NEW YORK, NY – Chelsea’s Agora Gallery will feature the original work of Maria José Cabral in Life is But a Dream. The exhibition opens May 22, 2018 and runs through June 12,  2018 with an opening reception on Thursday, May 24 from 6-8 pm. Any art lover who enjoys thought-provoking artworks and meeting talented and interesting artists is encouraged to attend.

About the Artist

Maria José Cabral’s mixed-media works stem from an ongoing engagement with leisure-time as the generative source underlying authentic relationships. Often working with pictures archived in a family photo album, Cabral has opted to recreate these very scenes from memory, allowing the fallibility of recollected events to color her subject-matter with a lush sheen of exotic colors. This syncretic blend of photography, acrylics, and mixed-media painting lends her works a uniqueness which can’t be wholly reduced to any one medium or technique she puts to use, or even the photos that provided an original source of inspiration.   

Cabral’s Dumper majestically captures the way memory shades into fantasy. A group of figures is seated in an industrial “dumper.” Their faces are all but indiscernible, hued by a popping fluorescent blue. Almost eerily, each figure appears to be looking away from the viewer's vantage point – less like they were posing than as if they were transplanted from another pictorial plane to where they presently sit. In the background, psychedelic swaths of primary colors seem to dynamically converge, creating a sense of place whose elementary parts seem collaged from dream.

Exhibition Dates: May 22-June 12, 2018

Reception: Thursday May 24, 2018 6-8 PM

Gallery Hours: Tues-Sat 11:00am – 6:00pm

Gallery Location: 530 West 25th Street, New York, NY

Event URL: https://www.agora-gallery.com/artistpage/Maria_Jose_Cabral.aspx

Featured Artists:

toNI Altenstrasser | Maria José Cabral | Margret Carde | Benny De Grove | GLIL | Paciel González | Olga Loschinina | Samantha Messias | Jennifer Morrow | Svetlana Nelson | Olivia O'Keeffe | Gottfried Roemer | Jutta Schulte | Ifat Shatzky | Amber Warren | Satoco Yamamoto | Katja Yoon

About the Exhibition

Life is But a Dream is a group show that explores the surreality of memory and identity in a world too often constructed to resemble a mere product on the shelf of popular culture. Comprising 17 artists, the primary link joining them together is how memory can be reshaped by the imagination. These artists all share in examining the content of what they remember, with social and familial life acting as a lens through which they reexamine recollected moments.

About Agora Gallery

Agora Gallery is a contemporary fine art gallery located in the heart of Chelsea’s fine art district in New York. Established in 1984, Agora Gallery specializes in connecting art dealers and collectors with national and international artists. The art gallery’s expert consultants are available to assist corporate and private clients in procuring original artwork to meet their organization’s specific needs and budget requirements. With a strong online presence and popular online gallery, ARTmine, coupled with the spacious and elegant physical gallery space, the work of our talented artists, who work in diverse media and styles, can receive the attention it deserves. Over the years Agora Gallery has sponsored and catered to special events aimed at fostering social awareness and promoting the use of art to help those in need.