Hialeah Gardens High School

Hialeah Gardens Artist Statement

Preserving history is important. As we discussed what to do with our Marine Stadium Chair we decided to keep it as a chair because it will serve two purposes. It will tell a story of history through the images painted on it while keeping its main purpose as seating.

We are 4 students in AP Studio at Hialeah Gardens High School. We each chose a section of the chair to paint. The front panel of the back of the chair was painted by Helen Suarez currently a junior. Helen chose to express her style by incorporating a woman’s face contemplating the beauty of our Miami and reflecting an abstract view of the Marine Stadium in the background. Gabriela Barillas another Junior chose to paint the back part of the back panel of the chair. She chose to take a more abstract approach to her painting. Gabriela’s painting expresses a deconstructive look at the different shapes of the Marine Stadium’s structure. Melanie Mederos, also a junior, painted the underside of the chair’s seat. She chose to paint her vision of the beauty of the Marine stadium’s future as it is seen from the water. Lastly, Alison Montoya, a senior chose to paint the top part of the seat. She decided to represent events and activities that happened at the stadium in the past as well as what will hopefully happen again in the future. Among her representations she shows; boat racing, jet skiing, sailing, music and paddle boarding.

The chair was taken apart for the purposes of preparing it for painting. Once the paintings were complete the chair was put back together and is again a fully functional chair to be enjoyed for many years to come.