Cuba Up Close: Join us in February! 'Cuba Natural 'details below.
Cuba Up Close: Join us in February! 'Cuba Natural 'details below.
My paintings fall within the realms of abstract and figuration. Their appearance depends on the idea I wish to convey. I attribute my figuration to the comic aesthetic, which itself is quite diverse. My engagement with this approach is not merely formal; rather, I use it to lighten the seriousness of contraband concepts, often connected to strong themes such as politics or death.
In my early career, I found writings on how to control or guide interpretation to be useful, and even as an important formal or compositional element.
The images in this section are part of a series that show my wife and I watching TV. The first sequence was from the day that relations between Cuba and the United States were re-established. I made the pencil drawings on canvas a few days later, thereby alluding to the delicate and ephemeral nature of the event. Each drawing measures 20 x 26 cm. (7.8 x 10.2 in.)
The other sequence is about the death of an important character that is revealed at the End (el Fin) of a film. The word is concise, contrasting, heavy, and real. The light from the movie screen softly bathes the faces of the viewers, changing them into ghosts. Virtual becomes more real than reality. These oil paintings measure 40 x 40 cm (15.8 x 15.8 in.)
Abstract art in Cuba has had a difficult tradition; the power structures are suspicious of it. Two basic genres exist: one is geometrical and the other is informal or gesture drawings. It is well known that these terms can be confusing but this is typical.
These two genres form a palimpsest in my work. Penned geometric forms are the base upon which successive forms of fluid and thick paint and new forms emerge. Conceptually, the works are an artistic translation of philosophical sensations.
All of these paintings share a common, basic title: “Ahí” or “There it is!’, drawn from German existentialism. For German philosophers the concept of “Be there” could not be translated from the original German and its explanation would require several pages of elaboration. For we Cubans, though, “ahi” or “There it is!’ is so current, polysemic, simple or as empty as a few words.
The titles are differentiated by a second title listed in parentheses or by numbers.
These works can be shown or viewed as landscapes seen from above, or as territories or scenes in which controlled or planned zones coexist, or others where randomness prevails. They conceptually represent the acceptance of reality made up of things that I can change and of things that surpass me (mostly).
The five pieces of art are acrylic on canvas and measure on the order of 100 x 150 cm. (collaborator, Ella Cisneros-Cifo), 35 x 90, 73 x 75, 90 x 149, and 99 x 149 (cms.)
All of his works are for sale. Prices are shown here as well. Miller off Main in Blacksburg also has several of his works.
Acrylic on canvas displays the eternal struggle between chaos and order.
Approximately 34 " by 88"
$600
Arcylic on canvas.
Uncertainty as a recurring theme in everyday life.
Approximately 74: by 93"
$600
Acrylic on canvas.
The dilemma of selling one's soul to the devil, or not. Based on a song by blues singer Robert Johnson .
Approximately 94" by 40".
$600
Acrylic on canvas.
A visual translation of the sadness of a blind musician.
Approximately 95" x 160"
$900
Acrylic on canvas.
The blind search for God.
Approximately 118" by 39"
$600
Acrylic on canvas.
The anguish of not understanding the world (German: Weltanschsuung)
Approximately 35" x 13"
$400
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