Middle Eastern Women Unveiled in Walgreens’ Window

MIAMI BEACH, FL.- Cecilia Moreno-Yaghoubi unveils a new side of her work at Walgreens Windows, an opportunity made possible by ArtCenter/South Florida. Known for her signature use of found objects in creating eerie, yet poignant assemblages, Yaghoubi shares a series of mixed media paintings that exude an unexpected calm. Representations of Middle-Eastern women set in deep purples, blues and golds hang today in the storefront of the Collins Avenue at 67th Street location in Miami Beach. This context is both appropriate and ironic, as Yaghoubi’s friendly women in hijabs are set to reach thousands of passersby through the facades of Walgreens, America’s quintessential drugstore.

Installation view at Walgreens.

“As a Colombian-born artist married to an Iranian man during divisive times, I know firsthand the beauty of various cultures and how ignorance can threaten the wondrous possibility of acceptance,” said Yaghoubi. “My work exhibited at Walgreens’ Windows indicates a departure from separating socially-conscious art from mainstream public venues, especially in a neighborhood that is so racially diverse.”

Through a partnership with ArtCenter/South Florida, Walgreens features emerging artists on a rotating basis. This collaboration aids ArtCenter’s mission to promote arts appreciation in an accessible forum, its artists-in-residence, emerging artists and arts education. Yaghoubi’s work is on view through April 17, 2010 at Windows at Walgreens (6700 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach).

Cecilia Moreno-Yaghoubi
Born in Colombia and based in New York, Moreno-Yaghoubi studied at the Art Students League, the National Academy of Fine Arts and the Silvermine Arts Center, NY. She has exhibited throughout New York and Connecticut including Origenes Latinos/Latin Roots gallery, The Cork Gallery at Lincoln Center, Taller Boricua Gallery and the National Academy of Art Museum; and in Miami at Opera Gallery with master artists Botero, Wilfredo Lam, Roberto Matta and Antonio Segui. Inspired by artists Joseph Cornell and Robert Rauschenberg, Moreno-Yaghoubi finds poetry in everyday items and powerful messages in forgotten and discarded objects. She currently divides her time between her East Harlem studio in New York and her apartment in Miami, Florida. For more information please visit www.ceciliamyart.com.

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