Rafael Miranda Mattei presenta - Grabaciones para un pais de memoria corta: Tracking Issues en El Schomburg

El pasado 15 de Agosto de 2025 el artista Rafael Miranda Mattei presento su muestra individual titulada Grabaciones para un pais de memoria corta: Tracking Issues en la Galeria El Schomburg en Chicago. Esta es una version agrandada del solo show que el artista presento en la Galeria KM0.2 en San Juan, PR a fines del 2024. 

La muestra presenta una coleccion de 9 impresiones digitales de unas caratulas de VHS con diferentes eventos historicos del pop y culturales de Puerto Rico, eventos que en la Isla fueron eventos de suma importancia y marcaron generaciones por el impacto visual y emocional que tuvieron cuando ocurrieron. En adicion cuenta con unos dibujos en gouche de la secuencia de la caida de Karl Wallenda.  Otra pieza que llamo mucho la atencion fueron las esculturas de los CD a una escala mayor hablando de los medios descartados y como marcaron la generacion de los 80 cuando tenias que crear mix tape CD para crear tu playlist.

Entre otras de las piezas se encuentra una escultura de color arcoiris creada con cassettes VHS descartados y 2 videos, uno contextual relacionado a los prints exhibidos y un video arte titulado Good Mourning que muestra en loop el video de buenos dias con el que los canales de television comenzaban operaciones de programacion. Este muestra un jibaron con un nino y en le trasfondo un helicoptero volando sobre el cielo con el sol de background. A su vez el himno de Puerto Rico con delay sonando lento y desafinado referenciando al progreso de nuestra sociedad.

Con un texto cuaratorial del Abdiel Segarra en ingles y espanol que ayudo a los diasporicans y a los americanos a entender la exhibicion ycrear una conversacion social, politica y economica de nuestro pais y el abuso y opresion constante del gobierno local y americano contra su gente.

La recepcion fue tremenda y llegaron muchos grupos de estudiantes de diferentes universidades para ver la muestra. La critica de arte Susan Gescheidle escribio una resena de 4 paginas para la revista mas importante de arte de Chicago llamada Chicago Gallery News tambien se publico un articulo en el periodico La Voz del Pueblo de Chicago. 

Esta ha sido una de las muestras mas completas que he tenido el gusto de presentar con Trailer Park Proyects y la segunda muestra individual del artista con Trailer Park Proyects en Chicago.

Puerto Rican Women in Arts in Puerto Rico at la Liga de Arte de San Juan

After a few curators, artists, museum directors and art lover in general asked me over and over if the exhibition would be shown un Puerto Rico, Eduardo Cabrer a good friend and artists convinced me of the importance of this specific show to be exhibited in Puerto Rico. I was a bit skeptical at first because the amount of labor and hours I have put into this exhibit was so much that I was burnt out emotionally. 

When it started out I was really inviting around 20 artists but the idea grew and the expectations grew exponentially. It turned out to become this monster unprecedented show of 200 artists.

I said yes so we were on our way to Puerto Rico to set up at la Liga de Arte de San Juan which is a very important institution and a venue where not many people get to show or work during their lifetimes. I said yes because Eduardo is a very hard worker and offered his help setting up the show which is not an easy task and the main reason I was avoiding showing this elsewhere.

After talking to La Liga director Marilu Carrasquillo whom by the way is one of the nicest human beings alive, I was comfortable to do this along with their back up. A lot of the artists in the show offered and helped with the set up which was an amazing way to get to know them beyond a piece of art. The level of happiness they had and how excited was really healing for me and I re-understood the necessity of this show being at La Liga. 

Opening was set for June 5th, 2025 at 7:00pm. Calling it the biggest success ever as an exhibition coordinator is an understatement, it was the most attended event in the history of la  Liga de Arte since it opened back in 1968. Hundreds of hundreds of art lovers and collectors lined up to come in to see the show, week after week for the whole month it was up. At the end of the run, the administration of La Liga de Arte told me it has been the most viewed exhibition ever.

The limited edition print was designed by Jesus Chu Diaz and La Serigrafica was in charge of the silkscreen printing. Editions were printed for both Chicago and the Puerto Rico shows. We also printed a 32 page catalogue designed by Jesus Chu Diaz, the catalogue also includes 5 curatorial essays by Brenda Torres, Mariel Quinones, Alexis Figueroa, Raquel Torres Arzola and writer Anjanette Delgado. 

We had great press coverage with newspaper articles in La Voz del Pueblo in Chicago, El Nuevo Dia, El Vocero and Latin American Art Magazine with a TV segment in Teleonce News (June 5th) talking about the show and its importance. 

I'm very proud to have done this exhibition and know all were happy with the final show we put out there for the enjoyment of the people and that's another big step for the female artists which have been overseen for so many decades.