[Announcer] Art Loft is brought to you by the# Friends of South Florida PBS.

Art Loft.

It's the pulse of what's happening in our own backyard,# as well as a taste of the arts across the United States.

In this episode, paper.

color.

Lines.,# with artist Karen Rifas; Edouard Duval-Carrie on honoring his Haitian heritage; we meet a# Venezuelan sculptor using an unexpected medium; and painter, Leah Wong, shares the influence of# color and light on her work.

Sculptor and painter, Karen Rifas, has long been a voice in the South# Florida art scene.

Over the decades, her work has progressed from bronze to paper, and in her# latest exhibit, color and line take the lead.

[Karen] Tonight is a very special night.

I'm# opening a new show called paper.

color.

lines.

This is, I guess, the big moment for me.

It's# a beautiful gallery and a beautiful space and beautiful people working here.

I started out# as a sculptor, then started doing installations with stitched leaves that I picked up# in my backyard.

I had to sweep them up, so I decided I would stitch them.

And if you# walk around a sculpture, you get to see many different versions of the same line.

It's not# in the same place; it crosses differently.

And so I became very interested in line and started# doing a lot of drawing.

And from the drawings, I said, well, let's put a little color# in them.

And finally, I got to painting.

[Sergio] Karen Rifas is one of the Grand# Dames of the Miami cultural attache for over four decades now.

When you confront# the element of her being a sculptor, and then getting into her painting practice, I# think it's even more fascinating because she was able to bring that three-dimensionality out.

And# then, the paper, which holds such great evidence of time and mark-making, I think, is also just# such a beautiful metaphor towards this deceiving, very quiet element in her work, where# all this activity comes together and, you know, the action deepens, right?# Your confrontation with the work, it deepens, and you're more enriched as# you allow the eye to settle more and more.

[Karen] To me, it looks, the blue looks kind of# like chair-like, and I'm maybe thinking back to my African art history where the chair is, the# king has the chair, and the chair is an important person.

The important person sits in a chair.

I# don't know.

But just playing with the geometry and, again, if you stand on one side, it might# look one way to you, but if you come around to the other side, you'll get a different perspective,# and it will look differently.

Where you stand is what you see, so I play with that.

And if# you're standing at one side of the artwork, it might look different on the left than if you# were standing on the right.

So, it's a game.

It's fun, and it somehow, it works.

You can see# two things at the same time.

I work from a grid, so if it's 10 feet by 10 feet, I can say 10# inches by 10 inches and work it out on a grid, and then, it's a matter of just plotting it and# using different materials instead of a brush, perhaps a roller, to apply the paint.

I've learned# how to roll the paper up so that I can work on it and don't have to climb across the table to get to# the center, so the size doesn't matter.

The bigger the size, though, the more you can feel like# you're a part of the piece.

The smaller pieces are similar in that you can stand left or right, and# you can pull yourself into the piece, which is, I think, all artists want is to have people# take time and put themselves into the artist's thoughts in the picture.

I was gonna paint them# the traditional Mondrian colors of red and blue and yellow.

And I said, wait a minute.

Why am I# thinking so narrowly?

I mean, let's, you know, why am I doing it?

Let's paint the arches pink.

And# it was like an awakening for me.

And it's like, color in Miami is the cars, the orange and the# green, and the cars zooming down the expressway.

[Sergio] I think her color theory# practice is so beautiful and empowering, and sometimes, I'm fascinated at# how she plays with just a change, a little hue change, and how it really# creates such great volume in her work.

This was the pink room with the pink flag, and# so, I had to honor it again with something very special.

And so, I went in, I thought of# I and U. This is a kind of a Y and an O. O is up here.

And U and me, M, E. It's# about getting people to think about family situation or community situations or even# the governmental situation today, where we're not thinking about cooperation or give and# take.

So, I'm thinking visually as, and also, I hope somebody will read the# letters and figure out I, you and me.

[Narrator] Born and raised in Haiti, artist,# Edouard Duval Carrie's work explores history, identity, and spirituality.

Here, he teams with# Commissioner, the nonprofit, connecting those new to collecting directly with artists to explain# his process.

My name is Edouard DuvalCarrie.

I'm a Haitian American artist.

Pluridisciplinary is# the word for me, and I'm interested in everything.

I think I'm an encyclopedist kind of# artist.

For example, every project I have, I adopt a new technique or a new style.

The# first images of Haiti, they were maps all done in engraving.

So I had to learn it just to be# able to address the story that I'm telling.

Haiti, there is so much to say about it because it's# so misunderstood.

I took it upon myself to make sure that they are somehow understood through my# art.

And it's fascinating because I can talk about things that I know to people that don't know.# I mean, where do we have the first ideas of the Caribbean is with the Hudson School.

When these# artists went down to South America, on their way, they had to go through the Caribbean.

And in# doing so, they portrayed those lands as totally pristine.

All of the islands were plantations, but# you never see in their pictures, not one Black, not one slave, not one worker.

It's as if they# were like Edens for you to come and invest.

I amused myself of taking each of their paintings# and blowing them up and presenting what they were really seeing.

I'm like completely bound to its# history, and I felt that it was my duty to do so.

And I didn't study art, and I just learned it# on my own.

One day, my mother, maybe she had felt that I liked the arts and whatever, took to# the Centre d'Art, which is the gallery there.

And I was transfixed that day with what I saw.# Francine said, show me what you want.

Oh, yes, it's right here.

All the artists in Haiti have# a great love of their heroes, their independence heroes.

And this one is the most important one# of them, that little thing.

And she says, you know what?

I'm giving it to you.

I was thrilled# to bits.

And they always show him like that, on a horse with a machete.

Dessalines.

During# the Revolution, Napoleon decided to sell the United States, the land, and the money he got was# strictly to send an armada back to Saint-Domingue, to Haiti, to put the slaves in, back into the work# fields.

And what the slaves did was like really put an end to this colonial thing by burning the# plantations.

And it is the first color lithograph that was done in the world just to explain what# they were losing with that particular image.

And I've added one person.

It's Dessalines.

And# it's a story that should be told and retold and retold and retold because it's like, it# renders that country iconic.

To me, I mean, like, no matter what they say about it, I know# we were the first to liberate ourselves.

Shutup .

There is a community of my people here, and# I wanna put my best foot forward for them and explain to the rest of the community who we# are.

In the West, you know, like we think of the whole spirit world in the air, in the sky.# In Africa, everything is under Earth.

They are, like, holding the Earth together.

And here# is the first flock of gods arriving in Haiti and going underground.

Art, if it's good, it's# poetry.

And poetry can condense in few words, so many ideas.

So, I mean, there's like a layering# of information at all levels.

I think that, when people look at my work, they realize that the# world is not, is a lot more complex than it is, much larger than themselves, and then, they're# confronted with something, then I invite them to visit and to try to understand.

And I# think that's the best thing an artist can do.

[Narrator] The Fountainhead Arts Residency Program# co.. artists to work in Miami every year.# In this video, we meet Mamali Shafahi, whose work is a mix of fantasy and# memories from his Iranian childhood.

[Mamali] I was growing in the transitional# generation between analog and digital, and I was very focused at how this transformation# is happening.

I'm looking for the futuristic element and the avant garde elements in the# past.

I started to mix all these elements together to create a global language and# create a new narrative, balancing the idea of the present by looking at the future and the# past.

I wanted to find the material can bring me somewhere else.

That's why I use the type of# the clay we use as a kid and velvet because I wanted to bring also memory as a last layer of# my work.

My work is looking for common points in every culture.

I'm looking to find a way we# can make the easier connection between people.

[Narrator] Max Zuleta has been sculpting ice for# almost 40 years.

As the owner of Art Below Zero, he and his team create one of a# kind ice masterpieces.

Up next, Milwaukee PBS takes us to Franksville, Wisconsin,# to meet the artist and learn more about his craft.

In order to become an ice sculptor, you need to# have not only the artistic skills, the endurance, to get the sculpture done, but the discipline.# You're in a freezer for many hours a day and, or in a winter festival.

It's a very challenging# material, and there's a lot of logistical things that go along with ice sculpting, like the# drainage of the water in an event, in a room temperature event.

So it's very hard, but it's# very rewarding.

You do ask yourself continuously, why?

Why am I doing this?

It's gonna melt.

But the# beautiful thing about ice sculptures is that it teaches us that beauty is not permanent.

Teaches# you to enjoy what you have in front of you, and make the most out of it.

One of the secrets in# a crystal-clear block of ice, two of the secrets, one is we purify the water.

We have a# reversals motion system, a water softener, and an industrial filter.

So this is better than# Evian water.

It's super clean water, and then, the other secret is the motion.

These pumps# make the molecules of water to freeze really, really, really tight together.

That's why# the ice is so crystal clear and so dense.

So strong.

As motion is the biggest secret.

There# was no ice sculpting school in Venezuela.

That's usually taught in culinary school.

So the only# way for me to learn was to try to learn from somebody.

So I was begging for, like, three# months to a chef in Caracas in Venezuela, and so he took me in, and he taught me# some basic principles of ice sculpting.

And then, I started going to competitions# all over the States and Canada and Europe.

My purpose in those in that time was just# to learn as much as possible.

So I had to balance between doing my sculptures, trying to# do well in the competition.

At the same time, trying to learn as much as I can and trying# to learn of their techniques and tools.

In those days, we didn't have chainsaws, or# chainsaws were not applied to ice sculpting yet.

So it was, you know, like a handsaw and ice picks# and chisels.

To be able to carve a sculpture with only a handsaw?

Oh, I have so many stitches all# over the place.

And then it's also a physical job.

These are 300pound blocks of ice.

And at# that point, I felt like this is one of the most difficult things in the world.

Why am# I doing this ?

What was the most difficult thing at the time, which was learning how# to carve with only handsaws and chisels, now I have the technology.

I have massive# CNC machines and every tool that I can get, but having the skills of starting really, really,# really hard and having the skills to create a sculpture with only a handsaw or a chisel.

When# somebody wants to start over, I'm like, start, you know, with the basic tools and just create.# Your skill's based on very limited amount of tools, and then, eventually, you develop, and you# can add more tools into it.

But you have a really good foundation for your technique.

I am grateful# that I come in people's lives, in very special times in their life, in their wedding or their# anniversaries or a birthday or a bar mitzvah.

I think there's a lot of things that we do that# translate into you can do whatever you want.

If we can create this ice sculpture out of a block# of ice, you can go home and do whatever you want; you can create your own masterpieces into any# material that you want, and you can overcome any challenge.

If you can amaze and inspire people,# that's the best thing you can do.

One other beautiful thing about ice sculpting is that it# allowed me, like, I had some ideas, and I'm like, how can I get this out of my head?

How can I# get this into a material?

And so, at the end of the day, you feel like, aw, it feels good to be# able to translate something into a block of ice.

[Narrator] And finally, from painting to# paper cutouts, artist, Leah Wong, says, it all comes down to color and light.

WOSU,# Ohio Public Media takes us on this studio visit.

In China, I was just traditional, European,# Western, oil painter.

I didn't speak English when I came to the US 30 years ago.

And the# thing is that I couldn't recognize the word, but I can recognize number.

And then the English# become abstract lines, just the lines.

When I start to see the world much, much, much, much# infinite, much bigger, my work just feel like, woo, I can do a lot of things with my skills.

I'm# glad I was trained like a painter.

I know how to draw.

I know how to use color.

All this technique,# I had training become I don't think anymore.

It's just there 'cause it is important for me to not to# think about the technique, but when you need it, it come out.

The inspiration of the light, the# water, the air, we can't see them because we can't see air.

We need it.

Water, we can't hold until# you freeze in container.

But water is a flow, but it's very important.

And all this nature of# light, without light, we have no color.

We can't see anything.

So all this kind of things start to# inspire me to think every day we have a pattern, but every day is different.

So, I just look every# day.

I look sky.

Oh, sky, the cloud.

So a lot of shapes that come out is the creatures is from# the cloud; the cloud is morphing.

So watch as they start to move and moves different shapes.

I# think that's beautiful.

This is my library, visual library.

This is not for show.

It just for my# notes, but if I look connected together, this one reason, some reason, maybe five years ago, this# one, 20 years ago, there are a lot of elements still shared.

A lot of times, the structure of# our mind and imaginations, it's there.

But it's how to compose; how do you interpret it?

What you# have right now, it's your personal.

This one, I remember this 2003 during the Iraq war.

This, when# I hear the bombs, you know, during the time, every day, every day, every day, I just feel that all# the birds all, stuff, pushed together.

It just, that's my failing and, but I like the movement,# the, you know, when I see the bird, they fly like, like group, like this, and it become my kind of# note.

Creativity has no time.

It is no time; it is all related.

We're to cycle like the earth going# on and turning, turning, turning.

There's end.

What is the end; can you tell?

My day is the other# place, night.

My night is other place, daytime.

So what is the true time?

All depends where you look# at, so to me , I don't have a time there.

It is kind of liberating.

So whatever works, it works.# Communicate with you today.

Should communicate with you 20 years from now.

Positive and negative# space is whole.

It's one thing.

It's not a separate thing.

So when you cut out, you leave,# you spot become negative space.

But negative space against a color, that color show us shape.

So,# you put together, it become whole.

So basically, what I think when I create those cutouts, layers# by layers, layers, you leave shadows together, the visual composite become much more interesting.

And# then, you see things that change your perspective, because when you see negative, at some point,# it become a positive.

When you see blue, you shift a little bit, become a yellow# behind.

So it's not the same anymore.

It's one all related to each other.

So basically,# see this is one line, right?

So, if I cut this one, I'm cut this area, I was thinking about the# thickness of this one.

I'm not cutting out.

I'm cutting this shapes of this one.

So basically,# this line, this thing and this thickness is all deliberately designed.

It look casual.

Look# easy but not easy 'cause took me to think a lot more to cut one area than, see, it looks very# simple , easy.

But the minute I cut it off, I have to make sure they're balanced.

They don't# drag each other.

And this hole, tiny little holes, represent a shape.

Kinda focus much more because# I have to think a lot more than one shape.

This one triangle here, I'm cutting three lines.

I'm# looking at this line.

I'm looking at this line, look at this same time because the# thing that once you cut it out, you can't put it back.

So I think very careful,# even when I spot it, I cut it right away, and if I don't do it now and maybe do other things, I# forget.

So then, once I do it, I would look back.

Sometimes I forgot to eat; I forgot to drink.# Time just flies.

And I like that part of 'cause, like, you sort of in this space.

And sometimes it# pop, you know, when I work, work all of a sudden, something just pop out.

I say, huh; I thought,# oh, I'm gonna try this one.

Not for show, not for anything, just for me to look at what that looks# like.

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