The Fordistas initiative has been active in South Florida since 2010. In an effort to create a network of creativity and innovation through "fostering unique and honest expression, while promoting burgeoning, undiscovered talent" has seen them bring a number of interesting and diverse artists to work in Miami-Dade County. Powered by South Florida Ford, the program took a more hands-on turn this past Art Basel when it became a year-long residency for seven international street artists.
So far, the work of Alex Void, 2 Alas, Jufe, and Pastel & Elian have been displayed. For the next month, Argentine graffiti artist Franco "Jaz" Fasoli has the spotlight to show new work that has been inspired by South Florida and the Ford Motor Company.
Jaz is no stranger to Miami's walls and gallery interiors as he already participated in a group show with the aforementioned artists, as well as 2501 and Alexis Diaz last year, where the artists worked on smaller-scale pieces presented within the gallery proper. Jaz's mural-work, which can be found extensively through his native Buenos Aires as well as in Europe, is informed by the animalistic urge of the pack mentality and features them in heraldic poses or in anthropomorphized situations.
See also: Yo Amo 305's Latin American Artist Residency Brings Argentinian Artists to Wynwood Art Walk
Originally a graffiti writer in Buenos Aires, Jaz has since transitioned to canvas and large-scale murals which he has tackled with irreverent materials like asphaltic paint and petrol. A further note on the anthropomorphizing of his creatures is that he imbues into them the aggressive nature of man, like Mexican luchadores while stripping them of their nature and survival/territorial instincts. His animal figures, when engaged in combat, reflect humanity more than the animal kingdom.
Somehow, this skewered reverence for the animal kingdom is a perfect match for the Fordistas project. Like the Argentine poet and former Miami resident Yago S. Cura once said in a late '90s avant garde poem (and subsequent sale to an ad agency) "Ford rhymes with Lord" and Jaz certainly elevates the aristocratic with his large, muscular felines.
For this solo show Fiesta Control, Jaz has taken to working with a new medium, paper collage. "I have wanted to try this for a while. I've always been a painter but I wanted to try a completely different technique and method than what my hands are used to," he explains.
Fordistas Presents: Fiesta Control from 7 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, September 13, at Yo Amo 305, 2311 NW Second Ave., Miami.
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