Contemporary Art from Cuba

In present day Cuba, humor has come to play an essential role in coping with the challenges of everyday life in the face of an uncertain national destiny. In September 1998, the ASU Art Museum opened Contemporary Art from Cuba: Irony and Survival on the Utopian Island, an exhibition of the work of 17 contemporary artists working in Cuba today.

These artists are young, ranging in age from 24 to 39; many of them are Afro-Cuban. While they are the generation that voices skepticism about the pieties of the socialist Revolution, they remain loyal Cubans. Included in the exhibition are Pedro Alvarez, Belkis Ayón, Abel Barroso, Jacqueline Brito, Yamilys Brito, Carlos Estévez, René Francisco, Carlos Garaicoa, Luis Gómez, Kcho, Los Carpinteros, Sandra Ramos, Fernando Rodríguez, Esterio Segura, José A. Toirac, Tonel (Antonio Eligio Fernández), and Osvaldo Yero.

They comment on shortages, persistent racism, the manipulation of history, and the tragedy of the balseros who left on makeshift rafts, the contradictions between revolutionary rhetoric and present day Cuban reality.

Contemporary Art from Cuba: Irony and Survival on the Utopian Island
Kurator: Marilyn Zeitlin, iCI (Independent Curators International)

mit Pedro Alvarez, Belkis Ayon, Abel Barroso, Jacqueline Brito, Yamilys Brito, Carlos Estevez, Rene Francisco, Carlos Garaicoa, Luis Gomez, Kcho , Los Carpinteros, Sandra Ramos, Fernando Rodriguez, Esterio Segura, Jose A. Toirac, Tonel (Antonio Eligio Fernandez), Osvaldo Yero

Stationen:
27.09-98 - 13.12.98 Arizona State University Art Museum, Phoenix
18.05.01 - 14.07.01 University of South Florida CAM, Tampa