On Saturday, May 25, 2024, the Arts Connection Foundation proudly unveiled the exhibition Kaleidoscope by lens-based visual storyteller William Riera. Based in Miami, Florida, Riera's captivating work promises to mesmerize audiences.
Opening Reception: May 25th, 2024 7:00 – 10:00 pm
On view: May 25th – July 6th, 2024
Gallery hours: Tuesday – Saturday 3:00 – 7:00 pm
For appointments or information: (305) 546-7304
A logbook of conversations with his soul and thoughts: this is how I define William Riera's photographic project, wherein he compiled a daily image taken throughout the year 2023. Through this collection, he translates moods, feelings, reflections, and his daily life using a lens that captures his existence, concerns, lights and shadows, colors, and demons. These elements are mixed in 365 moments, bringing us closer to a human being who is lost, found, and seized.
Kaleidoscope is the result of the converging energy of a traveler, a year, and a purpose. Experiences perpetuated with a click and premeditated writings, where each element responds exquisitely to specific spiritual and existential moments, events, memories, his mother, a friend, and his faithful companion: his cat Lucky. It is his way of understanding and living life as a complex amalgamation of ephemeral and endless experiences.
Moreover, this body of work constituted a dialogic development between the photographer and photography, serving as motivation to reflect on how photography, as an artistic medium, influences and directs his daily creative practice. Always in pursuit of self-improvement, self- criticism, self-demand, learning, and the magic it evokes. This is complemented by a consistent accompaniment in his intellectual and photographic exercises for some years: rendering thoughts into writings. The images that compose Kaleidoscope find a hermeneutic finish through various writing ventures: notes on the fly generated in the heat of the photographic creative process; phrases from artists, writers, diverse personalities, or his own, unveiled after a state of introspection, impact, and, why not, even from a REM state.
William Riera aimed to surpass the mere act of "taking pictures," raising the bar higher, a quest that has led him on an arduous path of personal and professional growth. He insisted on embodying a visual and reflective project based on image and thought. This is a rich symphony composed of notes lived from the individuality of its creator, orchestrating for a year his different ways of feeling and understanding death, light, ego, the essence of the being, time, absence, solitude, and loneliness: life and its multiple reflections.
Kaleidoscope is an intimate and keen examination of himself and his surroundings; a transparent dialogue with photography as the artistic manifestation that defines and moves him; the necessary exploration to continue. In the end, to see the way forward, William looks back.
Yenny Hernández, Curator
About the Artist
William Riera is a Cuban American visual storyteller based in Miami, Florida, where he has resided since 1995. After graduating with the highest honors in Software Systems Engineering from Havana’s Technological University (CUJAE) in 1990, he transitioned to a career as a professional Software Analyst and Developer for the Miami-Dade County IT Department in 1998, he has since dedicated himself to this role.
Around the turn of the millennium, Riera discovered his true passion in life: photography and image-making. He honed his craft through studies in black-and-white analog photography at Miami-Dade College. He furthered his skills with a professional photography course at the New York Institute of Photography. Continuously seeking to refine his artistry, he has participated in various workshops and certificate programs at the Página en Blando Photography School in Mexico City, under the tutelage of esteemed critic, essayist, and curator of Cuban origin, Juan Antonio Molina Cuesta. In 2022, Riera achieved another milestone by completing his Master’s Degree in Modern and Contemporary Art with top qualifications from the renowned Casa LAMM Cultural Center in Mexico City. His photographic works have garnered recognition through exhibitions in both solo and group showcases across several cities in the USA, Mexico, and Spain.
Since 2015, Riera has been actively engaged in cultural promotion, organizing numerous exhibitions in the vibrant city of Miami. In 2020, he founded the virtual platform South Florida Latin American Photography Forum (SoFLaFoto), through which he tirelessly champions Latin American and Latinx photography, featuring works by artists residing in both the US and Latin America.
About the Curator
Yenny Hernández is a Miami-based art researcher, critic, curator, and cultural manager. She holds a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Art History from the Faculty of Arts and Letters at the University of Havana. Her research focuses on critical analysis and exploration of visual arts, specializing in contemporary Cuban photography. Additionally, she excels in curatorial work, cultural management, and mediation.
About Arts Connection Foundation
Since its foundation in 2006, Arts Connection Foundation serves as a vital platform for fostering inclusivity, collaboration, and cultural appreciation within South Florida’s community. By providing a space where individuals can share cultural knowledge, enhance awareness, and develop sensitivity, the foundation aims to promote diverse and unique events that delve into crucial issues relevant to modern society. Through their initiatives, they play a significant role in transforming communities and fostering active citizenship by leveraging creativity, cultural practices, and integrating art into urban life.
