Charo Oquet

CHARO OQUET (USA/Dominican Republic)

Charo Oquet, (born in Santo Domingo) is a Miami based artist. She works with installation, painting, photography and performance. Her work often reflects on issues of identity, politics, dialogue, and the role of contemporary culture in a global reality. Her work often adopts the form of group projects, and encourages formats of exchange. This intersection is best exemplified by her current project “Art of Uncertainty” which seeks to explore risk within all manners of political, economic and cultural exploration set within the economic anxieties, rising tide of global economic chaos and conclusion. The project features a series of events that take place in Miami, Dominican Republic and El Salvador at various cultural locations throughout the cities culminating in an interdisciplinary exhibition throughout these cities.

Oquet’s work is part of the permanent collection of The Frost Art Museum in Miami, The Bass Museum, Miami, The Museum of Ft. Lauderdale, New Zealand National Museum Wellington, N.Z. Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale, FL, CAAM, Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno, Las Palmas de Gran Canarias, Spain, Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt, New Zealand, Govett-Brewter Art Gallery, N. Z., Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wellington, N. Z., Museo de las Casas Reales, Dominican Republic.

Oquet’s has had numerous international solo exhibitions at museums and galleries such as the Bass Museum in Miami; Casal Solleric, Palma, Mallorca; Convento de Santo Domingo, Lanzarote Cannary Islands, Spain and has participated in prestigiously curated group exhibitions such as Art Religion and Politics (2005) curated by Jean-Huber Martin; Mami Watta, curated by Henry Drewal at the Fowler Museum at UCLA, (2008); After Columbus.com, Kunstnerne Hus, Oslo, Norway, (2003); V Biennal del Caribe’03, Museo de Arte Moderno de Santo Domingo; En Ruta PR’02, M&M Projects Puerto Rico, curated by Antonio Zaya; Centro Atlantico de Arte Moderno (CAAM) Gran Canarias, Spain; and Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, N.Z. In 1996 Oquet founded the non-profit arts organization Miami Arts Collaborative, which in 2004 assumed its current title Edge Zones. With Edge Zones, Oquet has curated numerous exhibitions and showcased Dominican and Miami artists nationally and internationally by creating year-round programs and has authored four books (Miami Now (2005), Wet (2006), Wet II (2007) and Supermix (2008)) which include the works of hundreds of Florida and internationally based artists. Oquet is also the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards incuding: Florida State Artists Fellowship Award; State of Florida Artists Enhancement Grant; South Florida Cultural Consortium 2005 Visual and Media Artists Fellowship Award; Creative Capital Grant; South Florida Cultural Artists Access Grant; New Forms Florida Grant; and QE II Arts Council of N.Z. Artist Fellowship 84, 85 and 86. In addition being reviewed by the Miami Herald, Atlantica Art Journal, African Arts, Art in America, Art Nexus and Art New Zealand, Oquet has been included in many publications including but not limited to New Hoodoo Art of a Forgotten Faith (2008); Files by Octavio Zaya; Miami Contemporary Artists; New Zealand's National Museum Te Papa Calendar (2009); Dominican Contemporary Artists, Supermix and a book dedicated to her work that was published by Antonio Zaya in 2002.