J. Johnson Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of new work by Miami photographer Carlos Betancourt. The exuberant artist creates sleek, provocative photographs that capture family, friends, and acquaintances from all walks of life—from beauty queens to drag queens. He fuses nature with consumer culture, ancient conventions, and personal history. He examines life with a sense of humor, controlled spontaneity, glitz, and glamour.
Betancourt presented a solo show at the Jacksonville Beach gallery during its first season and was invited to curate Miami: Visions of Now in 2004.
“Carlos’s first show was such a success that we’re thrilled to welcome him back to observe his evolution into an established mid-career artist. The imagery of the new photographs is a rich diary of experiential wealth gathered through a lifetime of his experience,” says Dempsey.
Although predominantly a photographer, Betancourt’s work behind the lens is only a portion of his art. His concepts materialize with the help of family, friends and acquaintances in complex photo performances. These elaborate scenes explore personal, familial, cultural and historical perspectives.
Also included are complex collages painstakingly assembled from innumerable individual images extracted from hundreds of the artist’s photographs. Betancourt’s large format C-prints on vinyl, installations (often involving glittered seashells), photo performances, and photomontages honor people, life and his history.
“My work is attached to the past. I collect people, I collect ornaments, I use artifacts. But I bring the past into the present,” Betancourt explains.
J. Johnson Gallery opens the Carlos Betancourt exhibition with a public reception on Friday, May 8 from 6-8 p.m.
Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10-5 and Saturdays from noon to 5, 177 Fourth Ave. N. in Jacksonville Beach, 904.435.3200.
