Ateneo Art Cuba

A visit to the studio of Lázaro Gutiérrez in Havana

Jan 062012

Juan Lázaro Gutiérrez Momblas is one of the Cuban artists we met by chance one afternoon wandering along the interesting streets of Havana. In Havana, it doesn’t matter if you lose your way because you will always find your destination in the end and then you will find your way back home again. And while you are lost, you will be surrounded by the constant rhythm of the city, it’s music, its art, its crumbling beauty, its hustle, its charming people. This the thing I love about Havana. There is always something new to discover in this historical city.

On this day, we found or stumbled upon Juan Lázaro’s studio which he shares with a couple of other artists. Young artists in Cuba survive in the big city of Havana by getting together and renting the front room of someone’s house during the day time. The owner of the house is able to make some money from this transaction. They rent out their front room during the day to artists who share the cost of the rent between themselves. The owners earn a little income, the artists have a place to create and to sell their work that is away from the homes they share with their families. The lover of art is the visitor to the studio and will be able to find art and then buy the art work he or she loves. It’s like the circle of life. Infinite. It works out for everyone. They say in Cuba, if the Chinese have not already invented it, the Cubans will. Out of sheer necessity. This is what is known as Cuban humor.

The walls of the studio are adorned with the works of Juan Lázaro Gutiérrez and the works of the other artists who share this little studio in the front room of someone’s house. When I entered Juan Lázaro’s studio/gallery, he was busy standing at an easel sketching out the beginnings of another of his works of art. A couple of his friends sat around. Music, always present in Havana, was playing on a CD player in the background somewhere.

The subjects of his paintings are objects from his daily life in Cuba, a chair, fruit and what comes as a result of his meditation. Sometimes he paints portraits of beautiful dark women whose skin has been blessed by the sun. In the photograph above, he kneels beside the painting he would not give up. It was his favorite. Perhaps he loved this woman once. I don’t know. I loved the unique colors of this work of art; a woman, dark and golden from the sun, wearing a brilliant blue sweater and a bowl of tropical fruit as a headpiece.

I asked him if he had more paintings and he ran off quickly to his home and brought back more to show me.

Juan Lázaro was born in 1973 in the town of Manuel Lazo, Pinar del Río in western Cuba. He is a prolific Cuban artist and has held many art exhibitions within Cuba. His paintings have also been a part of Cuban art exhibitions abroad, in countries including Peru, Canada and France. Some of his paintings will be added to our page on Cuban art for sale in the near future.

You’ll find the studio of Juan Lázaro Gutiérrez located at Empredado No. 355, in old Havana.

The upcoming Havana Art Biennale, 2012

Havana Art Comments Off

Dec 062011

The art world is looking forward to the opening of the Havana Biennale in 2012 because this is one way to experience the thriving arts and culture scene in Cuba. Opening on the 11th of May 2012 and lasting a month until the 11th of June, this exciting event is a great opportunity for artists based in Cuba to showcase their creations to the rest of the world. Since the 1st Havana Art Biennale in 1984, (Cuba was one of the first biennales internationally), this has become an international important event in the arts world, celebrating Cuban art, art from Latin America and beyond. Its primary theme is to expose art from the “South” – the art from the third world as opposed to art of the North, the first world.

The Havana Biennale is a major cultural event never short of admirers who come from different parts of the world to see the latest in the Cuban art scene. Art buyers and dealers have been coming to Havana for the Biennale in numbers that are ever increasing because they are attracted by the vibrant art on display here. The Havana Art Biennale taking place in 2012 is the eleventh edition and it is striking testimony to the powerful pull that Cuban art can exert on art buyers from other parts of the world.

The forthcoming edition of the Havana Biennale 2012 promises to be a very interesting one because it focuses on the relationship that visual art has with the way in which people consider the world around them. It wishes to highlight the fact that people tend to express themselves through certain unique references of their culture and history, a lot of which can be attributed to the art they are exposed to in their countries.

The official theme for the event is “Artistic Practice and the Social Imaginary.” Interestingly, the emphasis of this event will be on people and not on traditional types of art such as painting or sculpture. All genres of contemporary art will be on exhibited in Havana. Fernández Torres, one of the chief curators of the Havana Biennale 2012 has said this upcoming Bienal would offer little in the way of painting or other traditional media. The new focus would be on people and new emerging artists, adding, “Historically, many people who came through the Bienal went on to become very well known.”

Artists have always wanted to be associated with the Havana Biennale because this is a great way for them to get the exposure they need and open up new markets beyond the borders of Cuba. Many of these Cuban artists go on to become known worldwide as serious artists to take note of. Artists from Cuba and approximately 46 other countries are expected to exhibit their creations at the 11th Biennale here.

Contemporary artists from the third world, especially Latin America and the Caribbean as well as Cuban artists such as Yoan Capote and José Ángel Vincench will participate in the Biennale along with other Latin American artists such as Yang Fudong, Tomás Saraceno, Damien Ortega, and Jorge Pardo. Artists beyond the borders of Latin America will be also play a part in the Havana Biennale.

The Havana Biennale will be held at the Center Wifredo Lam Contemporary Art / National Council of Plastic Arts. However, there will also be many exhibits in the street so that spectators can enjoy them and participate in them. The entire city of Havana becomes a vast art gallery for the world to behold in 2012.

One project of note will be the ‘Detras del Muro’ (Behind the Wall) project to be on display on the Malecón where the people of Havana come to enjoy the view of the sea and long walks along the sea wall at the water’s edge. From La Punta to the Torreón de San Lázaro for a distance of about four miles, the “Detras del Muro” project organized by the Cuban Arts Project with the hands and minds of many participating curators will display works of art and installations created by more than 20 artists including Yoan Capote, Aimée García, Adonis Flores, Duvier del Dago, Eduardo Ponjuán, Rachel Valdés, Roberto Fabelo, and William Pérez.

Without a doubt, the Havana Biennale is going to be a truly enormous event in the international art world that gives the people of Havana and those visiting a great way to experience art scene which is thriving in Havana. It’s no wonder that people from all over the world are headed for Havana in the early summer months of 2012.