Cuban artist Esterio Segura’s installation Goodbye My Love will be installed from March 18 to May 13, 2013, as part of Times Square Arts’ initiative to bring leading contemporary art in multiple forms to visitors of New York City’s Times Square. Goodbye My Love is installed in Anita’s Way, the pedestrian passageway connecting West 42nd Street with West 43rd Street between 6th Avenue and Broadway. This installation is presented with the Cuban Artists Fund and chashama, and is supported by Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

Esterio Segura is a pioneer of Cuban contemporary art.His installation, Goodbye My Love, is a hanging outdoor installation of 12 planes made of heart-shaped bodies that reference the love found in contemporary relationships that often requires people to be separated from each other. 

Sherry Dobbin, Director of Public Art, Times Square Alliance, says, “Esterio’s work first engages the audience’s sense of joy of watching a flight path through Midtown, but then strikes a bittersweet chord of emotion as we equate our personal experiences to saying Goodbye.” 

As a Cuban artist, Segura’s piece also resonates with those who sometimes must be separated from their families in order to leave their countries. As a public artwork, it engages the audience to revisit the work repeatedly from a place of celebration or remembrance.  This project upholds ongoing commitments to assist the under-served artist community of Cuban-Americans and, working with Cuban Artists Fund, to further raise awareness within this audience. This work was part of the Havana Biennial in 2012, and its presence in Times Square gives visibility to this important emerging artist coming from an economically and politically challenged country. 

Carlos Pomares, Executive Director, Cuban Artsts Fund, says, “We are pleased to once again work with the Times Square Alliance and chashama as our past collaborations have been incredible opportunities for our artists to enhance their visibility.  Esterio’s work is first rate and we have no doubt New York will embrace his work.” 

Anita Durst, Artistic Director of chashama, says, "chashama is very excited to present Goodbye My Love with Times Square Arts at Anita's Way, our stunning outdoor through-block performance space in the heart of Times Square. We are always looking for ways to re-energize and beautify underutilized spaces, and this innovative, endearing installation will be a visual treat to the community, while exposing the talent of Cuban artist Esterio Segura." 

Artist Esterio Segura had this to say about his New York project: “Up until now the manifestations of this subject have been sad ones, even pessimistic, though artful, emphasizing the social and political repercussions of migration, banishment, and separation among others. In this case, Goodbye My Love uses these issues as well as memories to offer an optimist’s view pointing to the importance of good communication and the interaction of the cultures that have caused these circumstances.  New York offers the added value of the enrichment of universal culture, or the globalization of cultures which has resulted from the intersection of civilizations"  

Follow Goodbye My Love on Twitter using #SeguraTSq. 

Times Square Arts, the public arts program of the Times Square Alliance, presents leading contemporary art and performances in multiple forms and media to more than 400,000 daily visitors to New York City’s Times Square, making it one of the highest profile public arts programs in the United States. Since its inception, Times Square Arts has featured works by a diverse group of more than five dozen prominent and emerging artists. Working in partnership with cultural institutions and festivals, the program is further supported by Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Rockefeller Foundation’s Cultural Innovation Fund, which works to spur and support cultural innovation in New York City’s creative sector. Visit www.TimesSquareNYC.org/arts for more information. Follow us on Twitter: @TSqArts

Cuban Artists Fund, founded in New York City in 1998, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to supporting artists of Cuban ancestry and providing the public with programs aimed at creating broader appreciation for Cuban arts and its global impact both historically and in today’s society. Specifically, CAF supports artists by helping to identify resources and people to create networks for Cuban artists, arts and culture groups, and cultural exchanges. CAF has a particular focus on presenting and nurturing artistic work by Cuban artists in New York City. Visit www.cubanartistsfund.org for more information, or find us on Facebook and Twitter. 

chashama connects art and real estate by transforming underutilized properties into work and presentation spaces. We partner with artists, performers, and youth and community organizations in New York City to transform lives through art and creativity. Our programs strengthen both the communities that benefit from the influx of new ideas, and the artists whose work they support. To learn more, visit www.chashama.org or find us on Facebook and Twitter. 

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund advances social change that contributes to a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world. Visit http://www.rbf.org

Installation by Cuban Artist Esterio Segura Reflects on the Pain of Saying Goodbye

 Goodbye My Love by Esterio Segura

March 18-May 13, 2013

Times Square, Anita’s Way, Pedestrian Passageway Connecting West 42nd-43rd Streets

About the Artist:

Cuban-born artist Esterio Segura is a 1994 graduate of the prestigious Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana. Working in painting, sculpture and installation, Segura makes use of humorous imagery to address socially and politically charged themes from Cuban history. He has held residencies in Banff Centre in Canada and Gasworks Gallery in London; shown in biennials in Sao Paulo, Lisbon and Havana, and has been exhibited extensively in Cuba, the United States, Germany, Spain, England, Argentina, Brazil, and elsewhere in the world. For more information visit www.esteriosegura.com