November 2, 2021 (MIAMI) – Oolite Arts is launching its first artist monograph, “Tropical Burn,” a collection of works through the years by Miami-based artist Gonzalo Fuenmayor. The book features an essay by Tobias Ostrander, who is the former Chief Curator and Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs at the Pérez Art Museum Miami, and a Q & A between Oolite Arts CEO Dennis Scholl and the award-winning artist.

To kick off the new book, Oolite Arts will present a conversation between Fuenmayor and Scholl at the Miami Book Fair at 1 p.m. EST on Sunday, Nov. 21. Book Fair attendees are invited to listen to the talk, which will be held in Building 8, Room 8106 at Miami-Dade College.

“A monograph is one of the most important things that an artist can have to showcase their work beyond an exhibition. Oolite Arts is launching this publishing imprint as another way to support Miami artists,” said Scholl. “Gonzalo’s work is magical. Tropical Burn will show up in many museum bookstores across the country, as it is being co-published by DelMonico Books and available through D. A. P. / Distributed Art Publishers.”

His black and white large-scale charcoal drawings are “an attempt to drain the cultural expectations of color while exploring transnational identities and cultural hybridity.”

The artist has methodically archived all of his work – almost as if in preparation for this moment, to create a book. “I’m grateful and thankful for this opportunity. This process has made me see my work under a different lens and see how it has shifted and matured over time,” said Fuenmayor. “It has been a magical experience to have a book created that chronologically tells a story of my art practice.”

Fuenmayor received an MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in 2004, and a BFA in fine arts and art education from the School of Visual Arts in New York City in 2000, where he was awarded a full tuition scholarship from the Keith Haring Foundation. Fuenmayor has received numerous awards including The Ellies 2018 from Oolite Arts, a 2015 South Florida Cultural Consortium Fellowship for visual and media artists, Traveling Fellowship from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 2014, first prize at the Sixth Bidimensional Salon at Gilberto Alzate Avendano Foundation in Bogota, Colombia, 2013, and a Silas Rhodes Family Award in 2000, among others.

He is part of Oolite Arts’ studio residency program and has exhibited in numerous solo and group shows in the U.S., Latin America and Europe. His work was showcased in The Florida Prize 2018 – Orlando Museum of Art; a solo exhibition “Tropical Mythologies” at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 2015; “Caribbean Crossroads” Exhibition at the Queens Museum, N.Y.; and solo shows at Miami’s Dot Fiftyone Gallery in 2018 and Dolby Chadwick Gallery in San Francisco in 2016, and Galeria El Museo, Bogota in 2020. He currently lives and works in Miami and is represented by Dot Fiftyone Gallery – Miami, Dolby Chadwick Gallery – San Francisco and El Museo Gallery – Bogota, Colombia.

Oolite Arts is working on a second book with acclaimed artist Yanira Collado. An Oolite Arts Ellies winner and artist-in-residence, Collado’s work has been featured at the Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum in Miami, the Cindy Rucker Gallery in New York City, and The Franklin in Chicago, among other esteemed institutions.

About Oolite Arts
Oolite Arts helps Miami-based artists advance their careers and inspires the cultural community to engage with their work. Established in 1984, Oolite Arts is both a community and a resource, providing visual artists with the studio space, exhibition opportunities and financial support they need to experiment, grow and enrich the city. Through its educational programming, Oolite Arts helps Miamians learn about contemporary art and develop their own artistic skills.

Exhibitions and programs at Oolite Arts are made possible with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council; the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; the Miami Beach Mayor and City Commissioners; the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Funding Arts Network, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. For more information, visit oolitearts.org. Follow @oolitearts on social media.