CUBAN ART OF THE 1980's. Selection from the Reynardus Collection

This exhibition presents a selection of works from one of the most comprehensive private collections of contemporary Cuban art in the United States. Focusing on the artwork by Cuban artists who left Cuba after 1989, it represents a generation that changed the Island’s culture through its aesthetic practices.

The Cuban Revolution (1959) brought many political, economic, and social changes to the Island. It also brought transformations in the cultural arena, including the creation of a free art education system. From an aesthetic perspective, the new government did not impose a specific style, but the arts, as every other aspect of society, were expected to serve the revolutionary ideals. A closed system of censorship was put in place to enforce them.

By the time the first generation born in raised under the Revolution had attended higher education institutions, a series of exceptional conditions had allowed its members to develop what art critic and curator Luis Camnitzer denominated the “new art from Cuba.” These artists began practicing at a time of relative economic and political stability. Individuals running governmental institutions supported them, organized events such as the Havana Biennial, and promoted their participation in international exhibitions. Individually and collectively, they sought to make a new kind of art inspired by international artistic movements and their personal experiences such as Afro-Cuban culture and the vernacular. For a while, they succeeded in promoting their aesthetic quests while remaining faithful to the political left. Eventually, many assumed a more critical position towards social, economic, and political issues, pushing the limits and suffering consequences such as losing financial support and even imprisonment.

The fall of the Soviet Union brought a new period of censorship, economic limitations, and a lack of opportunities. Hundreds of artists left the Island, causing an exodus comparable to what occurred when intellectuals left Europe during the Second World War. Although many Cuban artists first traveled to countries like Mexico, Spain, Venezuela, or Colombia, most of them ended settling in the United States.

The majority of the works in the exhibition belong to artists who gained recognition at a young age and were instrumental in developing Cuban art in the 1980s. Their stories, styles, and experiences are all different, but they share a common bond: they chose to live in exile.

Francine Birbragher-Rozencwaig, PhD

Curator

ARTISTS

Gustavo Acosta,Book of Hours Number IV, 2001,Acrylic on canvas - 23" x 69"

Julio AntonioManipulator, 1994, Mixed media on canvas - 49 1/2" x 59 1/2"

Nestor Arenas, Airplane Crash, 2007, Photo Injet print on somerset velvet paper - 90" x 24"

Juan Pablo Ballester, Enlloc Series, 2005-2011, Digital print Dimensions

José Bedia, Vititi Mensu, 2006, Acrylic, charcoal on canvas - 52" x 98"

Adriano Buergo, Untitled, 2008 Mixed Media on canvas - 30" x 30"

María Magdalena Campos Pons Untitled, 2010 Mixed media digital prints, diptych, 33" x 24" (each panel)

Carlos Rodríguez Cárdenas, Triptych,1998,Acrylic on canvas and pencil, triptych - 50" x 55" (each panel)

Consuelo Castañeda, To Be Bilingual Lesson 2. Verbs Dream and Die, 2010, Digital printing on canvas, diptych 40" x 48" (each panel)

Willy Castellanos Simons, La caida VI, 1994, Edition 3 of 5, archival paper. Scanned from the 35mm original negative - 18" x 24"

Humberto CastroTreachery and Innocence, 1998 Oil on canvas - 59" x 79"

Arturo Cuenca Linaje Forming Light, 2003 Mixed media on canvas - 70" x 34"

Ana Albertina Delgado,The Round of Pleasure, 1992, Oil on canvas - 39" x 31"

Antonia Eiríz, Untitled Mixed media on paper, 29" x 23"

Tomás Essón, Untitled, 1992, Oil on canvas - 35" x 30"

Ivonne Ferrer, Illusions and Shipwrecks, 2010, Mixed Media on canvas - 31" x 31"

Antonio Eligio Fernández, (Tonel) Still Not Flying, 2006, Paper, guache, ink - 24" x 18"

José (Pepe) Franco, Be Careful with that Ax, 2009, Acrylic on canvas - 29 1/2" diameter

Mario García, Joya (Mayito) Caibarien, 1982, Vintage photograph, 11" x 14"

Flavio Garciandía, Untitled, 1993, Oil on canvas - 50" x 37"

Juan-Si González ABC, 2010, Edition 1 of 5. Bulit for a photo with ants, honey and poison, triptych - 12" x 36" (each)

Israel León Viera, Rice With Mango Series, 1999 Acrylic on canvas - 28" x 39"

Rogelio López Marín (Gory), Tomorrow Never Knows, 1995, Oil on canvas - 37" x 54"

Carlos Luna, The Enemy Hand, 2007, Gouache and charcoal on amate paper - 39" x 31"

Aldo Menéndez, The House Cuba, 2008, Mixed media on canvas - 40" x 30"

Aldo Damián Menéndez, Any Position You Will Take Will Leave a Trace in Your Consciousness, 2000, Mixed media on canvas 20" x 41"

Glexis Novoa, Untitled, 1994, Acrylic on canvas - 47" x 39"

Marta María Pérez Waterfall Series, 1984, Photo on paper - 20" x 29"

Segundo Planes, Untitled, 1999-2000, Oil on canvas - 26" x 36"

Ciro Quintana, El pecado concebido del arte cubano, 2010, Oil on canvas - 370" x 52"

Leandro Soto,The Chair of Oggún, 2001, Acrylic on canvas - 56" x 56"

Rubén Torres Llorca, Every Day, 2002, Mixed media on canvas (triptych) 24" x 72"

Ileana Villazón Ars, 2008, Oil collage, objects, wood - 13" x 10, 9" x 5", 7" x 6.5", 9" x 8.5", 7" x 6.5", and 9" x 7"

Pedro Vizcaíno Ganguero (Gang Man), 2010, Oil on canvas - 68" x 89"

COMING SOON