Homeland - la Isla

Studio Montclair (SMI) is honored to present “Homeland – la Isla,” a survey of work by Montclair artist José Camacho.  The show will run from September 17 through November 27 at SMI’s Academy Square Gallery, 33 Plymouth Street, Montclair, NJ.  An opening reception will be held on Thursday, September 17 from 6:00-8:00pm. 

“Homeland – la Isla” is comprised of 28 artworks that meditate on displacement and shifting landscapes; tracing the transitions from warm to cold, summer to winter. These works investigate the relationship between text and image and questions the gap between abstraction and figuration. According to the artist, they “explore the nature and physicality of ideas, materials, and a personal mythology.” The series also reflects the influence of a song entitled “Canción de Invierno” by Cuban composer Silvio Rodriquez, which helped Camacho connect to his Puerto Rican heritage after he emigrated to the United States in the 1980s. Says Camacho, “Rodríguez’s music became more than just a refuge; his lyrics and poetry offered profound lessons in art, romance, and creative expression. While living away from my homeland, “la Isla,” his work kept me focused and inspired, teaching me how to channel nostalgia and melancholy into art.”

About the Artist: 

José Camacho, born in Puerto Rico and based in New Jersey, has been a practicing professional artist since his graduation from Montclair State University in 1991. His work, comprised of a great variety of media, is layered with symbolism and traces the tension between physical matter and its meaning; memory and reinvention. It mirrors the duality of his life between two cultures, addressing rootedness and displacement, intuition and intellect. Camacho cites influences from artists such as Anselm Kiefer, Francisco Oller, and Jasper Johns along with those of such poets as Silvio Rodriguez and Rainer Maria Rilke.