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The Art Students League of NY In its landmark contributions not only to New York but to artistic canon as a whole, the historical Art Students League has been an iconic institution in the artist’s fight for freedom of expression, beauty, and bringing the city to newer heights. In an exhibition supported by the New York International Contemporary Art Society, the Base Intercultural / Community of the Americas (Bi/Coa) and the Nueva York Poetry Press, the international gallery Saphira & Ventura, is honored to present Iberoamerican Artists, an ambitious exhibition presenting works by leading contemporary artists based in the United States with backgrounds from various nations in Ibero-America.Co-curated by the New York based curators, Alcinda Saphira and Monica Sarmiento-Archer.

In its rich history, the Art Students League of New York, founded in 1875, has been a resourceful component in keeping the arts strong not only in New York but the rest of the United States in its pioneering years. Notable Alumni include Georgia O’Keefe, Winslow Homer, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, among others. In this upcoming exhibition, tribute is paid to Ecuadorian-American artist, Hugo Bastidas, an artist dedicated to exploring engaging themes in his works ranging from history, humanity, but also elements such as water, the earth, and the impact of human civilization. 

The Art Students League of NY

This exhibition introduces the work of Milagros Villanueva and Susana Aldanondo (Argentina), figurative artists who touch on memories, with her own contemporary methods, works by Luis Romero (Colombia) that capture a surge of frenzy and energy. Among these students is alumni Monica Sarmiento-Archer (Ecuador), recognized for her long dedication to the New York art scene; capturing the energy and momentum of different mediums, the multi-disciplinary artist has won numerous awards and recognition for her work. Jaime Vasquez (Peru), a painter whose hellenic influences harmonize the classics of antiquity with modern themes,  objects, towers and trains of New York city. The city as a theme also serves as inspiration for Rene Nascimento (Brazil), whose delicate strokes capture cosmopolitan life in all its vivid movements and colors. The approach is quite different when one imagines surreal worlds and fantastical objects, which is the case of Tony Rodriguez (Cuba).

Curated by: Alcinda Saphira & Monica Sarmiento-Archer

Production: Diego Ponce / Albert Valente / Liz Carvalho 
Design: Camila Crivelenti

The gem of civilization in antiquity, Egypt has served as an artistic inspiration from its pharaonic and ptolemaic days to modernity, both in figurative and abstract. Today, the city of Cairo, the home of many artists, flourish as a growing center of contemporaneity. This exhibitions is co-curated by Alcinda Saphira (Saphira & Ventura Gallery) and Shereen Badr (Artoday) with the support of the New York International Contemporary Art Society, Bridging Cairo & New York, is a dedication to the imaginative power of Cairo-based artists. 

In its first New York collaboration with Artoday, Saphira & Ventura welcomes six excellent Egyptian artists to its gallery ranging in different techniques and styles, the works synchronize to form a collection representing the city’s diversity. The works of Ayman El Semary, for example, will be on display, an artist with decades of experience, his mixed media works have been on display worldwide, in the case of Mariem Abutaleb, the artist believes in the power of writing as a visual language in delivering messages, experimenting with Arabic script and its harmonious nature. Installation artist Aliaa El Gready, such as with different techniques and styles, the artist has been awarded by the 

Egyptian Academy in Rome and continues her journey in many nations abroad. In the case of Khaled Hafez, the multidisciplinary filmmaker and visual artist has had his works show in festivals such in Rotterdam and Winterhur, together with special screenings in the Tate and Centre Pompidou. Sabah Naim transcend repetitions and embodies an equilibrium reminiscent of Sufi practices. Her pieces likewise span different mediums, (newspapers, threads, and fabrics), offering distinct angles from which she observes reality. This perspective in the work of Tarek El Sheikh is the human being, instilling in it a pure human impulse imposed by the reality of life that pressures us and the nature of our interactions. 

Curated by: Shereen Badr & Alcinda Saphira
Production: Diego Ponce / Albert Valente / Liz Carvalho 
Design: Camila Crivelenti

Support: Art Today, New York International Contemporary Art Society (NYICAS), Egyptian Airlines