Frost Art Museum presents Nela Ochoa works

“Genetic Portraits” will be on view at UP from April 17-Sept. 6. Ochoa and three College of Medicine faculty members will participate in a panel discussion on April 22 as part of the museum’s Target Wednesday After Hours program.

The Frost Art Museum at FIU will present Nela Ochoa’s “Genetic Portraits,” an exhibit featuring works by the Venezuelan artist opening on Friday, April 17, at University Park.

“Genetic Portraits” will feature key pieces from Ochoa’s oeuvre, including “Materia Gris Incompleta” (a.k.a. “Gray Matter Incomplete,” pictured here). The exhibit will be on view through Sept. 6.

Ochoa, a prolific and internationally recognized multimedia artist, works simultaneously and seamlessly in the areas of video art, sculpture and performance to explore the genetic codes of human bodies. Her interest in the human body has led her to work with medical images such as X-rays and MRIs, integrating them into videos, paintings and installations. Her most recent work has led her further into the body, where she explores the mysteries of DNA.

“The Frost is a wonderful venue in which to bring art, science, medicine and research together in a multidisciplinary forum and spark intellectual discourse,” said Carol Damian, the museum’s director and chief curator.

The artist and three College of Medicine faculty members – doctors Joe Leigh Simpson, Kalai Mathee and Rene Herrera – will participate on a panel discussion on the topic of DNA and art. This event will be presented as part of the museum’s monthly Target Wednesday After Hours program on April 22 at 7 p.m.

The Frost also will be celebrating the opening of the BFA Spring 2009 exhibit on April 22.

More than 10,000 people have visited the museum since opening its new state-of-the-art building at University Park last fall. Admission to the Frost is always free.