but, if I may be allowed the expression, shines through them. As it is not merely corporeal it is not the object of mere sense, nor is it to be discovered but by persons of true taste and refined sentiment.”
-Fulke Greville, Maxims, Characters, and Reflections
In the gallery’s Project Space, Bruce Kates explores mixed media in his installation ‘Mumbo Jumbo.’ The artist shares an appreciation for the abandoned and neglected. With a sense of vision and sensitivity, they create works of art that galvanize an investigation of the unornamented as art. ‘Mumbo Jumbo’ will be on view December 19th, 2015 – January 30th, 2016 at Mindy Solomon Gallery’s new location in Little River, 8397 NE 2nd Avenue, Miami. An Opening Reception with the artists will take place Saturday, December 19th, from 7-9pm at the gallery. Festive libations will be served.
Bruce Kates approaches the discarded and forgotten as a means of artistic re-interpretation. Kates states: “‘Mumbo Jumbo’ is a body of work which was developed with an approach to process based on ‘informed intuition,’ much the way one learns to print and then ultimately develops a signature. The materials are mostly repurposed fragments, found scraps and materials that were previously used.”
Kates derives inspiration from Alberto Giacometti, Kurt Schwitters, and the Russian Avant-Garde, a movement that combined Cubism with the art of the Italian Futurists. His wall reliefs convey a sense of delicacy despite the sometimes heavy and rough-edged materials utilized. The minimal compositions are carefully weighted line drawings articulated through material conversation.
About Bruce Kates
Bruce Kates holds a Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture from Pennsylvania State University, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture from Philadelphia College of the Arts. He is the recipient of a New Forms Florida Grant for fine art, administered by the Florida Dance Association and Metro-Dade Cultural Affairs Council, with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation and Inter-Arts program of National Endowment for the Arts. He resides in Miami, Florida.
