ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
VENEZUELAN ARTIST FEATURED AT OAS EXHIBITION
November 25, 1998
An exhibition of art works by Ricardo Benaím, entitled "Latin American Utopias," opened at the Organization of American States (OAS) Art Gallery in Washington Tuesday evening. The exhibition will stay open until January 29 next year.
OAS assistant secretary general Ambassador Christopher Thomas, in opening the exhibition, said the Venezuelan artist used his works to transform the frontiers of traditional worlds, combining materials with total freedom. "His universe is one that is fragmented at the same time it is unified, dense and transparent, incorporating a dose of humor that does not detract from the general effect of a great spirituality," added Ambassador Thomas.
Also speaking as the display was inaugurated, Venezuelan ambassador to the OAS, Francisco Paparoni who is also chairman of the Permanent Council, noted that the Venezuelan artist on show was a renown artist, much admired in his country and abroad.
Ricardo Benaím was born in Caracas, Venezuela and graduated from the Neumann Foundation’s Design Institute. He studied at the Atelier 63 in Paris and went on to teach at the Pratt Institute in New York. Benaím has held numerous one-man shows in Venezuela and in the United States, Argentina, France, Colombia, Puerto Rico and Japan. Several pieces of his works are among group exhibitions in countries of the Americas, Europe and Asia.