The Painting Center is pleased to present the dual exhibition of Jo Ann Rothschild and Rigoberto Mena, “Old Friends”, in the Main Gallery. This exhibition captures the improbable closeness of two painters, separated by national politics, joined by values, styles and ways of working.

The Painting Center is pleased to present the dual exhibition of Jo Ann Rothschild and Rigoberto Mena, “Old Friends”, in the Main Gallery. This exhibition captures the improbable closeness of two painters, separated by national politics, joined by values, styles and ways of working. When Rigoberto Mena and Jo Ann Rothschild met in 2000, the abstract painting they both made and loved was unfashionable and each seemed to be alone, working against the tide. When they saw one another's work It was clear that despite coming from different climates, countries, and political systems, they shared visual understanding; an improvisatory way of working, a love of texture and mark, a history of graphic work that informs their painting, and loyalty to the non narrative quality of abstraction. Each found a friend and a colleague. This exhibition is about the importance of that friendship. Rothschild and Mena showed work together 3 times in Cuba between 2000 and 2003: in a small studio setting in conjunction with the Biennale, prints at the Havana Experimental Graphic work shop in Havana, and paintings and drawings at the Oriente Gallery in Santiago de Cuba. They made prints together in both Havana and in Boston. Unfortunately, Rothschild could not obtain government permission to attend Mena's exhibition at the National Museum in Havana in 2011. They exhibited work at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Kendall in 2023. Now that both artists live in the States, they relish the opportunity to work together again. Rigoberto Mena has exhibited work all over the world including China, Germany, Cuba, England, Switzerland, Mexico and many cities in the United States. His work is in the collection of The National Museum of Art in Havana Cuba, The Museum of Contemporary Art of the Americas, Kendall, and numerous public and private collections. He works in Havana and North Carolina.