Cultural Encounters: Art of Asian Diasporas in Latin America and the Caribbean, 1945-Present

Cultural Encounters: Art of Asian Diasporas in Latin America and The Caribbean, 1945–Present (October 24- January 17, 2021) is an exhibition of work that features approximately 70 important works by Latin American and Caribbean artists of Asian heritage. The exhibition demonstrates how these works emerged from cross-directional global dialogues between the artists, their Asian cultural heritages, their Latin American or Caribbean identities, and their interaction with major artistic movements during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Inspired by the Art Museum of the Americas’ at the Organization of the American States’ permanent collection as its foundation, the exhibition features key works from their collection.

On display in the KIA’s main level galleries, the exhibition includes paintings, works on paper, sculptures, installations and mixed media works by artists of the Asian diaspora, which in this presentation include China, Indonesia, India, and Japan who are from Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. Featured artists in the exhibition include M.P. Alladin, Albert Chong, Tikashi Fukushima, Arturo Kubotta, Soeki Irodikromo,Wifredo Lam, Manabu Mabe, Tomie Ohtake, Kazuya Sakai, Venancio Shinki, Carlos Runcie Tanaka, Eduardo Tokeshi, and Kazuo Wakabayashi among others .By considering the multiple layers of cultural exchange, assimilation, acculturation, and transculturation, Cultural Encounters will enhance viewer’s understanding of the complex nature of modern Latin American and Caribbean societies, while also exploring a topic that has long been underrepresented in art history.