A preview on realism: Conde Contemporary hosts new exhibit by international artists

Published 9:00 am Saturday, August 13, 2022

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By MAIA BRONFMAN

NATCHEZ — Inside a cage, a video of Natchez Historic Foundation curator Nicole Harris moving her head slightly and abruptly played in a loop. Conde Contemporary Gallery owner Stacy Conde had created the piece with her son, Angel, who had overlain bird chirping sounds with the visual.

The work was displayed on Thursday evening during a preview of the show “Beyond Realism” alongside other works by international artists such Jeff Faust, Andrés Conde, Pablo Santibáñez Servat, Kevin Sloan, Danco Duportai Garcia, Clifford Bailey and César Orrico. The exhibit precedes a series of residencies from some of the shown artists.

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Salvaged cassette tapes on one wall have been painted by Danco Duportai Garcia, a Cuban living in Mexico City. The imagined origins of sounds which he hears while meditating illustrate the cassettes.

Across from the tapes is a brown longhorn, created out of layered and linseed-heavy oil paint by Pablo Santibáñez Servat, a Chilean living in Madrid.

Conde stepped back to look at the painting. It was the preferred way to see it, she said. Up close the painting had a blurring effect.

Another Servat, a sculpture of Japanese pearl divers titled “Ama,” is molded from aluminum and cedar.

“It’s an exhibition of the facets of realism,” Conde said.

Servat and Kevin Sloan, another exhibited artist, will travel to Natchez for two- to six-week residencies in the coming year. As part of their residencies, they will teach free classes to the city’s youth.

The official opening of the exhibit is on Friday, Aug. 12, at 6 p.m. at the COCO gallery at 334 Main St.