Hasta un dia (Until one day): LUIS BLANCO, CARLOS CACERES, ALICIA LEAL + JUAN CARLOS VAZQUEZ LIMA
Galería Cubana is excited to introduce Hasta un día (Until one day), a lively exhibition of four artists whose playful work is rooted in spirit and culture, but outside of the rules of traditional art.
The exhibition features 12 new drawings by the popular Juan Carlos Vázquez Lima. In his own whimsical style, the artist depicts the inventive lives of Cubans and their often lighthearted nature. Vázquez Lima parodies the comical relations of neighbors and the hurdles of everyday life.
As a self taught artist, his drawings bring to life spindly limbed characters, their dogs, other hybrid animals, and a montage of wheels. These characters are often mechanically jointed— sometimes stacked, at times intertwined—but always representative of invention as necessity and humor fuels the spirit.
Luis Blanco and Alicia Leal are both new to the gallery. Leal presents five surrealist paintings depicting dreamlike visions in a flat, simplified style reminiscent of Cuban folk art. Though her style is typically of myth and fable, some of her paintings in the exhibition are grounded in the very real emigration issues of contemporary Cuba.
The spectacularly vibrant paintings of Carlos Cáceres Valladares are also on view in this exhibition. Santería and its deities, the Orishas, as well as the customs carried on by the Guajiros, the people of the Cuban countryside are the inspiration of the artist's work.
His technique creates a specific vibrant and pointillist style quite distinctive from other artists. Known for his use of bright colors and intricate details, his intent is to convey Cuba’s cultural heritage with a focus on the joyous aspects of life on the island.