The fight against agents that perforate the growing issues and subsequent adverse effects of climate change has risen to unquestionably grave proportions. And despite all efforts to abolish malpractices that destroy the climate and the planet, there is still much to fight for and a much longer way to go until we see victory. That’s why artists like Luciana Abait refuse to relent on their mission to combat the parties that contribute to global warming and climate issues.
Luciana’s two-dimensional and three-dimensional photo-based artworks have dived into many themes and categories. Still, closest to her heart—especially in recent times—has been the fragile nature of our environment. Her exhibits have expressed the urgency of dealing with the growing pains of global warming and its impacts on immigration in particular.
Some of Luciana Abait’s favorite subjects are icebergs and mountains. “Icebergs represent me as a wanderer, shifting between oceans and continents,” explains the iconic artist and activist. “Mountains, in turn, are metaphors for the hurdles and obstacles I have had to climb along the way since I departed my native hometown in the 1990s.”
To say that Luciana Abait’s art is provocative would be an understatement. Her works have entertained, educated, and championed schools of thought close to her heart and the greater community. As a result, many art critics and collectors have supported her art and message, bringing her works throughout countries and regions like the United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia.
Abait has held many solo shows across galleries, museums, and international art fairs worldwide. Some of her most notable exhibitions include “A Letter to The Future” in Los Angeles International Airport and “Sur Biennial” in California—two shows that would receive critical and general praise for the masterful visual work portrayed and the inspiring messages attached to them. Luciana Abait would also be a part of exhibits like “Flow, Blue” in Rockford College Art Museum, and “Luciana Abait” at Jean Albano Gallery in Illinois,” “Nest” at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, and “ARCO” in Spain.
Apart from her exhibition work, Luciana has also completed several corporate and public art commissions. Her most well-known and visible works include “Vistas,” a twenty-four-foot mural commissioned by Miami-Dade County. She also created “Golf Windows” for the Florida Public State Buildings Program and “Hong Kong Windows” for Swire Properties in Hong Kong. Other bodies and corporations she has served include The Related Group, Florida State University, Permanent Art Collection of Neiman Marcus, Four Seasons, and the University of Miami in Florida, King and Spalding in Texas, Lehigh University Museum and West Collection in Pennsylvania, Sprint Corporation in Missouri, and Freshfields, among several others.
The past year, Luciana has been working primarily on mounting outdoor exhibitions and projects to allow audiences to enjoy her work while also following COVID-19 guidelines set by California’s governing bodies.
“I have been creating public art as a way to give people a moment of respite and joy amid all the collective mourning that we have been experiencing,” explains Abait.
Her thirty-four-foot-high immersive video installation Agua was projected onto a historic cultural monument: the Petroleum Securities Building in Downtown Los Angeles. It was part of LUMINEX, presented by NowArt LA and Building Bridges Art Exchange.
“It looked like a waterfall was drenching a building, so similar to what has been happening in NY these last few days,” the artist explained.
As an extension of this project, she will be presenting a limited edition series of prints of the Agua installation at the Art on Paper international art fair in New York, from September 9 to 12, 2021, with Jean Albano Gallery. This limited edition series is particularly special, as it will allow the public to take Agua home with them.
In addition, the artist hopes to create more artworks that will continue to reflect the fraught relationship between humans and nature by portraying the intrusive practices that destroy the world’s natural beauties and push for leading bodies to work towards preserving balance. Learn more about Luciana Abait and her art by visiting her website and Instagram.
