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{{Short description|Dominican / American visual artist (born 1981)}}{{Infobox artist
{{Short description|Dominican / American visual artist (born 1981)}}
{{Infobox artist
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| awards = [[Future Generation Art Prize]] (2017)
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'''Firelei Báez''' (born 1981) is a [[Dominican Republic|Dominican]]-born, [[New York City]]-based artist known for intricate works on paper and canvas, as well as large scale sculpture. Her art explores the Western canon through the elements of [[Western world|non-Western]] reading.
'''Firelei Báez''' (born 1981) is a [[Dominican Republic]]-born, [[New York City]]-based artist known for intricate works on paper and canvas, as well as large scale sculpture. Her art focuses on untold stories and unheard voices, using portraiture, landscape, and design to explore the Western canon.<ref name=":4" />


Báez's work has been exhibited at the [[New Museum|New Museum, New York, NY]], the [[Pérez Art Museum Miami]], Miami, Florida, Taller Puertorriqueño, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, [[Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art]], Clinton, New York, the [[Drawing Center]], [[The Bronx Museum of the Arts]], Bronx, New York and [[Studio Museum in Harlem|the Studio Museum]], New York, New York. Her work was featured in the United States Biennial [[Prospect New Orleans|Prospect.3 in New Orleans]], Louisiana, curated by [[Franklin Sirmans]]. She was included in Getty's Pacific Standard Time's LA>LA exhibition, and in the Pinchuk Art Foundation's Future Generation's Art Prize exhibition at the 2017 [[Venice Biennale]].
Báez's work has been exhibited at the [[New Museum|New Museum, New York, NY]], the [[Pérez Art Museum Miami]], Miami, Florida, Taller Puertorriqueño, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, [[Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art]], Clinton, New York, the [[Drawing Center]], [[The Bronx Museum of the Arts]], Bronx, New York and [[Studio Museum in Harlem|the Studio Museum]], New York, New York, Tate Modern London. Her work was featured in the United States Biennial [[Prospect New Orleans|Prospect.3 in New Orleans]], Louisiana, curated by [[Franklin Sirmans]]. She was included in Getty's Pacific Standard Time's LA>LA exhibition, the Pinchuk Art Foundation's Future Generation's Art Prize exhibition at the 2017 [[Venice Biennale]], and the 2018 Berlin Biennale.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wimberly |first=Dexter |title=Coffee, Rhum, Sugar & Gold : a Postcolonial Paradox |last2=Ossei-Mensah |first2=Larry |publisher=[[Cameron + Company]] |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-944903-76-3 |location=Petaluma, CA |pages=80}}</ref>


She has been the recipient of the [[Joan_Mitchell#Legacy|Joan Mitchell Foundation Award]], the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Award in Painting, the Catherine Doctorow Prize for Contemporary Painting, and the Chiaro Award from the Headlands. In 2015, [[Pérez Art Museum Miami|Perez Art Museum Miami]] organized ''Firelei Báez: Bloodlines'', with an introduction by the museum's Director, [[Franklin Sirmans]], an essay by Assistant Curator María Elena Ortiz, an interview with Naima Keith, and a contribution by the writer [[Roxane Gay]].<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.gallerywendinorris.com/baez/|title=Firelei Báez: Biography - Gallery Wendi Norris|last=Wendi Norris|first=Gallery|website=gallerywendinorris.com}}</ref>
She has been the recipient of the [[Joan Mitchell#Legacy|Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Award]] (2010),<ref name="Firelei Báez">{{Cite web |date=2016-02-15 |title=Firelei Báez |url=https://www.joanmitchellfoundation.org/firelei-b%C3%A1ez |access-date=2023-11-23 |website=Joan Mitchell Foundation |language=en}}</ref> the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Award in Painting, the Catherine Doctorow Prize for Contemporary Painting (2015),<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-10-13 |title=Utah Museum Exhibits Art Of Award-Winning Painter |url=https://www.upr.org/arts-and-culture/2015-10-13/utah-museum-exhibits-art-of-award-winning-painter |access-date=2023-11-23 |website=Utah Public Radio |language=en}}</ref> and the Chiaro Award from the Headlands (2016).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Headlands Center for the Arts Announces Recipient of 2016 Chiaro Award |url=https://www.artfixdaily.com/artwire/release/4215-headlands-center-for-the-arts-announces-recipient-of-2016-chiaro- |access-date=2023-11-23 |website=ArtfixDaily |language=en}}</ref> In 2015, [[Pérez Art Museum Miami]] organized ''Firelei Báez: Bloodlines.'' The exhibition catalogue included an introduction by [[Franklin Sirmans]], the museum director, an essay by María Elena Ortiz, an interview with Naima Keith, and a contribution by the writer [[Roxane Gay]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gallerywendinorris.com/baez/|title=Firelei Báez: Biography - Gallery Wendi Norris|last=Wendi Norris|first=Gallery|website=gallerywendinorris.com|access-date=2017-07-24|archive-date=2018-08-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811064929/https://www.gallerywendinorris.com/baez/|url-status=dead}}</ref>


== Early life and education ==
== Early life and education ==
Báez was born in 1981 in Santiago de Los Caballeros to a [[Dominican Republic|Dominican]] mother and a father of [[Haitians|Haitian]] descent,<ref name="hern">{{Cite news |last=Hern |first=Jasmin |last2=ez |date=2018-09-14 |title=How Rising Star Firelei Báez Uses Yoruba Myth and Her Afro-Caribbean Heritage in Her Profound ‘Joy Out of Fire’ Murals |language=en-US |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/firelei-baez-joy-out-of-fire-1348094 |access-date=2023-03-14}}</ref> she was raised in [[Dajabón]], a market city on the Dominican Republic's border with Haiti. At the age of 8, she relocated with her family to [[Miami]], Florida.<ref name="brown">{{Cite news |last=Brown |first=Jeffrey |date=2021-07-15 |title=How artist Firelei Báez transforms spaces to build connections |language=en-us |url=https://artscanvas.org/arts-culture/how-artist-firelei-baez-transforms-spaces-to-build-connections |access-date=2023-03-14}}</ref>
Báez was born in 1981 in Santiago de Los Caballeros to a [[Dominican Republic|Dominican]] mother and a father of [[Haitians|Haitian]] descent,<ref name="hern">{{Cite news |last1=Hern |first1=Jasmin |last2=ez |date=2018-09-14 |title=How Rising Star Firelei Báez Uses Yoruba Myth and Her Afro-Caribbean Heritage in Her Profound 'Joy Out of Fire' Murals |language=en-US |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/firelei-baez-joy-out-of-fire-1348094 |access-date=2023-03-14}}</ref> she was raised in [[Dajabón]], a market city on the Dominican Republic's border with Haiti. At the age of 8, she relocated with her family to [[Miami]], Florida.<ref name="brown">{{Cite news |last=Brown |first=Jeffrey |date=2021-07-15 |title=How artist Firelei Báez transforms spaces to build connections |language=en-us |url=https://artscanvas.org/arts-culture/how-artist-firelei-baez-transforms-spaces-to-build-connections |access-date=2023-03-14}}</ref>


Báez received a master's in fine arts from [[Hunter College]], a bachelor's degree in arts from [[Cooper Union]], and studied at the [[Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture]].<ref name=":0" />
Báez moved to New York in 2001 where she then received a bachelor's degree in arts from [[Cooper Union]], a master's in fine arts from [[Hunter College]] in 2010,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Perez Art Museum |title=Firelei Báez : Bloodlines |publisher=[[Perez Art Museum]] |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-989854-67-2 |location=Miami, Florida |pages=12}}</ref> and studied at the [[Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture]].<ref name=":0" />


== Career ==
== Career ==
Báez works as an artist, and is based in [[New York City]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Firelei Báez: Bloodlines |url=http://www.pamm.org/exhibitions/firelei-b%C3%A1ez |access-date=2018-07-14 |website=[[Pérez Art Museum Miami]]}}</ref> She known for intricate works on paper and canvas, as well as large scale sculpture. Her art explores the [[Western canon]] through the elements of [[Western world|non-Western]] reading.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sirmans |first1=Franklin |last2=Báez |first2=Firelei |date=2017 |title=Artwork: Firelei Báez |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/45142673 |journal=Art Journal |volume=76 |issue=3/4 |pages=78–79 |doi=10.1080/00043249.2017.1418490 |issn=0004-3249 |jstor=45142673 |s2cid=192234205}}</ref>
Báez works as an artist, and is based in [[New York City]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Firelei Báez: Bloodlines |url=http://www.pamm.org/exhibitions/firelei-b%C3%A1ez |access-date=2018-07-14 |website=[[Pérez Art Museum Miami]]}}</ref> She is known for intricate works on paper and canvas, as well as large scale sculpture and installation. In 2012, she began to create her ink and acrylic paintings on [[Yupo (manufacturer)|Yupo]] paper because of its nonabsorbent properties.<ref name="Golden, Thelma; Respini, Eva; Báez, Firelei; Acevedo-Yates, Carla; Godfrey, Mark; and Russell, Legacy 2022 27">{{Cite book |last=Golden, Thelma; Respini, Eva; Báez, Firelei; Acevedo-Yates, Carla; Godfrey, Mark; and Russell, Legacy |title=Firelei Báez : to breathe full and free |publisher=[[Gregory R. Miller & Co]] |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-941366-38-7 |editor-last=Norr |editor-first=David |location=New York |pages=27 |oclc=1349465849}}</ref> Starting around 2017, the artist has directed her practice towards large scale works in which she directly paints onto various archival materials such as maps and architectural renderings.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Golden, Thelma; Respini, Eva; Báez, Firelei; Acevedo-Yates, Carla; Godfrey, Mark; and Russell, Legacy |title=Firelei Báez: to breathe full and free. |publisher=[[Gregory R. Miller & Co]] |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-941366-38-7 |editor-last=Norr |editor-first=David |location=New York |pages=31 |oclc=1349465849}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Wimberly, Dexter, Ossei-Mensah, Larry |title=Coffee, Rhum, Sugar & Gold : a Postcolonial Paradox |publisher=[[Cameron + Company]] |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-944903-76-3 |location=Petaluma, CA |pages=80}}</ref>


Her art explores the [[Western canon]] through the elements of [[Western world|non-Western]] reading.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=Sirmans |first1=Franklin |last2=Báez |first2=Firelei |date=2017 |title=Artwork: Firelei Báez |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/45142673 |journal=Art Journal |volume=76 |issue=3/4 |pages=78–79 |doi=10.1080/00043249.2017.1418490 |issn=0004-3249 |jstor=45142673 |s2cid=192234205}}</ref> Báez references various aspects of visual, material, and popular culture to represent the body in ways that challenge racial and class structures. She credits the work of [[David Hammons]] as first sparking her interest in using art to abstract and visualize Black and Brown bodies while simultaneously conveying their lived experiences.<ref name="Golden, Thelma; Respini, Eva; Báez, Firelei; Acevedo-Yates, Carla; Godfrey, Mark; and Russell, Legacy 2022 27"/> Báez also notes that science fiction writing of [[Octavia E. Butler]] has always inspired themes of [[Afrofuturism]] in her work, so much so that she paints a replication of Butler's [[Parable of the Sower (novel)]] in her painting titled ''On rest and resistance, Because we love you (to all those stolen from among us)'' (2020).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Golden, Thelma; Respini, Eva; Báez, Firelei; Acevedo-Yates, Carla; Godfrey, Mark; and Russell, Legacy |title=Firelei Báez: to breathe full and free |publisher=[[Gregory R. Miller & Co]] |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-941366-38-7 |editor-last=Norr |editor-first=David |location=New York |pages=38 |oclc=1349465849}}</ref>
⚫
In fall of 2015, Báez had two solo museum shows ''Patterns of Resistance'' at the [[Utah Museum of Contemporary Art]] and ''Bloodlines'' at [[Pérez Art Museum Miami|Perez Art Museum Miami]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lesser |first1=Casey |date=10 June 2016 |title=These 20 Female Artists Are Pushing Figurative Painting Forward |url=https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-these-20-female-artists-are-pushing-figurative-painting-forward |website=[[Artsy]]}}</ref> In February 2016, Báez created a participatory installation with museum patrons at the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]. The program was presented in conjunction with the exhibition “The Power of Prints: The Legacy of [[William Ivins Jr.|William M. Ivins]] and [[A. Hyatt Mayor]]". The installation itself remained on display through March of that year.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/19/arts/spare-times-for-feb-19-25.html|title=Spare Times for Feb. 19-25|last=Barone|first=Joshua|date=2016-02-18|work=The New York Times|access-date=2017-03-10|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

⚫
In fall of 2015, Báez had two solo museum shows ''Patterns of Resistance'' at the [[Utah Museum of Contemporary Art]] and ''Bloodlines''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Firelei Báez: Bloodlines • Pérez Art Museum Miami |url=https://www.pamm.org/en/exhibition/firelei-baez-bloodlines/ |access-date=2023-05-20 |website=Pérez Art Museum Miami |language=en-US}}</ref> at [[Pérez Art Museum Miami]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lesser |first1=Casey |date=10 June 2016 |title=These 20 Female Artists Are Pushing Figurative Painting Forward |url=https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-these-20-female-artists-are-pushing-figurative-painting-forward |website=[[Artsy]]}}</ref> In February 2016, Báez created a participatory installation with museum patrons at the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]. The program was presented in conjunction with the exhibition "The Power of Prints: The Legacy of [[William Ivins Jr.|William M. Ivins]] and [[A. Hyatt Mayor]]". The installation itself remained on display through March of that year.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/19/arts/spare-times-for-feb-19-25.html|title=Spare Times for Feb. 19–25|last=Barone|first=Joshua|date=2016-02-18|work=The New York Times|access-date=2017-03-10|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>


===Public art===
===Public art===
[[File:Firelei_Báez,_MTA_Mural,_New_York.jpg|thumb|Báez' glass mosaic tile mural for the New York Metro]] In 2018, she was commissioned by the [[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]] to install two glass-tile platform-level murals and two mezzanine-level murals for the 163 St-Amsterdam Avenue [[Metro station|subway station]]. The intricate, tropical patterns of the artwork, titled ''The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao'' (after a novel by [[Junot Díaz|Junot Diaz]]), refer to Báez' Caribbean background and to the demographics of the neighborhood.<ref>{{Cite web|title=MTA - Arts & Design {{!}} NYCT Permanent Art|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/aft/permanentart/permart.html?agency=nyct&line=C&artist=1&station=1|access-date=2021-02-15|website=web.mta.info}}</ref> The mural imagery includes flowers and vines of tropical and North American plant species these complex patterns are interwoven with images of "hand symbols" and female figures in the style of ''Ciguapas'' from the folklore of the Dominican Republic. Báez describes the work as having a level of "transparency" to Domincans in the neighborhood. The glass mosaic work was produced by [[Mayer of Munich]] based on Báez' designs.<ref name="PAND">{{cite web |title=Ciguapa Antellana, me llamo sueño de la madrugada. (who more sci-fi than us) |url=https://www.americansforthearts.org/by-program/networks-and-councils/public-art-network/public-art-year-in-review-database/ciguapa-antellana-me-llamo-sueño-de-la-madrugada-who-more-sci-fi-than-us |website=Public Art Network Database |access-date=14 March 2023}}</ref>
[[File:Firelei_Báez,_MTA_Mural,_New_York.jpg|thumb|Báez' glass mosaic tile mural for the New York Metro]] In 2018, she was commissioned by the [[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]] to install two glass-tile platform-level murals and two mezzanine-level murals for the 163 St-Amsterdam Avenue [[Metro station|subway station]]. The intricate, tropical patterns of the artwork, titled ''The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao'' (after a novel by [[Junot Díaz|Junot Diaz]]), refer to Báez' Caribbean background and to the demographics of the neighborhood.<ref>{{Cite web|title=MTA - Arts & Design {{!}} NYCT Permanent Art|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/aft/permanentart/permart.html?agency=nyct&line=C&artist=1&station=1|access-date=2021-02-15|website=web.mta.info}}</ref> The mural imagery includes flowers and vines of tropical and North American plant species; these complex patterns are interwoven with images of "hand symbols" and female figures in the style of ''[[Ciguapa]]s'' from the folklore of the Dominican Republic. Báez describes the work as having a level of "transparency" to Dominicans in the neighborhood. The glass mosaic work was produced by [[Mayer of Munich]] based on Báez' designs.<ref name="PAND">{{cite web |title=Ciguapa Antellana, me llamo sueño de la madrugada. (who more sci-fi than us) |url=https://www.americansforthearts.org/by-program/networks-and-councils/public-art-network/public-art-year-in-review-database/ciguapa-antellana-me-llamo-sueño-de-la-madrugada-who-more-sci-fi-than-us |website=Public Art Network Database |date=15 May 2019 |access-date=14 March 2023}}</ref>


== Exhibitions ==
== Exhibitions ==
[[File:Given the ground Firelei Báez 2017.jpg|thumb|right|''Given the ground (the fact that it amazes me does not mean I relinquish it)'' (2017) by Firelei Báez at the [[National Gallery of Art]]'s showing of ''[[Afro-Atlantic Histories]]'' in [[Washington, DC]] in 2022]]
[[File:Given the ground Firelei Báez 2017.jpg|thumb|right|''Given the ground (the fact that it amazes me does not mean I relinquish it)'' (2017) by Firelei Báez at the [[National Gallery of Art]]'s showing of ''[[Afro-Atlantic Histories]]'' in [[Washington, DC]] in 2022]]
Báez has participated in several solo exhibitions and shows in the United States and internationally. Her solo shows include ''Psycho*Pomp'' (2012), Sheppard Fine Arts Gallery, [[University of Nevada, Reno]]; ''Firelei Báez: Bloodlines'' (2015), [[Pérez Art Museum Miami]]; ''Firelei Báez: Joy Out of Fire'' (2018), [[Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture]] and [[Brooklyn Museum]], [[New York City|New York]]; ''The Modern Window: For Améthyste and Athénaire (Exiled Muses Beyond Jean Luc Nancy’s Canon), Anaconas'' (2018-2019), [[Museum of Modern Art]], [[New York City|New York]]; and ''Firelei Báez'' (2021), [[Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston#ICA_Watershed|ICA Watershed]], [[Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Firelei Báez: Bloodlines|url=http://www.pamm.org/exhibitions/firelei-b%C3%A1ez|website=Pérez Art Museum Miami}}</ref><ref name="CV listing">{{cite web |title=FIRELEI BÁEZ |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/enwiki/static/5889144e03596ef3ae62c62f/t/610d729803df2e4629d148b1/1628271256216/FIRELEI+BA%CC%81EZ_CV_210803.pdf |website=James Cohan Gallery |access-date=18 May 2022}}</ref>
Báez has participated in several solo exhibitions and shows in the United States and internationally. Her solo shows include ''Psycho*Pomp'' (2012), Sheppard Fine Arts Gallery, [[University of Nevada, Reno]]; ''Firelei Báez: Bloodlines'' (2015), [[Pérez Art Museum Miami]]; ''Firelei Báez: Joy Out of Fire'' (2018), [[Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture]] and [[Brooklyn Museum]], [[New York City|New York]]; ''The Modern Window: For Améthyste and Athénaire (Exiled Muses Beyond Jean Luc Nancy's Canon), Anaconas'' (2018-2019), [[Museum of Modern Art]], [[New York City|New York]]; and ''Firelei Báez'' (2021), [[Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston#ICA Watershed|ICA Watershed]], [[Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Firelei Báez: Bloodlines|url=http://www.pamm.org/exhibitions/firelei-b%C3%A1ez|website=Pérez Art Museum Miami}}</ref><ref name="CV listing">{{cite web |title=FIRELEI BÁEZ |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/enwiki/static/5889144e03596ef3ae62c62f/t/610d729803df2e4629d148b1/1628271256216/FIRELEI+BA%CC%81EZ_CV_210803.pdf |website=James Cohan Gallery |access-date=18 May 2022}}</ref>


She has also participated in a number of group shows and exhibitions, including [[El Museo del Barrio]] Biennial (2011-2012), [[Prospect New Orleans]] (2014), and the [[Berlin Biennale]] (2018).<ref name="CV listing" />
She has also participated in a number of group shows and exhibitions, including [[El Museo del Barrio]] Biennial (2011-2012), [[Prospect New Orleans]] (2014), and the [[Berlin Biennale]] (2018).<ref name="CV listing" />


Her installation, ''To breathe full and free: a declaration, a re-visioning, a correction (19º36’16.9”N 72º13’07.0’’W, 42º21’48.762’’N 71º1’59.628’’W)'', shown at the Watershed exhibit space of the [[Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston|Institute of Contemporary Art]], was inspired by the ruins of the [[Sans-Souci Palace|Sans Souci palace]] in Haiti. The formerly majestic mansion was constructed by the Haitian revolutionary and former slave [[Henri Christophe]] in 1813, who had crowned himself king.<ref name="NYT-Ss">{{cite news |last1=Mitter |first1=Siddhartha |title=In Boston, Art That Rises From the Deep |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/02/arts/design/28firelei-baez-ica-boston.html |access-date=14 March 2023 |publisher=The New York Times |date=2 July 2021}}</ref>
Her installation, ''To breathe full and free: a declaration, a re-visioning, a correction (19º36'16.9"N 72º13'07.0''W, 42º21'48.762''N 71º1'59.628''W)'', shown at the Watershed exhibit space of the [[Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston|Institute of Contemporary Art]], was inspired by the ruins of the [[Sans-Souci Palace|Sans Souci palace]] in Haiti. The formerly majestic mansion was constructed by the Haitian revolutionary and former slave [[Henri Christophe]] in 1813, who had crowned himself king.<ref name="NYT-Ss">{{cite news |last1=Mitter |first1=Siddhartha |title=In Boston, Art That Rises From the Deep |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/02/arts/design/28firelei-baez-ica-boston.html |access-date=14 March 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=2 July 2021}}</ref>

Firelei Báez's work was featured in the traveling group show and accompanying publication ''Spirit in the Land'', organized by the [[Nasher Museum of Art]] at [[Duke University]] in 2023 and on view at the [[Pérez Art Museum Miami]] in 2024. The show touches on aspects of her by commenting on the relationship between human bodies and the natural world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Spirit in the Land |url=https://nasher.duke.edu/exhibitions/spirit-in-the-land/ |access-date=2024-02-28 |website=Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Spirit in the Land • Pérez Art Museum Miami |url=https://www.pamm.org/en/exhibition/spirit-in-the-land/ |access-date=2024-02-28 |website=Pérez Art Museum Miami |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Schoonmaker |first=Trevor |title=Spirit in the land: Exhibition, Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, 2023 |date=2023 |publisher=Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University |isbn=978-0-938989-45-5 |location=Durham, North Carolina}}</ref> In 2024, the [[Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston|Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston]] is exhibiting the first major career retrospective on the work of the artist.<ref>{{Citation |title=Firelei Báez |url=https://www.icaboston.org/exhibitions/firelei-baez-0/ |access-date=2024-02-28}}</ref>

=== ''Can I Pass?'' series ===
Every day from 2011 to 2013, Báez created self-portraits in which she would paint a silhouette of her face, head, hair, and shoulders.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |date=July 2019 |editor-last=Alvarado |editor-first=Leticia |title=Flora and Fauna Otherwise: Black and Brown Aesthetics of Relation in Firelei Báez and Wangechi Mutu |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/lavc.2019.130003 |journal=Latin American and Latinx Visual Culture |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=8–24 |doi=10.1525/lavc.2019.130003 |issn=2576-0947|doi-access=free }}</ref> Each painting she created was made in a color that matched her forearm and resembled that of a paper bag. Through this color, she references the historical [[Brown paper bag test]] to spotlight the discriminatory tests and practices that have been used to classify blackness in the United States. Her attention to hairstyles in these portraits of herself also connects the silhouettes to the fan test that evolved within the Dominican Republic that associates hair which does not blow straight back with African ancestry.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Perez Art Museum |title=Firelei Báez : Bloodlines |publisher=[[Perez Art Museum]] |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-989854-67-2 |location=Miami, Florida |pages=14–15}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Aranda-Alvarado |first=Rocío |date=2017-03-01 |title=Bodies of Color: Images of Women in the Works of Firelei Báez and Rachelle Mozman |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/07990537-3844078 |journal=Small Axe: A Caribbean Journal of Criticism |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=57–69 |doi=10.1215/07990537-3844078 |issn=0799-0537}}</ref>

== Imagery, symbolism, and themes ==
Throughout her work, Báez references symbols and figures from Dominican folklore and history that highlight different aspects of femininity, race, power, and nature. One recurring motif in her work is the [[Ciguapa]] that appeared in a series of works that she painted from 2005 to 2015.<ref name=":2" /> Early on in this series, Báez painted ciguapas on books that had been decommissioned from nearby libraries and went on to paint them at a much larger scale on over cavases that measure over seven feet tall.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Golden, Thelma; Respini, Eva; Báez, Firelei; Acevedo-Yates, Carla; Godfrey, Mark; and Russell, Legacy |title=Firelei Báez: to breathe full and free |publisher=[[Gregory R. Miller & Co]] |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-941366-38-7 |editor-last=Norr |editor-first=David |location=New York |pages=30 |oclc=1349465849}}</ref> She also includes [[Anacaona]], another significant figure in mythology and folklore from [[Hispaniola]], in a map painting titled ''Untitled (Anacaona)'' that explores how the body can act as a symbol of resistance, independence, and struggle.<ref name=":1" />


== Grants, awards, and residencies ==
== Grants, awards, and residencies ==

Báez has received numerous grants, fellowships, and awards, including the [[College Art Association]] Artist Award for Distinguished Body of Work (2018),<ref name="CAA">{{cite web |title=CAA Artist Award for a Distinguished Body of Work |url=https://www.collegeart.org/programs/awards/body-of-work |website=College Art Association |access-date=14 March 2023}}</ref> a [[Open Society Foundations|Soros Art Fellowship]] (2019),<ref name="SAF">{{cite web |title=Soros Art Fellowship |url=https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/soros-arts-fellowship?fellow=firelei-baez&current=1 |access-date=14 March 2023 |website=[[Open Society Foundations]]: Soros Art Fellowship}}</ref> a [[Smithsonian Institution|Smithsonian]] Artist Research Fellowship (2019),<ref name="SI">{{cite web |title=Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship Recipients |url=https://fellowships.si.edu/SARFawards |website=Smithsonian Institution |access-date=14 March 2023}}</ref> the [[American Academy in Rome]] [[Philip Guston]] [[Rome Prize]] for visual arts (2021),<ref name="AAR">{{cite web |title=Announcing the 2021-22 Rome Prize Winners and Italian Fellows |url=https://www.aarome.org/news/features/announcing-2021-22-rome-prize-winners-italian-fellows |website=American Academy in Rome |access-date=14 March 2023}}</ref> among others. She was one of the 2017 winners of the [[Future Generation Art Prize]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2017 |title=Firelei Báez |url=https://futuregenerationartprize.org/en/history/2017/firelei-baez |access-date=2023-03-14 |website=[[Future Generation Art Prize]]}}</ref>
* [[College Art Association|Jacques and Natasha Gelman Award in Painting]]
* [[Joan Mitchell#Legacy|Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Award]] (2010)<ref name="Firelei Báez"/>
* Catherine Doctorow Prize for Contemporary Painting (2015)
* Chiaro Award from the Headlands (2016)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Headlands Center for the Arts Announces Recipient of 2016 Chiaro Award |url=https://www.artfixdaily.com/artwire/release/4215-headlands-center-for-the-arts-announces-recipient-of-2016-chiaro- |access-date=2023-11-23 |website=ArtfixDaily |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Future Generation Art Prize]] (2017).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2017 |title=Firelei Báez |url=https://futuregenerationartprize.org/en/history/2017/firelei-baez |access-date=2023-03-14 |website=[[Future Generation Art Prize]]}}</ref>
* [[College Art Association]] Artist Award for Distinguished Body of Work (2018)<ref name="CAA">{{cite web |title=CAA Artist Award for a Distinguished Body of Work |url=https://www.collegeart.org/programs/awards/body-of-work |access-date=14 March 2023 |website=College Art Association}}</ref>
* [[Smithsonian Institution|Smithsonian]] Artist Research Fellowship (2019)<ref name="SI">{{cite web |title=Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship Recipients |url=https://fellowships.si.edu/SARFawards |access-date=14 March 2023 |website=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>
* [[Open Society Foundations|Soros Art Fellowship]] (2019)<ref name="SAF">{{cite web |title=Soros Art Fellowship |url=https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/soros-arts-fellowship?fellow=firelei-baez&current=1 |access-date=14 March 2023 |website=[[Open Society Foundations]]: Soros Art Fellowship}}</ref>
* The [[Alpert Awards in the Arts|Herb Alpert Awards in the Arts]] (2020)<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-04-16 |title=Firelei Baez {{!}} The Herb Alpert Award in the Arts |url=https://herbalpertawards.org/artist/2020/firelei-baez |access-date=2023-11-23 |website=herbalpertawards.org |language=en}}</ref>
* [[American Academy in Rome]] [[Philip Guston]] [[Rome Prize]] for visual arts (2021)<ref name="AAR">{{cite web |date=23 April 2021 |title=Announcing the 2021-22 Rome Prize Winners and Italian Fellows |url=https://www.aarome.org/news/features/announcing-2021-22-rome-prize-winners-italian-fellows |access-date=14 March 2023 |website=American Academy in Rome}}</ref>

== Gallery representation==
Báez has been represented by [[Hauser & Wirth]] since 2023. She previously worked with [[James Cohan Gallery]] and [[Kavi Gupta]].<ref>Alex Greenberger (18 September 2023), [https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/firelei-baez-hauser-and-wirth-representation-1234679694/ Firelei Báez Joins Hauser & Wirth Ahead of Surveys in Europe and the US] ''[[ARTnews]]''.</ref>


== Notable works in public collections==
== Notable works in public collections==
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*''Of Love Possessed (lessons on alterity for G.D. and F.G at a local BSS)'' (2016), [[Spelman College Museum of Fine Art]], [[Atlanta]]<ref name="Spelman listing">{{cite web |title=Object lesson with Jordan Barrant |url=https://museum.spelman.edu/events/object-lesson-with-jordan-barrant/ |website=Spelman College |access-date=18 May 2022}}</ref>
*''Of Love Possessed (lessons on alterity for G.D. and F.G at a local BSS)'' (2016), [[Spelman College Museum of Fine Art]], [[Atlanta]]<ref name="Spelman listing">{{cite web |title=Object lesson with Jordan Barrant |url=https://museum.spelman.edu/events/object-lesson-with-jordan-barrant/ |website=Spelman College |access-date=18 May 2022}}</ref>
*''To Access the Places that Lie Beyond'' (2017), [[Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art]], [[Kansas City, Missouri]]<ref name="kemper listing">{{cite web |title=To access the places that lie beyond |url=https://www.kemperart.org/collection/access-places-lie-beyond |website=Kemper Museum |access-date=18 May 2022}}</ref>
*''To Access the Places that Lie Beyond'' (2017), [[Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art]], [[Kansas City, Missouri]]<ref name="kemper listing">{{cite web |title=To access the places that lie beyond |url=https://www.kemperart.org/collection/access-places-lie-beyond |website=Kemper Museum |access-date=18 May 2022}}</ref>
*''Elegant gathering in a secluded garden (or the many bridges we crossed)'' (2018), [[Studio Museum in Harlem]], [[New York City|New York]]<ref name="Studio museum listing">{{cite web |title=Elegant gathering |url=https://studiomuseum.org/collection-item/elegant-gathering-secluded-garden-or-many-bridges-we-crossed |website=Studio Museum in Harlem |access-date=18 May 2022}}</ref>
*''Elegant gathering in a secluded garden (or the many bridges we crossed)'' (2018), [[Studio Museum in Harlem]], [[New York City|New York]]<ref name="Studio museum listing">{{cite web |title=Elegant gathering |url=https://studiomuseum.org/collection-item/elegant-gathering-secluded-garden-or-many-bridges-we-crossed |website=Studio Museum in Harlem |date=27 April 2020 |access-date=18 May 2022}}</ref>
*''Those who would douse it (it does not disturb me to accept that there are places where my identity is obscure to me, and the fact that it amazes you does not mean I relinquish it)'' (2018), [[Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg]], [[Germany]]<ref name="Kunst listing">{{cite web |title=Firelei Báez, Those who would douse it (it does not disturb me to accept that there are places where my identity is obscure to me, and the fact that it amazes you does not mean I relinquish it), 2018 |url=https://sammlung.kunstmuseum.de/artwork/those-who-would-douse-it-it-does-not-disturb-me-to-accept-that-there-are-places-where-my-identity-is-obscure-to-me-and-the-fact-that-it-amazes-you-does-not-mean-i-relinquish-it/ |website=Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg |access-date=18 May 2022}}</ref>
*''Those who would douse it (it does not disturb me to accept that there are places where my identity is obscure to me, and the fact that it amazes you does not mean I relinquish it)'' (2018), [[Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg]], [[Germany]]<ref name="Kunst listing">{{cite web |title=Firelei Báez, Those who would douse it (it does not disturb me to accept that there are places where my identity is obscure to me, and the fact that it amazes you does not mean I relinquish it), 2018 |url=https://sammlung.kunstmuseum.de/artwork/those-who-would-douse-it-it-does-not-disturb-me-to-accept-that-there-are-places-where-my-identity-is-obscure-to-me-and-the-fact-that-it-amazes-you-does-not-mean-i-relinquish-it/ |website=Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg |access-date=18 May 2022}}</ref>
*''An Open Horizon (or the stillness of a wound)'' (2019), [[Cornell Fine Arts Museum]], [[Rollins College]], [[Orlando, Florida]]<ref name="rollins listing">{{cite web |title=Artists A-B |url=https://www.rollins.edu/rma/collection/alfond/artists-ab.html#FireleiBaez |website=Rollins College |access-date=18 May 2022}}</ref>
*''An Open Horizon (or the stillness of a wound)'' (2019), [[Cornell Fine Arts Museum]], [[Rollins College]], [[Orlando, Florida]]<ref name="rollins listing">{{cite web |title=Artists A-B |url=https://www.rollins.edu/rma/collection/alfond/artists-ab.html#FireleiBaez |website=Rollins College |access-date=18 May 2022}}</ref>
*''Tignon for Ayda Weddo (or that which a center can not hold)'' (2019), [[Nasher Museum of Art]], [[Duke University]], [[Durham, North Carolina]]<ref name="Nasher listing">{{cite web |title=Tignon for Ayda Weddo (or that which a center can not hold) |url=https://emuseum.nasher.duke.edu/objects/23555/tignon-for-ayda-weddo-or-that-which-a-center-can-not-hold?ctx=f05b950e-7ab4-4059-88c0-d584767ea5cd&idx=0 |website=Nasher Museum of Art |publisher=Duke University |access-date=18 May 2022}}</ref>
*''Tignon for Ayda Weddo (or that which a center can not hold)'' (2019), [[Nasher Museum of Art]], [[Duke University]], [[Durham, North Carolina]]<ref name="Nasher listing">{{cite web |title=Tignon for Ayda Weddo (or that which a center can not hold) |url=https://emuseum.nasher.duke.edu/objects/23555/tignon-for-ayda-weddo-or-that-which-a-center-can-not-hold?ctx=f05b950e-7ab4-4059-88c0-d584767ea5cd&idx=0 |website=Nasher Museum of Art |publisher=Duke University |access-date=18 May 2022}}</ref>
*''the trace, whether we are attending to it or not (a space for each other’s breathing)'' (2019), [[New Orleans Museum of Art]]<ref name="NOMA press release">{{cite web |title=New acquisitions reshape past histories |url=https://noma.org/new-acquisitions-reshape-past-histories/ |website=New Orleans Museum of Art |access-date=18 May 2022}}</ref>
*''the trace, whether we are attending to it or not (a space for each other's breathing)'' (2019), [[New Orleans Museum of Art]]<ref name="NOMA press release">{{cite web |title=New acquisitions reshape past histories |url=https://noma.org/new-acquisitions-reshape-past-histories/ |website=New Orleans Museum of Art |date=5 November 2020 |access-date=18 May 2022}}</ref>
*''Untitled (Central Power Station)'' (2019), [[Dallas Museum of Art]]<ref name="DMA listing">{{cite web |title=Untitled (Central Power Station) |url=https://collections.dma.org/artwork/5352870 |website=Dallas Museum of Art |access-date=18 May 2022}}</ref>
*''Untitled (Central Power Station)'' (2019), [[Dallas Museum of Art]]<ref name="DMA listing">{{cite web |title=Untitled (Central Power Station) |url=https://collections.dma.org/artwork/5352870 |website=Dallas Museum of Art |access-date=18 May 2022}}</ref>
*''Untitled (Tabula Anemographica seu Pyxis Navtic)'' (2021), [[Whitney Museum]] of American Art<ref>{{Cite web |title=Firelei Báez {{!}} Untitled (Tabula Anemographica seu Pyxis Navtic) |url=https://whitney.org/collection/works/65601 |access-date=2023-11-23 |website=whitney.org |language=en}}</ref>
*''Olamina (How do we learn to love each other while we are embattled)'' (2022), [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Firelei Báez {{!}} Olamina (How do we learn to love each other while we are embattled) |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/894459 |access-date=2023-11-23 |website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art |language=en}}</ref>


== Selected publications ==
== Selected publications ==
*Perez Art Museum. ''Firelei Báez : Bloodlines''. Miami, Florida: Perez Art Museum, 2015. <nowiki>ISBN 978-0-989854-67-2</nowiki>.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Perez Art Museum |title=Firelei Báez : Bloodlines |publisher=[[Perez Art Museum]] |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-989854-67-2 |location=Miami, Florida}}</ref>

*"Bodies of Color: Images of Women in the Works of Firelei Báez and Rachelle Mozman." Aranda-Alvarado, Rocío. ''Small Axe : a Journal of Criticism'' 21, no. 1 (2017): 57–69. https://doi.org/10.1215/07990537-3844078.<ref name=":3" />
⚫
* ''Firelei Báez: to breathe full and free''. Firelei Báez, David Norr, Carla Acevedo-Yates, Mark Godfrey, [[Legacy Russell]], [[Thelma Golden]], [[Eva Respini]]. New York: Gregory R. Miller & Co., 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-01-03 |title=The Artful Life: 6 Things Galerie Editors Love This Week |url=https://galeriemagazine.com/artful-life-jan-3-2023/ |access-date=2023-01-13 |website=Galerie |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Báez |first=Firelei |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1349465849 |title=Firelei Báez : to breathe full and free |date=2022 |others=David Norr, Carla Acevedo-Yates, Mark Godfrey, Thelma Golden, Eva Respini, Legacy Russell, Gregory R. Miller & Co, James Cohan Gallery, Distributed Art Publishers, Conti Tipocolor, Conti Tipocolor |isbn=978-1-941366-38-7 |location=New York |oclc=1349465849}}</ref>
*"Flora and Fauna Otherwise''':''' Black and Brown Aesthetics of Relation in Firelei Báez and Wangechi Mutu." Alvarado, Leticia. ''Latin American and Latinx Visual Culture'' 1, no. 3 (2019): 8–24. https://doi.org/10.1525/lavc.2019.130003.<ref name=":2" />
⚫
* ''Firelei Báez: to breathe full and free''. Firelei Báez, David Norr, Carla Acevedo-Yates, Mark Godfrey, [[Legacy Russell]], [[Thelma Golden]], [[Eva Respini]]. New York: Gregory R. Miller & Co., 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-01-03 |title=The Artful Life: 6 Things Galerie Editors Love This Week |url=https://galeriemagazine.com/artful-life-jan-3-2023/ |access-date=2023-01-13 |website=Galerie |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Báez |first=Firelei |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1349465849 |title=Firelei Báez : to breathe full and free |date=2022 |others=David Norr, Carla Acevedo-Yates, Mark Godfrey, Thelma Golden, Eva Respini, Legacy Russell, Gregory R. Miller & Co, James Cohan Gallery, Distributed Art Publishers, Conti Tipocolor, Conti Tipocolor |isbn=978-1-941366-38-7 |location=New York |oclc=1349465849}}</ref>


== See also ==
== See also ==
* [[List of American artists 1900 and after]]
* [[List of American artists 1900 and after]]


== References ==
== References ==
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== External links ==
== External links ==
* [https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/16 Studio Visit: Firelei Báez, MoMA Magazine]
* [https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/16 Studio Visit: Firelei Báez, MoMA Magazine]
* Firelei Báez, [https://www.pamm.org/en/exhibition/firelei-baez-bloodlines/ PAMM]
{{Portal bar|Biography|Arts|Dominican Republic|United States}}
{{Portal bar|Biography|Arts|Dominican Republic|United States}}
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{{authority control}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Baez, Firelei}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baez, Firelei}}
[[Category:Dominican Republic women artists]]
[[Category:Dominican Republic women artists]]
[[Category:Dominican Republic women sculptors]]
[[Category:Dominican Republic sculptors]]
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[[Category:Dominican Republic women painters]]
[[Category:1981 births]]
[[Category:1981 births]]
[[Category:Hunter College alumni]]
[[Category:Hunter College alumni]]
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[[Category:Mosaic artists]]
[[Category:Mosaic artists]]
[[Category:21st-century American sculptors]]
[[Category:21st-century American sculptors]]
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[[Category:21st-century Dominica women]]
[[Category:Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture alumni]]
[[Category:Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture alumni]]
[[Category:Dominica emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Dominican Republic emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Artists from Miami]]
[[Category:Artists from Miami]]
[[Category:People from Santiago de los Caballeros]]
[[Category:People from Santiago de los Caballeros]]

Latest revision as of 21:54, 12 June 2024

Firelei Báez
Báez with her mosaic at 163 St-Amsterdam Av
Born1981 (age 42–43)
Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic
NationalityAmerican
EducationMiami Jackson High School
The Cooper Union
Hunter College
AwardsFuture Generation Art Prize (2017)

Firelei Báez (born 1981) is a Dominican Republic-born, New York City-based artist known for intricate works on paper and canvas, as well as large scale sculpture. Her art focuses on untold stories and unheard voices, using portraiture, landscape, and design to explore the Western canon.[1]

Báez's work has been exhibited at the New Museum, New York, NY, the Pérez Art Museum Miami, Miami, Florida, Taller Puertorriqueño, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Clinton, New York, the Drawing Center, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, New York and the Studio Museum, New York, New York, Tate Modern London. Her work was featured in the United States Biennial Prospect.3 in New Orleans, Louisiana, curated by Franklin Sirmans. She was included in Getty's Pacific Standard Time's LA>LA exhibition, the Pinchuk Art Foundation's Future Generation's Art Prize exhibition at the 2017 Venice Biennale, and the 2018 Berlin Biennale.[2]

She has been the recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Award (2010),[3] the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Award in Painting, the Catherine Doctorow Prize for Contemporary Painting (2015),[4] and the Chiaro Award from the Headlands (2016).[5] In 2015, Pérez Art Museum Miami organized Firelei Báez: Bloodlines. The exhibition catalogue included an introduction by Franklin Sirmans, the museum director, an essay by María Elena Ortiz, an interview with Naima Keith, and a contribution by the writer Roxane Gay.[6]

Early life and education

[edit]

Báez was born in 1981 in Santiago de Los Caballeros to a Dominican mother and a father of Haitian descent,[7] she was raised in Dajabón, a market city on the Dominican Republic's border with Haiti. At the age of 8, she relocated with her family to Miami, Florida.[8]

Báez moved to New York in 2001 where she then received a bachelor's degree in arts from Cooper Union, a master's in fine arts from Hunter College in 2010,[9] and studied at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.[10]

Career

[edit]

Báez works as an artist, and is based in New York City.[11] She is known for intricate works on paper and canvas, as well as large scale sculpture and installation. In 2012, she began to create her ink and acrylic paintings on Yupo paper because of its nonabsorbent properties.[12] Starting around 2017, the artist has directed her practice towards large scale works in which she directly paints onto various archival materials such as maps and architectural renderings.[13][14]

Her art explores the Western canon through the elements of non-Western reading.[1] Báez references various aspects of visual, material, and popular culture to represent the body in ways that challenge racial and class structures. She credits the work of David Hammons as first sparking her interest in using art to abstract and visualize Black and Brown bodies while simultaneously conveying their lived experiences.[12] Báez also notes that science fiction writing of Octavia E. Butler has always inspired themes of Afrofuturism in her work, so much so that she paints a replication of Butler's Parable of the Sower (novel) in her painting titled On rest and resistance, Because we love you (to all those stolen from among us) (2020).[15]

In fall of 2015, Báez had two solo museum shows Patterns of Resistance at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art and Bloodlines[16] at Pérez Art Museum Miami.[17] In February 2016, Báez created a participatory installation with museum patrons at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The program was presented in conjunction with the exhibition "The Power of Prints: The Legacy of William M. Ivins and A. Hyatt Mayor". The installation itself remained on display through March of that year.[18]

Public art

[edit]
Báez' glass mosaic tile mural for the New York Metro

In 2018, she was commissioned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to install two glass-tile platform-level murals and two mezzanine-level murals for the 163 St-Amsterdam Avenue subway station. The intricate, tropical patterns of the artwork, titled The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao (after a novel by Junot Diaz), refer to Báez' Caribbean background and to the demographics of the neighborhood.[19] The mural imagery includes flowers and vines of tropical and North American plant species; these complex patterns are interwoven with images of "hand symbols" and female figures in the style of Ciguapas from the folklore of the Dominican Republic. Báez describes the work as having a level of "transparency" to Dominicans in the neighborhood. The glass mosaic work was produced by Mayer of Munich based on Báez' designs.[20]

Exhibitions

[edit]
Given the ground (the fact that it amazes me does not mean I relinquish it) (2017) by Firelei Báez at the National Gallery of Art's showing of Afro-Atlantic Histories in Washington, DC in 2022

Báez has participated in several solo exhibitions and shows in the United States and internationally. Her solo shows include Psycho*Pomp (2012), Sheppard Fine Arts Gallery, University of Nevada, Reno; Firelei Báez: Bloodlines (2015), Pérez Art Museum Miami; Firelei Báez: Joy Out of Fire (2018), Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and Brooklyn Museum, New York; The Modern Window: For Améthyste and Athénaire (Exiled Muses Beyond Jean Luc Nancy's Canon), Anaconas (2018-2019), Museum of Modern Art, New York; and Firelei Báez (2021), ICA Watershed, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston.[21][22]

She has also participated in a number of group shows and exhibitions, including El Museo del Barrio Biennial (2011-2012), Prospect New Orleans (2014), and the Berlin Biennale (2018).[22]

Her installation, To breathe full and free: a declaration, a re-visioning, a correction (19º36'16.9"N 72º13'07.0W, 42º21'48.762N 71º1'59.628W), shown at the Watershed exhibit space of the Institute of Contemporary Art, was inspired by the ruins of the Sans Souci palace in Haiti. The formerly majestic mansion was constructed by the Haitian revolutionary and former slave Henri Christophe in 1813, who had crowned himself king.[23]

Firelei Báez's work was featured in the traveling group show and accompanying publication Spirit in the Land, organized by the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University in 2023 and on view at the Pérez Art Museum Miami in 2024. The show touches on aspects of her by commenting on the relationship between human bodies and the natural world.[24][25][26] In 2024, the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston is exhibiting the first major career retrospective on the work of the artist.[27]

Can I Pass? series

[edit]

Every day from 2011 to 2013, Báez created self-portraits in which she would paint a silhouette of her face, head, hair, and shoulders.[28] Each painting she created was made in a color that matched her forearm and resembled that of a paper bag. Through this color, she references the historical Brown paper bag test to spotlight the discriminatory tests and practices that have been used to classify blackness in the United States. Her attention to hairstyles in these portraits of herself also connects the silhouettes to the fan test that evolved within the Dominican Republic that associates hair which does not blow straight back with African ancestry.[29][30]

Imagery, symbolism, and themes

[edit]

Throughout her work, Báez references symbols and figures from Dominican folklore and history that highlight different aspects of femininity, race, power, and nature. One recurring motif in her work is the Ciguapa that appeared in a series of works that she painted from 2005 to 2015.[28] Early on in this series, Báez painted ciguapas on books that had been decommissioned from nearby libraries and went on to paint them at a much larger scale on over cavases that measure over seven feet tall.[31] She also includes Anacaona, another significant figure in mythology and folklore from Hispaniola, in a map painting titled Untitled (Anacaona) that explores how the body can act as a symbol of resistance, independence, and struggle.[13]

Grants, awards, and residencies

[edit]
[edit]

Báez has been represented by Hauser & Wirth since 2023. She previously worked with James Cohan Gallery and Kavi Gupta.[38]

Notable works in public collections

[edit]

Selected publications

[edit]
  • Perez Art Museum. Firelei Báez : Bloodlines. Miami, Florida: Perez Art Museum, 2015. ISBN 978-0-989854-67-2.[52]
  • "Bodies of Color: Images of Women in the Works of Firelei Báez and Rachelle Mozman." Aranda-Alvarado, Rocío. Small Axe : a Journal of Criticism 21, no. 1 (2017): 57–69. https://doi.org/10.1215/07990537-3844078.[30]
  • "Flora and Fauna Otherwise: Black and Brown Aesthetics of Relation in Firelei Báez and Wangechi Mutu." Alvarado, Leticia. Latin American and Latinx Visual Culture 1, no. 3 (2019): 8–24. https://doi.org/10.1525/lavc.2019.130003.[28]
  • Firelei Báez: to breathe full and free. Firelei Báez, David Norr, Carla Acevedo-Yates, Mark Godfrey, Legacy Russell, Thelma Golden, Eva Respini. New York: Gregory R. Miller & Co., 2022.[53][54]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Sirmans, Franklin; Báez, Firelei (2017). "Artwork: Firelei Báez". Art Journal. 76 (3/4): 78–79. doi:10.1080/00043249.2017.1418490. ISSN 0004-3249. JSTOR 45142673. S2CID 192234205.
  2. ^ Wimberly, Dexter; Ossei-Mensah, Larry (2019). Coffee, Rhum, Sugar & Gold : a Postcolonial Paradox. Petaluma, CA: Cameron + Company. p. 80. ISBN 978-1-944903-76-3.
  3. ^ a b "Firelei Báez". Joan Mitchell Foundation. 2016-02-15. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  4. ^ "Utah Museum Exhibits Art Of Award-Winning Painter". Utah Public Radio. 2015-10-13. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  5. ^ "Headlands Center for the Arts Announces Recipient of 2016 Chiaro Award". ArtfixDaily. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  6. ^ Wendi Norris, Gallery. "Firelei Báez: Biography - Gallery Wendi Norris". gallerywendinorris.com. Archived from the original on 2018-08-11. Retrieved 2017-07-24.
  7. ^ Hern, Jasmin; ez (2018-09-14). "How Rising Star Firelei Báez Uses Yoruba Myth and Her Afro-Caribbean Heritage in Her Profound 'Joy Out of Fire' Murals". Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  8. ^ Brown, Jeffrey (2021-07-15). "How artist Firelei Báez transforms spaces to build connections". Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  9. ^ Perez Art Museum (2015). Firelei Báez : Bloodlines. Miami, Florida: Perez Art Museum. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-989854-67-2.
  10. ^ a b "Firelei Báez". Future Generation Art Prize. 2017. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  11. ^ "Firelei Báez: Bloodlines". Pérez Art Museum Miami. Retrieved 2018-07-14.
  12. ^ a b Golden, Thelma; Respini, Eva; Báez, Firelei; Acevedo-Yates, Carla; Godfrey, Mark; and Russell, Legacy (2022). Norr, David (ed.). Firelei Báez : to breathe full and free. New York: Gregory R. Miller & Co. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-941366-38-7. OCLC 1349465849.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ a b Golden, Thelma; Respini, Eva; Báez, Firelei; Acevedo-Yates, Carla; Godfrey, Mark; and Russell, Legacy (2022). Norr, David (ed.). Firelei Báez: to breathe full and free. New York: Gregory R. Miller & Co. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-941366-38-7. OCLC 1349465849.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ Wimberly, Dexter, Ossei-Mensah, Larry (2019). Coffee, Rhum, Sugar & Gold : a Postcolonial Paradox. Petaluma, CA: Cameron + Company. p. 80. ISBN 978-1-944903-76-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ Golden, Thelma; Respini, Eva; Báez, Firelei; Acevedo-Yates, Carla; Godfrey, Mark; and Russell, Legacy (2022). Norr, David (ed.). Firelei Báez: to breathe full and free. New York: Gregory R. Miller & Co. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-941366-38-7. OCLC 1349465849.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ "Firelei Báez: Bloodlines • Pérez Art Museum Miami". Pérez Art Museum Miami. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  17. ^ Lesser, Casey (10 June 2016). "These 20 Female Artists Are Pushing Figurative Painting Forward". Artsy.
  18. ^ Barone, Joshua (2016-02-18). "Spare Times for Feb. 19–25". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-03-10.
  19. ^ "MTA - Arts & Design | NYCT Permanent Art". web.mta.info. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  20. ^ "Ciguapa Antellana, me llamo sueño de la madrugada. (who more sci-fi than us)". Public Art Network Database. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  21. ^ "Firelei Báez: Bloodlines". Pérez Art Museum Miami.
  22. ^ a b "FIRELEI BÁEZ" (PDF). James Cohan Gallery. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  23. ^ Mitter, Siddhartha (2 July 2021). "In Boston, Art That Rises From the Deep". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  24. ^ "Spirit in the Land". Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  25. ^ "Spirit in the Land • Pérez Art Museum Miami". Pérez Art Museum Miami. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  26. ^ Schoonmaker, Trevor (2023). Spirit in the land: Exhibition, Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, 2023. Durham, North Carolina: Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. ISBN 978-0-938989-45-5.
  27. ^ Firelei Báez, retrieved 2024-02-28
  28. ^ a b c Alvarado, Leticia, ed. (July 2019). "Flora and Fauna Otherwise: Black and Brown Aesthetics of Relation in Firelei Báez and Wangechi Mutu". Latin American and Latinx Visual Culture. 1 (3): 8–24. doi:10.1525/lavc.2019.130003. ISSN 2576-0947.
  29. ^ Perez Art Museum (2015). Firelei Báez : Bloodlines. Miami, Florida: Perez Art Museum. pp. 14–15. ISBN 978-0-989854-67-2.
  30. ^ a b Aranda-Alvarado, Rocío (2017-03-01). "Bodies of Color: Images of Women in the Works of Firelei Báez and Rachelle Mozman". Small Axe: A Caribbean Journal of Criticism. 21 (1): 57–69. doi:10.1215/07990537-3844078. ISSN 0799-0537.
  31. ^ Golden, Thelma; Respini, Eva; Báez, Firelei; Acevedo-Yates, Carla; Godfrey, Mark; and Russell, Legacy (2022). Norr, David (ed.). Firelei Báez: to breathe full and free. New York: Gregory R. Miller & Co. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-941366-38-7. OCLC 1349465849.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  32. ^ "Headlands Center for the Arts Announces Recipient of 2016 Chiaro Award". ArtfixDaily. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  33. ^ "CAA Artist Award for a Distinguished Body of Work". College Art Association. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  34. ^ "Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship Recipients". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  35. ^ "Soros Art Fellowship". Open Society Foundations: Soros Art Fellowship. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  36. ^ "Firelei Baez | The Herb Alpert Award in the Arts". herbalpertawards.org. 2020-04-16. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  37. ^ "Announcing the 2021-22 Rome Prize Winners and Italian Fellows". American Academy in Rome. 23 April 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  38. ^ Alex Greenberger (18 September 2023), Firelei Báez Joins Hauser & Wirth Ahead of Surveys in Europe and the US ARTnews.
  39. ^ "Innovative Approaches, Honored Traditions The Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Five Years Highlights from the Permanent Collection" (PDF). Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art Hamilton College. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  40. ^ "San José museum of art". San José museum of art. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  41. ^ "Sans-Souci – Caribbean Cultural Institute". Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  42. ^ "Object lesson with Jordan Barrant". Spelman College. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  43. ^ "To access the places that lie beyond". Kemper Museum. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  44. ^ "Elegant gathering". Studio Museum in Harlem. 27 April 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  45. ^ "Firelei Báez, Those who would douse it (it does not disturb me to accept that there are places where my identity is obscure to me, and the fact that it amazes you does not mean I relinquish it), 2018". Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  46. ^ "Artists A-B". Rollins College. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  47. ^ "Tignon for Ayda Weddo (or that which a center can not hold)". Nasher Museum of Art. Duke University. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  48. ^ "New acquisitions reshape past histories". New Orleans Museum of Art. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  49. ^ "Untitled (Central Power Station)". Dallas Museum of Art. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  50. ^ "Firelei Báez | Untitled (Tabula Anemographica seu Pyxis Navtic)". whitney.org. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  51. ^ "Firelei Báez | Olamina (How do we learn to love each other while we are embattled)". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  52. ^ Perez Art Museum (2015). Firelei Báez : Bloodlines. Miami, Florida: Perez Art Museum. ISBN 978-0-989854-67-2.
  53. ^ "The Artful Life: 6 Things Galerie Editors Love This Week". Galerie. 2023-01-03. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  54. ^ Báez, Firelei (2022). Firelei Báez : to breathe full and free. David Norr, Carla Acevedo-Yates, Mark Godfrey, Thelma Golden, Eva Respini, Legacy Russell, Gregory R. Miller & Co, James Cohan Gallery, Distributed Art Publishers, Conti Tipocolor, Conti Tipocolor. New York. ISBN 978-1-941366-38-7. OCLC 1349465849.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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