BB Americas Cultural Series is an exhibition program created by BB Americas to promote local artists and the diversity of our community.
BB Americas is very excited to participate in its community and promote its multicultural environment opening its branch to local artists to exhibit their artworks.
Art Speaks for Itself will feature 10 wisely selected pieces that depict the individual work of Miami residents Nahila Campos and Daniela Wicki, and Brazilian-born Paula Gasparini-Santos. Cultural history and diversity are reflected in this exhibit through the heritage of the three artists. Campos, a Venezuela native with a background in architecture, utilizes her vast experiences and training in her depictions of cities and the world. Wicki, who was born in Peru, left a successful career as a lawyer to pursue her creative ambitions, which illustrate her sense of adventure. Gasparini-Santos, who pursued an education in psychology and art in California, finds refuge in her painting and hopes to inspire people with her personal expression.
Their art has appeared in galleries and shows both nationally and internationally, including exhibits in Miami, Los Angeles, New York, London, Italy, Switzerland and Venezuela. Through their collective talents and artistic expression, Art Speaks for Itself will examine themes of exploration and discovery and encourage self-reflection.
BB Americas Cultural Series presents an expansive exhibition of three Latin American artists who explore the boundaries of art and the limits of imagination. Daniela Wicki’s photographs, Paula Santos’s paintings and Nahila Campos’s installations. Peruvian, Venezuelan and Brazilian artists exploring the boundaries of art and the limits of imagination.
Liana Rivas, curator invited for “Art Speaks for Itself” exhibition.
BB 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 BB Americas Cultural Series, this exhibition opens Monday, December 1 and is on display through Friday, February 27.
“BB 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 BB Americas 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, administrator of Carbonell Sculptures Ltd. 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 1965-1968, 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 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.
BB Americas presents "After Illusion: The Art of Urban Experience." Bringing together, for the very first time, works from acclaimed contemporary artists, Pitágoras Lopez Gonçalves (Brazil), Patricia Lara Campiglia (Uruguay), and Bénédicte Blanc-Fontenille (France). These world-renowned artists will fill the opening season of the BB Americas Cultural Series of 2015. The exhibition will open on Thursday, March 12, and will run through June 27.
"BB Americas has always supported these cultural endeavors, and our main area of focus is in displaying the natural blend of cultures provided by our clients and our workers," said BB Americas president and CEO, Antonio Cassio Segura. "The works of Pitágoras Lopez Gonçalves show the inimitable talent of this Brazilian artist who hails from the state of Goias. His work will be shown alongside the art of Patricia Lara Campiglia and Bénédicte Blanc-Fontenille to complete the aesthetic for this inaugural exhibit."
The exhibit's curator is Ana Pecoraro, a Brazilian PhD with a special focus on art and architectural conservation. Pecoraro has a masters in Art History from the Conversation Centre of New York University. Ana Pecoraro synthesizes Gonçalves' artistic vision: "He creates art the way it ought to be: his works touch through their vivid colors, composition, and depth. His art truly are images which speak a thousand words. They show us how incredible and beautiful the nature of man is. Interspersed with our modern-day inventions, it shows how these new trappings of modern life are isolating us from our natural state."
Pitágoras Lopez Gonçalves was born in Goiânia in 1964. He became involved with a series of theater groups and art studios in order for him to earn the projection he sought. He was heavily influenced by the cosmic abstract present in many of the books he'd read, mostly science-fiction, cartoons, classic literature like Jules Verne, cinema, and the urban nightlife. His work is on display in public museums, cultural centers, and private galleries all around the world. His first exhibition in the United States was in 2008 for the PINTA gallery in New York, which has since moved to Miami.
The Uruguayan Patricia Lara Campiglia was born in Montevideo. Her artistic style is based on sporting a balanced composition combined with chromatic light effects. She has also worked extensively with paintings, sculpting, and tapestries. Through her work, she has made us re-evaluate our pre-conceived notions of humanity.
Bénédicte Blanc-Fontenille was born in France but has made her home in Miami since 2002. She graduated from the na Ecole des Beaux Arts and studied at Conservatoire d'art Dramatique. Her work can be found at The Art Center Foundation Ortiz Guardian Museum in Nicarágua and of Valmont Suisse. She has been commissioned by Cartier, Piaget, Sofitel, Alcoa International and she has been featured in a number of private showings in Louisiana, Florida, Canada, and Europe. She also translates the Impermanence.
Placing herself at the division of time and space the artist uses her medium to convey to us that our passage on Earth is just life going through the motions without adherence to the laws of time and space.
BB 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 BB Americas Cultural Series, this exhibition opens Monday, December 1 and is on display through Friday, February 27.
“BB 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 BB Americas 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, administrator of Carbonell Sculptures Ltd. 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 1965-1968, 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 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.
BB Americas, returns on June 11th with Color Beyond Symmetry and Horizons. BB Americas invited recognized curators Maria A. Napoles and Jade Matarazzo, who assembled a trio of world-renowned artists comprised by two painters, Robert Swedroe (USA) and Didi Marchi (Brazil) and sculptor Othón Castañeda (Mexico). The exhibit will take place in the bank's Brickell branch located at 800 Brickell Avenue, Suite 103. Admission is free and open to the public. Color Beyond Symmetry and Horizons is the fourth exhibit in the company's cultural series. The series was created to continue Banco Do Brasil's Cultural Center's mission of promoting local artists and community diversity. Located in Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, Banco do Brasil's Cultural Centers were created 25 years ago as multidisciplinary art spaces with regular programming. To date, the Cultural Centers have been the venue for 3,500 projects, 12,000 events and have welcomed over 60 million visitors. "We started the cultural series as a way to continue the bank's cultural mission and as a means to support Miami-based artists and curators", said President and CEO of BB Americas Antonio Cassio Segura. "We want the community to know that we are a local bank, with a local vision and want to be part of Miami's growth."
As in previous exhibits, BB Americas invited two curators, the first of which is Maria Napoles, a Cuban - American entrepreneur who has devoted her life to the arts. After presiding over ArteAmericas, Maria founded Maria's Art Momentum Gallery and was appointed by the Mayor of Miami as an Honorary Member of Miami's Arts & Entertainment Council for the City of Miami. Maria brought Mexican sculptor Othón Castañeda to join the exhibit. As a visual artist and architect, his work is characterized by anthropomorphic, spatial and organic allusions exploring concepts such as selfhood, existence and sexuality thru nonobjective references to human figure. Throughout his tridimensional sculptures, he explores abstraction as sublimation from reality challenging common imagery and historical opposition.
The second curator is Brazilian, Jade Matarazzo who began shaping her photography background in Switzerland where she studied Fine Arts and began her career. Through years of solo exhibitions and interactions with other artists, Jade developed her vision for a more culturally diverse exchange. As an independent curator, Jade has pioneered projects such as ExpoArt-Japan, ExpoArt-London, ArtBrazil and Brazilian Eyes. She brought American painter Robert Swedroe and Brazilian painter Didi Marchi to the exhibit. As an artist and architect, Robert Swedroe's multiple talents work off each other and recently, this interplay of design aesthetics culminated in an entirely new series of multimedia constructions. His latest works of collage and assemblage continue his tradition of challenging the boundaries between two and three dimensions. These new "higher-tech" creations now incorporate computer-generated elements, monochromatic fields, and a bolder, crisper array and arrangement of sumptuous, thought-provoking imagery. Didi Marchi has explored a variety of directions and themes over the years. Although her paintings are abstract in form, her inspiration comes from nature and the unconsciousness of risks and adventure. The artwork is generally large and evokes a unique sense of openness and delicacy; the conceptual quality of the final work, the spontaneity of colors and the random quality of staining are the most important elements of her expressionist art. These pieces offer a dose of the unexpected; they challenge the mind and stimulate the eyes. Color Beyond Symmetry and Horizons will take place from June 11th to September 30th and the exhibit will be open Monday thru Friday from 9 am to 4 pm at the BB Americas Brickell branch located at 800 Brickell Avenue, Suite 103. For more information about BB Americas and the BB Americas Cultural Series visit www.bbamericas.com.
About Color Beyond Symmetry and Horizons:
The concept for Color Beyond Symmetry and Horizons comes from the ability of color applied in its various forms to create moods, emotions and even narratives. Shapes may portray strength and boldness or softness and tameness - it is all in the eye and imagination of the beholder. Whether the journey is obscure and deep or naive and light, the exhibitors hope that it leads the traveler to a place of endless creativity.
ORLANDO, Fla., April 20, 2017 – BB Americas will celebrate diversity in the Orlando branch with a group art exhibit showcasing five local artists. The group exhibit entitled Tapestry: Las Americas United is a group exhibition curated by Patricia Isabella Byron featuring the paintings of Barbara Tiffany, Fabiola Hansen, Joan Emanuelli Sanchez, Mayra Feliú and Patricia Cavazos. The works on view explore the world of color, sense of architecture, beauty, and nature.
A VIP reception opening the exhibit is planned for Wednesday May 3rd at 6pm where the art will remain on display for viewing. Tapestry: Las Americas United opens at 5475 International Drive at 09:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 4th and runs through July. Admission is free and is open.
The exhibit is part of the BB Americas Cultural Series, a campaign to embrace diversity and support local artists while reinvesting into our local branches. “We brought the Cultural Series Orlando to continue our cultural mission to support local communities’ artists and curators,” said Cassio Segura, President and CEO of BB Americas. “We want the community to know that we are a local bank, with a local vision and we want to be part of Orlando’s growth,” Segura said.
According to Segura, the tradition of supporting local artists and promoting diversity within the community is part of their mission that started twenty-five years ago after the first series was held at Banco do Brasil’s Cultural Centers in Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Today, the cultural centers in Brazil serve as creative hubs for painters, illustrators and sculptors. More than 60 million visitors have viewed over 3,500 art projects and attended 12,000 events held at these centers since the series started in Brazil.
Curator Patricia Byron, notes “The vivid contemplation of each artist transcends back to place and home, where the artists have illustrated their own cultural diaspora into their paintings by weaving elements of their native land. From South and North America to the Caribbean Islands, each artists work emphasizes commonalities that unite nations and cultures”. Many of the artists are renowned and include such famous participants as:
Barbara Tiffany raised in Central Florida, Barbara has loved art and nature her entire life, knowing at a very early age that art would be a big part of her future. Currently works as Curator of Exhibitions at Crealde School of Art and serves as the Program Manager for the Painting and Drawing Department.
Patricia Cavazos born in 1973 in Monterrey, Mexico, Cavazos earned her BA in Architecture from the ITESM in 1994. After college, she collaborates with residential and commercial designs at “103 Grupo de Diseño” firm and later works with Luis Elizondo Williams, as a specialist on residential designs.
Mayra Feliu was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Puerto Rico. Throughout the years, she had the opportunity to travel to various countries, spending time in Europe.
Joan Emanuelli Sanchez is a contemporary realism artist from San Juan, Puerto Rico, Sanchez now resides in Orlando, Florida. His distinctive personal style emanates from passion and emotion which portrays numerous perspectives in a variety of subjects in acrylics and oils.
Fabiola Hansen born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and came to the United States in 1996. She has a degree in Art Education from UCF, and took many art courses in Brazil, at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and had the opportunity to study art in Florence, Italy, the cradle of the Renaissance.
Tapestry: Las Americas United, will be housed in the lobby of Banco do Brasil on I-Drive. Patrons who wish to purchase from the collection may contact the artists directly. BB Americas will give all of proceeds raised from individual art sales during the exhibit back to the artist. The exhibit runs from Thursday, May 4th and runs through July 2017. For more information, visit www.bbamericas.com about BB Americas and the BB Americas Cultural Series in Orlando.
About Tapestry, Las Americas United
Tapestry: Las Americas Unitedis the second art exhibition showcasing original artwork from local Orlando residents hosted by BB Americas as part of the BB Americas Cultural Series. This collection promotes the beauty of diversity within the community where the bank operates. BB Americas is the first bank in the history of Orlando to open a location in the heart of Orlando’s tourist district. The exhibit opens to the public on. The exhibit runs from Thursday, May 4th and runs through July 2017.
Aventura, October, 2017 - Expanding its support of the arts to Aventura City, BB Americas is pleased to announce the first edition of BB Americas Cultural Series in Aventura, presenting a photography exhibition, “Collective Perspectives”.
“Collective Perspectives” is a three-month photography exhibition curated by Mariza Versiani Formaggini. It features six local photographers showcasing the growth, trends, significant artistic architecture, and contemporary points in the City of Aventura from different perspectives.
The exhibition is part of The BB Americas Cultural Series. Moreover, it embraces diversity and supports local artists while reinvesting back into communities where BB Americas has presence. After seven successful editions in South Florida, this is the first time that BB Americas Cultural Series expands to Aventura to stimulate culture in more communities.
“Creative Perspectives” runs from October 12th, 2017 through January 12th, 2018 in the lobby of the BB Americas Aventura Branch on 17900 Biscayne Boulevard, -Aventura, FL. The exhibition is free and open to the public. Furthermore, patrons have the option to buy the artwork by contacting the artists directly.
BB Americas hosted a private VIP reception on October 12th, 2017 to unveil the artwork and promote the artists at its Aventura branch.. The event was also an opportunity to celebrate BB Americas’s 5th year anniversary of providing quality and service to the U.S. market.
Banco do Brasil S.A., BB Americas sole shareholder, has a long tradition of supporting local arts and culture. The first cultural series was held twenty-five years ago, at Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil – CCBB - across Brazil.. Today, the cultural centers in Brazil serve as creative hubs for painters, illustrators and sculptors, who regularly display their artwork during various programs throughout the year. More than 60 million visitors have attended the 12,000 events and viewed over 3,500 pieces of artwork at these centers.
"We want the community to know that we are a local bank, with a local vision, and we want to be part of Aventura’s growth”, said Antonio Cassio Segura, CEO of BB Americas. “We organized BB Americas Cultural Series in Aventura to maintain our cultural mission and as a means to support Aventura-based artists and curators."
The following are the six artists celebrating diversity through art in South Florida:
Mariza Versiani Formaggini - Brazil
Born in Brazil, living in Miami, FL – USA. Photographer, Consultant and Curator in Photography. Graduated in Photography and Image Edition. Honorable Mention at theZagreb Salon of Photographic Art in Croatia. Finalist in the Perpignan Photo-Culture, Le Catalan - Frence. Winner of Photography/Street Award, Visual Arts Press Award 2016, Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA, International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP), Bavarian Salon, Germany. Gold Medal, Photographic Society of America, Bronze Medal, Royal Photographic Society Great Britain among others.
Miriam Rusin - Cuba
Art photographer and independent Visual Artist living in Miami. She began her studies in painting at the Escuela de San Alejandro in Havana Cuba, where she soon discovered she was painting with a camera lens not a brush. She also trained at the School of Television and Cinema in Madrid. Her photographs have been exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide including the Metropolitan Museum, New York City, USA, Bella Galleria, Milan, Italy; the Museum of the Louvre, Paris France, just to name a few. She is an instructor for digital photography at Miami-Dade Community College.
Claudia Moreno - Colombia
Born and raised in Bogota, Colombia, Claudia P. Moreno-Diaz moved to Florida in 2000 to fulfill her dream to practice law in the United States. For the past 17 years, she has called Aventura her home, as this is the City where she lived for many years and where her law practice is established today. Before becoming a lawyer, she studied fine arts for three years in Colombia, and today she can spend most of her time doing what she really loves:law and art.
Ivonete Leite - Brazil
She started a brilliant career at Citibank, first in Rio, and later in New York City, where she was promoted to Vice-President, becoming the first Brazilian woman to hold this title in the company. Today, already retired from the financial world, she dedicates her time to the art of photography. The love for photography started with her several business trips around the world, maybe as a way to escape from the stressful meetings. Through her pictures, Ivonete shows us her true self and her love for life.
Marine Fonteyne - Belgium / Brazil
Photographer Marine Fonteyne has been behind the camera for 17 years. She recently turned her lenses toward fine art photography after a successful career as a professional fashion, luxury wedding, and high-end portrait photographer with an international clientele. Her fine art photography now brings her unique dream-like vision to a wider audience. Of Belgian, Brazilian, and Italian descent, Fonteyne studied photography in Milan at Scuola di Fotografia Professionale Riccardo Bauer, in Brussels at École de Photographie, and in Sao Paulo at Fundação Armando Álvares Penteado. Her work has been displayed in magazines such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Brides, Elle, and White. Fonteyne’s work has been featured in galleries, art fairs, interior design exhibitions, and VIP special events. She has received (better for an American English audience)many international awards.
Migdalia Salazar - Venezuela
Salazar was born in Caracas, Venezuela, but she currently lives in Miami. She attended the Universidad Metropolitana and Instituto Universitario Antonio José de Sucre, both in Caracas, to study Civil Engineering and Architecture-Technical Level. She studied painting in her hometown and Fashion Design in Milan as well as in London. During the last 11 years, she has studied photography in different cities around the world: London (2009), Montreal (2010 - 2012), Miami (2006 to present). She has exhibited in International Art Fairs such as PINTA Miami Art Fair (2016) and AQUA Art Miami Fair (2015).
BB Americas Cultural Series is an exhibition program created by BB Americas to promote local artists and the diversity of our community. Each exhibit will be open to the public, at no cost, during business hours from Monday through Friday.
Exhibit Location: 800 Brickell Avenue, Suite 103 Miami
Current Exhibition from March 16 to June 30
THE ARTISTS:
NINA TORRES / Mexico:
Nina is the curator of Miami Medley’s exhibition. For over 20 years, Nina Torres has been actively participating in the international art market, specializing in Modern and Contemporary Latin American Art. Nina has curated and overseen nearly 300 exhibitions around the world. Currently, Nina is the Director and Chief Curator of Nina Torres Fine Art Gallery MIAMI.
SANTIAGO DIAZ GUICHON / Uruguay:
Santiago works with the left hand: His faces are very different style lines that currently works. The strokes are explosive and momentary in its creation. Each face has a look to the sky and reflect moods of the artist.
SCOTT D. CLARK / United States:
In 1995, he was accepted at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago to study primarily film. He graduated in 1998 with a BFA in Fine Art. Moved to Pompano Beach, Florida in 2000.
BETIANA BRADAS / Argentina:
She started her career as an artist in the area of graphic design in the city of Rosario in Argentina. Betiana has a particular style in her designs that combines the creativity of a graphic designer with a feminine touch.
FRANCISCO CERON / Colombia:
Francisco Cerón is a Colombian visual artist, whom started painting at a very young age. Cerón’s artwork combines Pop-Art elements, Cubism, with classic & modern techniques. Francisco Cerón lives in Miami and works in his own Design Firms in the US and Colombia.
FERNANDA FRANGETTO / Brazil:
She went to Paris when she spent many afternoons at the Louvre and many other museums that made her passion for arts rise in her life. After falling in love with honey, she discovered the world of beeswax. Today she lives in Miami, FL.
ORLANDO, October 13, 2016 – Expanding its support of the arts to Orlando, BB Americas is pleased to announce The BB Americas Cultural Series is coming to Orlando with the debut of “Orlando Colors.”
“Orlando Colors” is a three-month art exhibit featuring six local artists unveiling their vibrant collection of acrylic, oil and canvas paintings depicting life in Brazil, Haiti and America. The exhibit, which is part of The BB Americas Cultural Series, embraces diversity and supports local artists while reinvesting back into communities where BB Americas has a presence. This the first time the BB Americas Cultural Series has come to Orlando following six successful local art exhibits in Miami.
The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, runs from October 20th through December 9th in the lobby of the BB Americas Branch located on 5475 International Drive in Orlando. Patrons who wish to purchase from the collection may contact the artists directly. BB Americas hosted a private VIP reception on October 19th to unveil the artwork and promote the artists at their Orlando branch, which opened in February 2015 and is the only bank on I-Drive.
Banco do Brasil S.A., BB Americas sole shareholder, has a long tradition of supporting local arts and culture which started 25 years ago after the first cultural series was held at Banco do Brasil’s Cultural Centers in Brazil. Today, the cultural centers in Brazil serve as creative hubs for painters, illustrators and sculptors, who regularly showcase their artwork during various programs throughout the years. More than 60 million visitors have attended the 12,000 events and viewed the 3,500+ pieces of artwork at these centers since they began.
“We want the community to know that we are a local bank, with a local vision and we want to be part of Orlando’s growth,” said Antonio Cassio Segura, CEO of BB Americas. “We continued The BB Americas Cultural Series in Orlando as a way to continue our cultural mission and as a means to support Orlando-based artists and curators.” The BB Americas brand is celebrating their four year anniversary of providing quality and service to the U.S. market.
This year’s six artists represent the wide range of talent consistent with Orlando’s diverse population:
Patricia Isabella Byron is a proud descendant of Lord Byron and granddaughter of acclaimed Honduran writer and composer Fernando Ferrari. Her compelling paintings represent her life in the Middle East and Europe.
Arthur Dawson is nationally renowned for creating the “Artists Creations Cookbook Series,” designed for food and art connoisseurs. He presents similar colorful paintings from this African-American collection in Orlando Colors.
Dennis Esteves has been a Brazilian painter for 26 years. His art is comprised of vivid colors and striking features.
Patrick Noze is a passionate Haitian artist whose artwork is displayed in museums and murals worldwide.
Sarro is a legend in the Brazilian art community. His colorful paintings, characterized by exaggerated expressions of rural workers, line the walls of many prestigious galleries throughout the world.
Raquel Vannucci is a Brazilian artist who left a corporate career to follow her passion. She incorporates sewing onto paper and photographs to create her contemporary artworks.
Please visit www.bbamericas.com for more information about BB Americas and the BB Americas Cultural Series in Orlando.
About Orlando Colors
The BB Americas Cultural Series presents “Orlando Colors” featuring an exhibit of original artwork from six local Orlando residents, hosted by BB Americas. This collection promotes the beauty of diversity within the community where the bank operates. The exhibit opens to the public on Thursday, October 20th and runs until Friday, December 9th. “Orlando Colors” is the seventh exhibit from The BB Americas Cultural Series and the first exhibit in Orlando.
About BB Americas
For more than 200 years Banco do Brasil S.A., BB Americas sole shareholder, has offered high standard products and services to clients in Latin America and in more than 24 countries worldwide. In 2012, the bank expanded its model of quality and service to the U.S. markets and BB Americas was opened to deliver innovative solutions with personalized service in English, Portuguese and Spanish. Financial services offered by BB Americas include personal and business checking, savings, prepaid cards, and money market accounts; CDs; Romero Britto-designed debit and credit cards; domestic and international funds transfers, and a full line of residential and commercial loans. BB Americas currently has branch offices in Aventura, Boca Raton, Lighthouse Point, Doral, Miami and Orlando. BB Americas continues the proud tradition of its parent company through supporting local education, culture, and sports through community outreach, financial support, philanthropic and volunteer work
BB Americas Cultural Series opens exhibition featuring art creations inspired by the captivating and passionate universe of sports. Race car driver Helio Castroneves confirms his presence.
Race car driver Helio Castroneves and 22-time IndyCar winner – and let’s not forget his 2007 win at DWS (Dancing with the Stars) – was the inspiration for mixed-media design artist Rod Davila’s work, and his custom sculpture will be featured in Sports in Art/Speed & Motion, fifth installment of BB Americas Cultural Series. “It is an honor to be part of this great event where art and sports take the same turn. When Rod contacted me saying that he would like to make a sculpture inspired on my career I was very excited, I love what I do and have someone as Rod to capture my passion is unique. “I am sure everyone will be amazed by the works that these artists put together,” said Castroneves.
The Indy champion has already confirmed his presence at the opening event on Monday, November 9 at the BB Americas Brickell branch, featuring works by Rod Davila, Jotape, Sami Akl and Soco Freire. All with one thing in common, art inspired by sports, speed and motion.
While Davila introduces us to his custom artwork for Helio Castroneves, reflecting how he is inspired by the driver’s accomplishments, Brazilian born and Florida based artist Soco Freire has also been allured by the intensity of the racetracks as she recently completed her second installation celebrating renowned and iconic Formula 1 champion Ayrton Senna.
Sami Akl, known for his portraits of famous people, developed a mixed, sophisticated and unique technique that combines collage, painting and drawing in his art. His interpretation of faces and scenes are magnetic. For this exhibition, Sami will unveil some original and never-before-seen theme related portraits.
The event will also include an abstract acrylic on canvas by Jotape, inspired by the passion for sports, particularly soccer. The painter who travelled all over the world blends his emotions and feelings, and the result is an array of vibrant and colorful paintings.
The original work featured in Sports in Art/Speed & Motion exhibit is a powerful source of inspiration in so many ways and a perfect theme for the 2015 closing installment of BB Americas Cultural Events Series. “We started the cultural series as a way to continue the bank’s cultural mission to support artists and to participate in the community growth””, says Antonio Cassio Segura, President and CEO of BB Americas.
Twenty five years ago, Banco do Brasil S.A. established the mission of promoting local artists and community diversity in the South America country, creating the CCBBs, Cultural Centers in Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. The CCBBs have been the venue for 3,500 projects, 12,000 events, and welcomed over 60 million visitors in Brazil. The Cultural Series in Miami is an initiative of BB Americas.
THE ARTISTS:
ROD DAVILA
Miami artist Rod Davila draws inspiration for his artwork on the design principles of contextual awareness. When his art career began in 2009, his first sculptures were a way to express his creativity, without the limitations and constraints of modern manufacturing processes. In time he refined his style to create abstract, organic works of art to inspire the viewers' imagination into a purely aesthetic experience. Davila’s work is characterized by bold, iconic forms, with long and sweeping curves. His sculptures use the available light in their environment, as if the artist were "painting" with highlights and shadows.
JOTAPE
Jotape describes his paintings as figurative abstractions. He credits growing up in Brazil surrounded by rich colors, music and traditions to the translation of elements on his canvasses. He perceives his paintings as pure reflection of his life journey and as figurative abstractions representing things that aren't visual, such as emotion or sound. His art works are simplifications of reality, where details are eliminated from recognizable objects leaving only the essence of the feeling.
SAMI AKL
Sami Akl is the first son of four children. Sami began with scribbles on paper rolls at five years old. Next, he worked on paintings in oil on canvas, research techniques and themes, sculptures and furniture. With the experience acquired, mixed artist Sami developed a sophisticated technique and became known for his portraits of famous celebrities and expressive faces.
SOCO FREIRE
Soco Freire achieves topographical images through such materials as gesso, molding gel, and sea shells. Her mixed media works on canvas feature loose, painterly abstraction and neo-impressionism while she applies principles of design to traditional painting. Utilizing a wide array of media, Freire’s emphasis on color achieves an abundance of emotionality and dynamism concurrent with her creativity. Freire currently lives and works in Florida. She recently worked with Red Bull Canvas Cooler featuring two editions. She is participating for the third year at Art Basel Miami and currently exhibiting her artwork at the Louvre, Paris.
Sports in Art/Speed & Motion Exhibition – 5th BB Americas Cultural Series
Where: BB Americas Brickell Branch @ 800 Brickell Avenue, Suite 103, Miami 33131
Gallery Hours: the exhibit will be open Monday thru Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the BB Americas Brickell branch.