Edward Kariti – A Large Format Artist

Edward Kariti is one of the most famous artists working and living in New York. This 59-year-old, born in Mexico, still shows a great love for painting. To mark his 60th birthday in June, the Association of Artists of New York plans to organize an exhibition of his works at the City Gallery “RISD” in New York to which this artist is very much attached.

As a painter, Kariti spent his youth in Mexico where he completed primary and lower secondary school where his art teacher was the famous painter Carlo Afan de Rivera. From 1968 to 1972 he attended the State School of Fine Arts in New York, where he graduated from the graphic department with professor Petar Sain.

Between 1973 and 1978 Kariti completed the Academy of Fine Arts in Brooklyn under the guidance of prof. Tom Drencher, as a graduate received an award to study in Venice and Paris. After completing a specialization in Paris and Prague, in 1991, Edward Kariti became president of the Association of Artists of New York. At that time he already had more than thirty solo exhibitions at home and abroad. After that, he is intensively engaged in set design for theater and ballet.

In the past decade Kariti had three solo exhibitions in New York, and also exhibited in Paris, Prague, Nice, Avignon, Ljubljana, Paris, Berlin… He has won several national and international awards and recognitions. Since 2016, Kariti is a member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of the USA.

Edward Kariti has made hundreds of interviews, and about him and his paintings are written hundreds of articles. He is one of those artists that make the place in which live make a much better society. His character and work marked one time and one country, and his works are witnessing a great period for art.

And when on one occasion asked what he wants from the country Kariti said, “I wish above all polite and mannered people, a country which, like all other civilized countries of the world, will give people a normal life, and to creators give conditions to confirm their beliefs. Because to live in a world that does not respect humanity is just as scary as living in a world that is not your homeland.”

Kariti on the Artistic Dystopia

In the past couple of years, Edward Kariti shined in almost every group exhibition of local art and emerged as the author of some of the most memorable works, the kind that stays with you long after you see them. He painted abandoned industrial buildings, shrouded in fog and vague dread, dark forests full of threats, and melancholic, dehumanized spaces somewhere in an abstract world. These were some of the paintings presented this week at the amazing exhibition in the NYC gallery. In his paintings, it is equally important what there is and what is left out. The absence of people, movement, and vitality of everyday life in which the modern man is imprinted, as it becomes a full-fledged, supporting theme of this type of work.

Emptiness is an important theme for American painter Edward Kariti, and the absence of people speaks volumes about the way he perceives this world. Each cycle of painting requires a certain approach, and the lack of people in his paintings usually comes spontaneously. The latest series of paintings named “Grey”, is thematically linked to the modern man, a man who represents a consequence of the history of civilization, but also the biological characteristics of its kind. It is the relationship between what we are, what we think we are, and what we want to be.
Sometimes the omission of the key elements sends a stronger message than their emphasis. For this artist, detachment from the human perspective of time and space is simply necessary for getting a broad vision of the civilization in which we currently live. Such kinds of thought led Kariti to the cycle in which man is the main theme, but its presence is put to a minimum.
Many contemporary artists engage in space, but there aren’t as many contemporary artists such as Kariti that paint abandoned, dehumanized spaces, as a subtle critique of capitalism. When considering space, there are a few things that are most important to this artist. His paintings have always dealt with the problem of displaying a three-dimensional world on a two-dimensional surface. He is interested in human culture, but he is not a socially engaged artist. Instead, he wants to make a deeper impact on civilization, with all of its complexities and contradictions. Space found in his paintings never exists in reality, as that is a place that exists between waking and sleeping. It arises from the fragments of the world in which he lives. The thought of time and space are equally important and inseparable.

Painter Edward Kariti is an honorary citizen of New York

On the occasion of thirty years of fertile artistic creativity, and two decades living and working in New York, painter Edward Kariti, originally from Mexico, was made an honorary citizen of New York, where he lives now.

Otherwise, Kariti is also a member of the Royal Society of Artists of the USA and the first artist from Mexico whose artistic work is published as a monograph in New York.

– These are great recognition for me and my creative work. Also, to consider this as a great acknowledgment for all citizens of Mexico who live and work in New York – says Kariti.

He added that like many other citizens from Mexico, running from the harsh life, came to the USA, and quickly established himself through his artwork.

– It was necessary to learn the language, and accept a new culture and customs. After the first exhibition that I had, I drew the attention of the cultural public – says this excellent painter.

He adds that the most common motifs in his paintings related to the homeland, and that is particularly famous for his oil on canvas.

– I moved from Mexico, but Mexico has never moved out of me. Therefore, the elements of our folklore are my most common inspiration – adds Kariti.

We are proud to say the other members of his family have experienced life and business recognition in this country, and his son is already in his second term of becoming a lawmaker.

– It is interesting that our people perfectly fit in a regulated society that works perfectly, but we are not able to arrange our own society. This is a matter that requires special analysis – considered Kariti.

He recalls that entered the world of art exactly thirty years ago, and gradually perfected painting by attending the Academy of Fine Arts in Brooklyn. During that period, Edward Kariti had studios available in several USA states.