BERNARDO MEDINA COLON

Bernardo Medina's development as an artist has been a long process of study and experimentation in medium, style and technique. Ten years ago this experimentation led him to create pieces with mixed media; he instantly recognized that he had found his calling. His work has always been an expression of love as many of his earlier works were given as presents to close friends and relatives who, in turn, were very frequently his inspiring muses. The ability to integrate objects found on his journeys to create beautiful strong colored abstract pieces caught the attention of a Puerto Rican based art dealer and connoisseur, who gave him the opportunity to exhibit his art in her gallery upon recognizing his innate artistic fervor.

Bernardo debuted at a collective charitable exhibition in 2006 with his first series titled Fly Hi. Fly Hi consisted of renditions of airplanes in various shapes and sizes while establishing his trademark of utilizing color accents and vintage advertisements in order to convey his message.

In April 2008, Azar (Chance) became his first solo show, highlighting in this series the element of coincidence in all kinds of human relationships, from coworkers, to friends, and family. Hearts of different shapes and colors where the main theme of this exhibition.

The year 2009 represents for Bernardo the beginning of the internationalization of his works. He will show his most recent collection titled Fly Away in Miami, Florida; his first show outside of Puerto Rico.

MIKE TESCH

Artist and Advertising Legend

Mike Tesch has spent most of his lifetime creating ads that have become part of vernacular America. He was instrumental in putting Federal Express on the map with an award winning first ever television campaign. “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight”.

He has won over 500 awards including The Clios, The One show, The Andy’s, Art Director Awards, Cannes film festival and many more.
For his efforts in bringing FedEx to the American Public along with the Dunkin Donuts Campaign “Time to make the donuts” and Tonka toys (an elephant stepped on it) he was voted to Adweeks all-American creative team.
He was voted one of America’s most outstanding creative people (a nation wide vote conducted by AD/DAYUSA) His award winning campaigns for Federal Express were selected for inclusion by the Smithsonian Institute and can be seen at the Center of Advertising History.
He is an inductee to the Art Directors Club hall of fame…as well as the heralded One Club Creative hall of fame…only 38 people in all of advertising have ever achieved this accolade, including David Ogilvy and Bill Bernbach.

Mike attended Cooper Union art school in N.Y. as well as Pratt Institute. He taught at Pratt, lectured at the University of Delaware, School of Visual Arts and Miami Ad School, he was elected to the Board of Directors of America the Beautiful Fund Washington D.C, a fund set up to preserve the landmarks and environments all across America.

He is in the process of illustrating a children’s book called “Are you Harry, Barry or Larry?

He is a passionate perfectionist and is the sort of guy who seldom takes no for an answer

Mike sneers at mere decoration.

He believes art, all art not just his, should contain a point of view that reveals something about the artist and open a window for a new kind of comprehension by its viewers.

He professes to the theory…WHEN IN DOUBT…RISK IT.

CARLOS HOYOS

Carlos Hoyos is a modern day renaissance man who has succeeded in utilizing his creative and artistic side as well as his highly methodical, technically adroit side by staying focused and true to his passions, photography and aerospace.

The result is a marvelous incorporation of artistic skill and innovation as seen through his unique brand of photography that has aerospace as a common thread. In his burgeoning collections (“Cartagena, A Panoramic Aerial Vision”, “Botero Sculptures”,and “Convair 990”), Hoyos’ sharp eye, impeccable sense of light and framing, and excellent taste is clearly reflected.

Whether he uses aerospace technology to capture distinct images or showcases aircraft as his subject, Hoyos’ is quickly gaining recognition from collectors and critics as a groundbreaking photographer.

FER SUCRE

Born in Caracas, Venezuela in 1957, Fernando Sucre was raised on a steady diet of 1960’s American television (Astroboy, Jonny Quest and The Jetsons dubbed in Spanish) while being exposed to space age design and technology by his father, the national government’s chief engineer. Somewhere along the way, his father’s bridges and highways and those wacky futuristic cartoons produced a lasting impression on this young and creative mind. Though gifted from an early age with drawing and painting skills, Sucre listened to his parents’ sense of reason and decided to pursue a career in aeronautical engineering. Sucre attended college in the United States at the Spartan School of Aeronautics in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida. After working several years in the aerospace field as an engineer and licensed mechanic at companies like Arrow Air and Eastern Airlines, Sucre began to realize that his true calling might not lie in fixing aircraft. Acting on his natural artistic inclinations, he decided to explore the world of painting and enrolled in a fine arts school in Caracas. While exploring imagery that captivated his mind’s eye, Sucre became aware that he had somehow fallen under the spell of the American Pop culture. Blending his engineer’s perspective with his artistic fascination for everything “pop”, Sucre began to paint in a style that echoed the American pop art masters Warhol and Lichtenstein while at the same time incorporating something uniquely Latino into his work. His one man show “POP AIR” at the InterFlight Studio Gallery in the Wynwood Art District offers a colorful blending of Sucre’s life experiences. He painted a whole hangar-full of fabulous pop airplanes. From early aerospace and vintage aircraft to World War II bombers to modern fighters, commercial carriers and Lear jets, it’s obvious that Sucre still loves airplanes. But these aren’t just any old airplanes… these aircraft are flying through the crazy POP world of “Sucrevision”; hot pink Concordes, purple 747’s and lemon yellow Cessna’s. This is obviously an artist in his element. It’s fun, it’s POP, it’s Fernando Sucre and its worth a look!

HERVE ALEXANDRE

Hervé Alexandre Born in Rouen, France, Hervé Alexandre excelled in the arts from a young age, however it was not until he focused his studies on portraiture and painting at Toulouse, France, and over to Ottowa, Canada from 1981 to 1984 that he truly refined his skill and style. Alexandre prefers to create realistic works in irrealistic media and colors. His material use range from pastel, charcoal, acrylic, oil, and pen on board or canvas and incorporate collages as well. Hervé Alexandre’s portraiture depicts various subjects, largely drawn from his travels, or in the case of the aerospace Collection, his occupation, working for Air France. Alexandre has dedicated collections to Mongolia, China, Latin America, and Africa and some of the aerospace Portraits are in the permanent collection of the Sao Paolo aerospace Museum in Brazil. Alexandre has been creating aerospace inspired pieces since 2006 and we are pleased to present them to you at InterFlight Studio Gallery and at Out of the Blue Café located at 2426 NE 2nd Ave (just blocks away from the gallery).

ERIK LINDBERGH

Erik R. Lindbergh Erik Lindbergh is the grandson of Charles and Anne Lindbergh, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Lindbergh Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering his grandparents’ vision of balancing technological advances with environmental preservation. Mr. Lindbergh also serves on the board of trustees of the X PRIZE Foundation, works in public relations for Columbia Aircraft Manufacturing, and is a founding board member of the aerospace High School in Seattle. Armed with a degree in Aeronautical Science and an inherited sense of adventure, in 2002 Erik retraced his grandfather’s solo flight from New York to Paris in a small single engine aircraft. This epic personal journey documented by the History Channel, raised over one million dollars for three charities, garnered half a billion media impressions for the XPRIZE Foundation and prompted a call from President Bush for inspiring the country after the tragedy of September 11th. His unique sculpture and furniture designs have been featured in People Magazine, Sculptural Pursuit, the History Channel, NASA, and a national advertising campaign for Amgen. Seven of his rocket ships were the first bronze sculptures ever to fly into space! A wonderful storyteller, Erik is a professional speaker with clients such as: The Mayo Clinic, Intel, Young Presidents Organization, Ace Hardware, The Arthritis Foundation, Microsoft, National Air and Space Museum, and The Explorers Club. Artist Statement “Some people see things in clouds - I see things in wood. In the beginning I saw furniture, untamed and whimsical, and yet refined. As this wildwood journey progressed, I saw Martian smoke trails blasting out of rustic rocket ships. My challenge lies in teasing the vision out of the wood. Sometimes it is easy and takes a few days or weeks. Other times it is difficult and takes years to complete a piece. I think the most difficult challenge of this work is to allow the wood to speak for itself. How does one open one’s eyes to see the depths of what happens in nature? As I contemplate my own tentative relationship with the earth, I find myself identifying with gnarled trees; our twisted trunks, knots and burls are a visible testament to the struggles we have lived through, and the more "character" we develop, the more interesting we become. Perhaps this kinship is what lights the creative fire in my belly and draws me into this wildwood world. Whether it’s an original in wood or a casting out of bronze, you can be sure that it tickled my fancy or touched my soul along the way.” -Erik R. Lindbergh

PETER VALENTINO

About Peter Valentino

Peter Valentino is a fine artist and designer with 35 years of experience. American born, self-taught at a very early age, with a remarkable ability to work with metal, wood, and glass, he has created a majestic portfolio of work turning aerospace materials, objects, artifacts and composing sculptures and installations that become spectacular works of art.

Mr. Valentino's pieces for Flight Studio are inspired by his passion for aviation, aerospace and theme of flight. His fascination for flight and airplanes began when he was 15, or even a younger age. His first piece, an inspired yet elegant intricately detailed aircraft, created completely of wire, was completed when he was only 16. The seed of fine art and fine sculptural functional design was planted. At 19 years old, art and flight merged and Peter became a pilot. He received his pilot's license and it was at this point in time that the intersection of his love of flight and his artistic talents were fused formally in an equation that has lasted a lifetime and promises to be latent in his work for decades and even generations to come. Mr. Valentino has since created aerospace works growing in importance and with museum and archival quality. Flight Studio curators have spoken highly about his masterful replicas of aviation-themed pieces as collectible artifacts, appreciating contemporary works d'art, elegant gifts and inspiring illustrations of what is possible when flight meets art and design at its finest.

Peter's imagination as his guiding light has connected with collectors, investors and galleries worldwide. Over time, carefully selected airplane parts, acquired through an inspired and flight enlightened process, oftentimes reflecting on his extensive flight relationship as a pilot, as the critical raw materials by which to create the final master pieces.

Imagination, possibility and timelessness emanate from Peter's sculpture, wall art, furniture, displays, and other luxury accessories. Bespoke design have successfully exceeded client and collectors' expectations as Peter blends the client's inspiration and desires with his unique and masterful translation into works of fine art and design.

Aerospace Functional Art at its Finest

Peter Valentino custom-builds and sells a very limited number of one-of-a-kind aviation-themed bars, designed to appeal to most discriminating collector's, investors and high net worth individuals who want to pursue their passions, interest in the theme of flight and express their originality while still demanding the highest quality and exacting standards in workmanship and materials.

With almost 30 years experience in fabricating distinctive, handcrafted flight themed projects encompassing a wide variety of aerospace materials. Peter's specialized themes, assembled with aircraft components, painstakingly restored, and incorporating them into unique composition, furniture and lighting designs.

His aerospace design creations, in the form of a humidor, are truly one-of-a-kind and reflect the skill and expertise of fine craftsmen applying their full potential.

Each bar sculptural masterpiece takes months from inception through completion – requiring more than 1,000 hours of extensive restoration in addition to hundreds of hours under machinery. 

For further contact, please call Oscar and Yvette Garcia +1-305-400-6789/6749 
fineaerospacedesign@interflightstudio.com