Casa Frela :: SOCIAL INJUSTICE IN AMERICA

SOCIAL INJUSTICE IN AMERICA

4 images in this album

Album: 2005 - 2007 ART EXHIBITIONS HELD AT CASA FRELA

Casa Frela Gallery presents SOCIAL INJUSTICE in AMERICA: Artwork by Leon Nicholas Kalas from February 2 - February 29, 2008.
There will be an opening reception on Saturday, February 2, 2008 from 5:00-10:00pm.

An Outsider's View
This exhibition is a visual exploration of social injustice in America from the viewpoint of "outsider" artist, Leon Nicholas Kalas. Proud of his status as a rebel and "outsider," Kalas claims an outsider sees more than one on the inside. "Art to me is like religion," Kalas says. "You must believe in it, practice it, and share it... [i]n my paintings, I want to offer a creation and have the viewer complete it with his interpretation. I believe art should offer more than one view; it no longer belongs to the artist alone."

Kalas is an American by choice but not by birth. Born in 1940 in Kifisia (Athens), Greece, Kalas began drawing and painting at an early age. He grew up surrounded by wealthy Americans who arrived in Greece after World War II. An "outsider" in his own community, Kalas dreamed of going to the United States. He immigrated to Brooklyn in 1960 and learned English within a year.

Land of the Free?
As a recent immigrant in the 1960's, Kalas made many trips around the United States to see America. America was experiencing profound turmoil with social and racial issues during that decade. He was greatly disappointed between his expectations of America and what he saw. Kalas expected to arrive in a country that claimed to be the "Land of the Free". Yet, there was discrimination towards the black race, a people with the right to be in this country, since they were brought here in chains as slaves, over anyone else that came after them by their own free will. Mr. Kalas found parts of the American national anthem very ironic and hypocritical. Although Black people were brought to America against their free will, to be sold as slaves, our anthem heralded a "land of the free." A trip to South Carolina in 1962 would affect him most deeply. For the first time, he encountered blatant discrimination, including signs that read, "Color not served here." Kalas recalls, "We went to a place where women sorted peaches. On one side, the women were all white, and on the other, they were all black. I questioned it, but all the man there said to me was, "You're from Greece. You won't understand. Enjoy the peaches." It was a monumental experience that Kalas never forgot. "I am a witness to race-based bigotry, prejudice, violence, oppression, stereotyping and discrimination against the weak and defenseless in our society."

The Persistence of Social Injustice
"I'm an outsider and I love this country. Yet, in America, any time you do not fit into a mold, you're excluded, discriminated against. Social injustice has persisted and prevailed throughout American history, not only towards the black race, but against the poor, the homeless, the jobless, the handicapped, the old, the gay, and anyone else that does not fit a standard. It is not just a surface-level feature of the society, but rather permeates all social groups. Injustice poisons past, present and future relations among people and damages human relationships. Social Injustice arises when equals are treated unequally and unequals are treated equally." "Forty-six years later, this thing was still bubbling inside me, wanting to surface. This trip brought back my own childhood memories. I said now that I'm an artist; I want to express all that I experienced. Kalas created a powerful series of paintings called "Social Justice in America." The twelve pieces included "Descending Your Throne You Became a Slave," depicting an Afro-American dressed in a white toga with a gold crown, backed by an American flag, his face plangent with sorrow. The imagery of this work features the presence of social discrimination in our society and references negative messages in society and what society has chosen to become. Many of the images superimposed over the American flag offer insights into basic human needs that are suppressed by social injustice. "Like metaphors for an individual journey shaped by my own experiences since I came to America in 1960, my paintings reflect influences of places and people I meet," Kalas says. "I use symbols and patterns that represent visual relics from other cultures or societies I often utilize various forms such as masks that I see in museums. I am intrigued by African masks and I have incorporated them in my work." The entire series premiered at the Fillmore gallery in Brooklyn, where Kalas had been art curator for two years. About 150 people and press attended the well-received opening, but the manager of the gallery objected to several of the paintings. She feared the "edgy" images would offend clients, including one of a black man being crucified, which, Kalas points out, depicted "justice itself crucified." Ordered to remove one-third of his paintings, Kalas stood firm, and resigned from his curatorial position. "Art is not painting only geraniums and petunias," he protested. "Art can be ugly. Art must speak to the essentially human aspect common to all of us if it is to succeed. When it does, it is timeless and tragic." With the present works in this exhibition, Mr. Kalas suggests that Americans should take an evaluative look at social justice in this country. His artworks challenge the viewer to rethink a socially just world, based upon the concepts of human rights and equality. A deep response to the human condition has inspired Kalas's work. "I believe human beings are noble. We live with the knowledge that some day our lives will end and we wonder if there is a purpose to our existence. There is a very tragic, noble quality to this basic condition."

Leon Nicholas Kalas is an independent curator and artist. He lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Kalas has studied at Pace College, The Art Students League of New York, and the New York Academy of Art. His artworks have been exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Information and quotations for this text were taken from the artist's website, www.leonkalas.com, Penelope Karageorge, journalist and art critic and Ronald G. Browning, Chairman of Historic Preservation, Havre de Grace, Maryland, authors.

For more information about SOCIAL INJUSTICE in AMERICA: Artwork by Leon Nicholas Kalas, please contact:
Lawrence Rodriguez
Casa Frela Gallery
47 West 119th Street
New York, New York 10026
(212) 722 8577.

Witness, 2006
Oil on canvas, 24" x 24"

Viewed: 163 times.

In Search of Justice, 2006
Acrylic and collage on
paper board, 22" x 28"

Viewed: 131 times.

The Silent Minority,
2006
Acrylic and cardboard on
canvas, 16" x 20"

Viewed: 113 times.

Justice Crucified, 2006
Acrylic and collage on
paper board, 22" x 28"

Viewed: 127 times.

Gallery: Casa Frela

Album: 2005 - 2007 ART EXHIBITIONS HELD AT CASA FRELA

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