Photo: P360P
Peninsula 360 Press
On Friday, December 10, the closing event for Fernando Escartiz's "We are Stardust" art installation was held at the kiosk in downtown Redwood City.
The celebration began early, when the sky was still light and the three tables served by Casa Círculo Cultural were filled with Mexican food and colorful decorations that brightened up downtown Redwood City.
The last hours of Fernando Escartiz's work lit by the lights of the kiosk were not at all solemn, but full of laughter, conviviality and tokens of affection for the honoree.
Chris Beth, director of the Redwood City Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department, opened the closing ceremony. Beth acknowledged the presence of newly elected Mayor Gisselle Hale. Former Mayor Jeff Gee, former Mayor Alicia Aguirre, former Mayor Diane Howard, several members of the arts commission. Beth highlighted the work of Fernando Escartiz whose artwork was enjoyed since November 4 as this media outlet reported here.
Lance Fung, of Fung Collaborative, talked about how the kiosk space has served as a space for different artists to exhibit their work. This is the second time Escartiz has exhibited in the space and, for Fung, it is one of the most outstanding. So much so that he publicly invited Escartiz to continue collaborating on more projects, even at an international level.
Photo: P360P
Fernando thanked the attendees for coming, thanked Redwood City Improvement Association, Fung Collaborative, Chris Beth, and everyone in Redwood City who supported him with the installation.
He spoke about the effort of Casa Círculo Cultural and their great support for the event and the delicious food they prepared for the celebration.
Escartiz explained that, for him, every work of art is an experiment where, although the artist has an idea of what might happen with his work, he never knows exactly what will happen. In any case, what artists hope is that something happens; something similar to what we expected or something completely different, but that something happens.
Escartiz emphasized that he feels very satisfied with the great variety of reactions, dialogues and controversies that this play generated in our community; because that was the idea.
The starry meteorite is for the artist a metaphor that arises from reflecting all these months on the pandemic and its effects. The pandemic arrived like a meteorite that generates destruction, but at the same time, it generates valuing the life that remains, valuing ourselves as survivors, and also generates the possibility of new forms of life," he reflected.
Escartiz, in addition, presented doubts about the future? What will these new forms of life be? I don't know. Will we have learned any lessons?
He closed with the hope that the rebirth after this enormous destruction will be new and deeper, and possibly better, ways of loving others and nature.
Escartiz's work will be lifted tomorrow, but this artist leaves only expectation for the new proposals that he will bring soon and that, I am sure, will excite us as much or more than what he did with ?Somos Polvo de Estrellas?
You may be interested in: Redwood City: "Exodus and Memory", a work by Fernando Escártiz on the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative building.
