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Three generations of FIU artists bring 'Migrating Clotheslines' exhibit to life
'Migrating Clotheslines' by alumna Maria Lino

Three generations of FIU artists bring 'Migrating Clotheslines' exhibit to life

March 2, 2021 at 11:45am


Maria Lino MFA ‘08 holds the memory of her grandmother hanging laundry on clotheslines in her Hialeah backyard close to her heart. So much in fact, that the image inspired her exhibition “Migrating Clotheslines,” shown recently at Broward College's Rosemary Duffy Larson Gallery.

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Artist Maria Lino, photographed by Pedro Wazzan

 

“Migrating Clotheslines” examines the notion of global migration – a concept Lino visits frequently in her art. Through it, she sheds light on the plight of immigrants and invites viewers to examine their own migration stories.

“Migrating Clotheslines” has taken her most of her life to create, Lino says.

During the gallery’s yearly call for proposals, Lino submitted her work. A former and current FIU Art + Art History student – Angel Clyman MFA '08 and Aven Schnitzius – are among the gallery team bringing Lino’s exhibition to life.

The exhibition was a site-specific installation that combined new media with traditional processes like drawing, painting and printmaking. It was composed of clotheslines of woven, hand-embroidered and hand-printed textiles forming passageways that included two-sided images and texts based on Lino’s research.

The clotheslines led to and interacted with the works-on-paper and videos; the two-dimensional works hung on the gallery walls, and the videos were shown on monitors.

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Clyman, director of the Rosemary Duffy Larson Gallery, led the installation with the help of her two gallery assistants, Schnitzius and Antonio Smith.

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Angel Clyman

 

“Maria and I graduated together with our MFAs in 2008, but this was our first time working together on an exhibition,” Clyman says. “Our shared experiences in grad school together gave us an unspoken bond and we easily exchanged ideas. Although we reminisced about our time at FIU, this time – outside of the pressures and concerns of pursuing a degree – we found ourselves opening up about our personal histories and artistic thoughts in a way we never did while studying together.”

Despite Lino, Clyman and Schnitzius all pursuing the same degree at FIU, the three have had vastly different experiences within the program.

Clyman was one of the youngest MFA candidates, in her year, while Lino was one of the oldest. Schnitzius began their first semester at FIU as a transfer student during the pandemic, with classes completely virtual – a stark contrast from the school Lino and Clyman remember.

“Despite our different experiences at FIU, we still bonded over what was similar,” Schnitzius says. “For example, we all know Professor Jacek Kolasinski and at the time I was taking his research and development class. Maria told me some great stories from when she was his teacher’s assistant. It really helped me settle in despite not being able to go to campus or be in a classroom environment.”

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“Migrating Clotheslines” was on display at the Rosemary Duffy Larson Gallery last September, but due to the pandemic, Lino, Clyman and her team shared videos and images of “Migrating Clotheslines” virtually to make the exhibit safe and accessible for all.

“I truly hoped viewers were able to see the beauty in the art and that while navigating the different passageways, they participated in the journeys of migrants, either by remembering their own migration or that of their ancestors,” Lino says.

View “Migrating Clotheslines” virtually.

“Migrating Clotheslines” examines the notion of global migration – a concept Lino visits frequently in her art. Through it, she sheds light on the plight of immigrants and invites viewers to examine their own migration stories.