Global artist Alberto Rey hosted a virtual talk on Tuesday, March 30. Rey discussed his current work on an upcoming exhibition “Biological Regionalism: Oswego River and Lake Ontario,” which is coming to SUNY Oswego in Spring 2022. 

Rey was born in Havana, Cuba, and has worked on projects from upstate New York all the way to Nepal. Rey’s skills extend beyond being an artist, he is also a professor at SUNY Fredonia and values his work as a teacher. 

Rey also writes books about the ecological areas he examines and makes these books accessible through free PDFs on his website. Rey said he wants others to be able to access his books so that he can reach more people than just soley the ones who come to his exhibitions. 

“A website and a book provide more longevity and long term effects and that would never occur with an exhibition,” Rey said. 

“Biological Regionalism: Oswego River and Lake Ontario” is an exploration and investigation of the history and the present condition of both the Oswego River and Lake Ontario. The exhibition is expected to include a series of large paintings, water samples and its related data, ecological research, large maps, video projections and an illustrated catalog. 

The goal of this project is to combine science, art and community interaction to create conservations pertaining to cultural, social, economic, technological and geopolitical issues related to local bodies of freshwater. 

Through interaction, engagement and dialogue, Rey ultimately aims to increase awareness and pride of the unique natural resources that are integral to the livelihood of the Oswego region.

The “Biological Regionalism: Oswego River and Lake Ontario” exhibition is still in its early stages and Rey said he is open to anything. He is still in the research phase of the project, which he said he does extensively. Rey described this step as him absorbing as much information as possible and then envisioning what that will look like when he displays it. 

The next step for Rey wil be to document each site and then go back to the studio to begin painting. Lastly will come the installation in time for the opening of the exhibition next year. 

Rey hopes that his exhibition will be interesting enough that it reaches as many different people as possible. 

“I use art as a way to access people,” Rey said. “Hopefully the art is intellectually interesting enough that people will want to know more.”

Photo from Flickr