Banco Do Brasil Americas Cultural Series Continues With “Brickell Urban Encounters”

WORKS BY MANUEL CARBONELL AND YUTAKA TOYOTA ARE PRESENTED TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME

Miami (November 12, 2014) 

Banco do Brasil Americas presents “Brickell Urban Encounters” bringing together works for the first time by internationally acclaimed master sculptors Manuel Carbonell and Yutaka Toyota. The second in the inaugural season of the Banco do Brasil Cultural Series, this exhibition opens Monday, December 1 and is on display through Friday, February 27.
“Banco do Brasil Americas has a proud tradition of supporting culture and one of our number one assets is the multicultural nature of our clients and staff,” said Banco do Brasil Amerias President and CEO Cassio Segura. “Yutaka Toyota’s monuments grace São Paulo and Manuel Carbonell’s ‘The Pillar of History’ is an iconic part of Miami’s Brickell Avenue Bridge, which makes this exhibition particularly appropriate for our series.”
The exhibition is curated by Stella M. Holmes, director of the Brickellian, and Carolina Lucero as part of the art consultancy’s West Encounters East® project.

“Both Toyota and Carbonell developed their own aesthetics through a syntheses of different traditions in their artistic training,” the curators said. “In ‘Brickell Urban Encounters,’ their works bridge cultural differences and present two different but complementary visions of reality” explained Ms. Holmes.
Considered among the most important Latin American Masters, Carbonell (1918 – 2011) belonged to a generation of Cuban artists that studied at the Academia de Bellas Artes “San Alejandro” in Havana. He traveled to and studied in Europe before returning to Cuba and ultimately coming to the United States and, later, Italy. Searching for the essence of the form and the absence of details, Carbonell imparted a sense of strength, simplicity and monumentality to his work. His modern monumental works are part of important collections and public spaces.

“Carbonell’s works have a universal beauty that can be appreciated in a variety of contexts and we are pleased to have his works shown for the first time alongside those of Yutaka Toyota,” said Ricardo J. Gonzalez, III, director of the Beaux Arts Gallery which serves as the exclusive representative for the works of Carbonell.

Born in Japan in 1931, Toyota arrived in Brazil in 1962, where he currently lives. From 1965-68, he lived in Milan and worked with designer Bruno Munari while developing his research on sculpture with reflexes. He then joined the movement of optical and kinetic artists who pioneered the use of stainless steel in artworks. Influenced by the spatial theory of Argentine artist Lucio Fontana, he creates artworks that, through the application of physical laws such as Einstein’s theory of relativity and the influence of Zen Buddhist philosophy, encourage art to be viewed in new ways.

Artworks are available for sale through the Brickellian with a portion of the proceeds benefiting ArtesMiami, Inc., which supports and promotes South Florida Hispanic artists and cultural organizations, in order to generate greater understanding and appreciation for their work among the diverse publics of this region.

The Banco do Brasil Americas Cultural Series promotes local artists and the diversity of the local community. Each exhibit is free to the public and may be seen Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 800 Brickell Ave., Suite 103, in Miami.

About Banco do Brasil Americas

Banco do Brasil Americas, a subsidiary of Banco do Brasil, offers a broad array of financial services and products including retail banking, business and corporate banking. For over 200 years, Banco do Brasil has provided efficient, trustworthy banking to Latin America and the world. In January 2012, Banco do Brasil Americas was established to create a solid, reliable presence in the U.S. market. Five full-service branches are open in Miami, Doral, Boca Raton, and Pompano Beach. Each branch is staffed with employees who speak English, Portuguese and Spanish. Visit BBAmericas.com

About The Brickellian

The Brickellian, based in Miami, is an umbrella organization that includes a production company specializing in documentary films, a fine-arts consultancy, a quarterly newsletter, and the curating and promotion of educational programs such as exhibitions and lectures. The Brickellian art consultancy explores an artistic space where the vibrant palette of LATIN AMERICA and the silence of the EAST encounter to create new systems of meaning appropriate for our cultural, globalized age. They place particular emphasis on artists with Asian heritage who are living throughout Latin America, namely SãoPaulo, home of the largest Japanese population outside Japan. For more information visit TheBrickellian.com

Calendar Brief: 

Banco do Brasil Americas presents “Brickell Urban Encounters” bringing together works for the first time by internationally acclaimed master sculptors Manuel Carbonell and Yutaka Toyota from December 1 through February 27 as the second in the inaugural season of the Banco do Brasil Cultural Series. It is curated by Stella M. Holmes, director of the Brickellian and Carolina Lucero as part of the art consultancy’s West Encounters East® project. The exhibition is free and open to the public and on display Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 800 Brickell Ave., Suite 103, in Miami.

Contact: Carolina Lucero  |  clucero@thebrickellian.com