Retro/Active

"My own work evolved into installations using trees, rocks, ladders, mixed with handmade stuff, like woodcuts, slide projections, neon and drums... I never considered being consistent or developing a style to be faithful to. Rather, I would do what came out of what I had done, always going with my curiosity and welcoming difficulty. From early on I loved Francis Bacon’s thought: 'Art is a game, but you have to complicate it'."

Rafael Ferrer interviewed by Vincent Katz, excerpted from Retro/Active: The work of Rafael Ferrer.

MONOGRAPHS & CATALOGS

Retro/Active: The Work of Rafael Ferrer Edited by Deborah Cullen. Text by Edward J. Sullivan, Vincent Katz, Carter Ratcliff. Retro/Active: The Work of Rafael Ferrer is the first major publication to examine the breadth and depth of Puerto Rican-born Rafael Ferrer's influential production over the past 55 years. From Ferrer's
go to book page >>
EL MUSEO DEL BARRIO, NEW YORK
ISBN: 9781882454273
$35.00 | Awaiting stock

Retro/Active

Retro/Active: The Work of Rafael Ferrer

Edited by Deborah Cullen. Text by Edward J. Sullivan, Vincent Katz, Carter Ratcliff.
Published by El Museo del Barrio, New York

Retro/Active: The Work of Rafael Ferrer is the first major publication to examine the breadth and depth of Puerto Rican-born Rafael Ferrer's influential production over the past 55 years. From Ferrer's avant-garde art actions in the 1960s through his more recent brightly colored paintings paying homage to island life, his artistic journey has always reflected his intelligence, humor and a uniquely Caribbean perspective. Here, essays by curator Deborah Cullen and scholar Edward Sullivan chronicle Ferrer's biography and artistic output, consider the Caribbean and western influences in his work, and chart his early sources, including the Surrealists, Dada, Wifredo Lam and Puerto Rican master Francisco Oller y Cestero. This volume also includes Carter Ratcliff's reprisal of his out-of-print 1973 opus "Rafael Ferrer in the Tropical Sublime" and Vincent Katz's interview with the artist. In all, Retro/Active features over 100 full-color plates and archival images, and will spark a critical reconsideration of Ferrer's work.