The Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill presents “Tony Bechara: An Artist of Many Worlds,” the first institutional survey of the Puerto Rican artist’s work and career, on display June 27 through November 1. Over the course of six decades, Bechara charted new modes of abstraction informed by a broad range of art-historical canons, adopting an expansive, intersectional approach to artmaking.
“’Tony Bechara: An Artist of Many Worlds’ feels poignant as the Parrish both celebrates the 250th anniversary of the United States and also provides due recognition to Bechara’s artistic legacy. Bechara’s work is a synthesis of art historical traditions, global influences, and an abstract language spanning time and space. Beyond his career as an artist, he was also a remarkable arts advocate and leader. Bechara was an outspoken, graceful, and elegant advocate for Latinos, Latinas, Latinx, and Latin American artists and an extremely powerful institutional voice. We are proud to welcome his work back to the East End where he spent many evenings surrounded by artist, museum professional, and collector friends,” said Dr. Mónica Ramírez-Montagut, Executive Director of the Parrish Art Museum.
“Bechara’s impact extended far beyond his work through his roles at organizations like El Museo del Barrio, Studio in a School, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music—his advocacy for creativity and artist inclusion paralleled his own artistic pursuits. Bechara found inspiration in his many studies and travels around the globe—drawing his vibrant palette from a richly lived life. His work reminds us how it is possible to find harmony and community amongst a diverse array of ideas and perspectives,” said Kaitlin Halloran, Associate Curator and Publications Manager.
Working across mediums, including painting, sculpture, and prints, “An Artist of Many Worlds” examines and illustrates Bechara’s development and commitment to his innovative visual language. His vernacular, primarily utilizing the grid, recalls everything from twentieth-century modernism to Islamic decorative arts to the mosaics of Byzantine antiquity. Despite their carefully rendered appearances, Bechara’s approach was extremely analog. His method centered on a four-step process of meticulously covering the canvas with masking tape in a grid format, eventually painting thousands of boxes or “pixels” into oscillating compositions. Through the structure of the grid, Bechara found endless ways to explore color and form.