Reinaldo-Pagan-art-Cuba

Fish Devour Man

One of the most outstanding artists in Cuba today, Reinaldo Pagan Avila from Santiago de Cuba is a most prolific painter. He has painted since he was a child. His parents divorced and he grew up with his mother in the hills of Santiago in a little town called Vista Hermosa. Pagan studied art at the José Joaquín Tejada Art School but is self taught in water colors and many other artistic techniques which he learned from the books he read.

His artistic style reflects the styles both of surrealism and expressionism, conveying messages of humor, satire and tragedy. Japanese elements, religious icons and people are often the subjects of his works of art.

This is one of my favorite paintings by Pagan, the image of drowning people swallowed by fish in a cruel sea. It is much like another painting of his, Juventud Rebelda with victims in a rough sea, in a boat made of newspaper in the dark night. Make of it what you will, this art by the Cuban artist Pagan is bound to provoke thought and squeamishness.

May 182010
 
cuban artists Yuri Moreno

Yuri Moreno

The Cuban artist Yuri Moreno was born in 1972 in Cuba and graduated from the José Joaquin Tejada Academy in 1990, specializing in sculpture and painting.

Yuri exhibits his work internationally and has worked and exhibited with other artists in the Dominican Republic.  He is a member of the artists’ group Cara-jo (a short form of the word Cara Joven – which means “young face” in Spanish)  in Santiago de Cuba.  He formed this group with his two friends who are also visual artists, Orestes Campos and Reinaldo Pagan – other artists whose works you can see at Ateneo Art.

In Cuba, his work has been shown in Havana, Santiago de Cuba and Holguin.  His art and sculpture can be found in collections, both personal and public around the globe.

Yuri’s work reminds one of the art of Rousseau, but conceptually, his are more symbolic in arrangement.  Every element by itself would mean nothing if painting it as a single object, but when he organizes the ideas together, a new meaning is conceived by the  juxtaposition of another object.

 
cuban art life still pavel moraguez

Life Still by Pavel Moraguez

This site will cover the artists involved in the Ateneo Art Gallerie in Santiago de Cuba.  These artists are actively painting and distributing their works of art in Santiago and other cities in Cuba such as Havana and Holguin.

A brief background of the lives of these artists and their works are here.

The following artists and their works are available including Pagan, Yuri Moreno, Pavel Moraguez, and Campos.  More artists and their works will appear later in the production of this website.

We will also sell some of the works by these Cuban artists.  Many of the works of art on this site have already been sold and are to be found in private homes and art galleries worldwide.

May 172010
 

Art in Cuba is alive and well.

cuban art ateneo art gallery

The Ateneo Art Gallery in Santiago, Cuba

Ateneo Art  was first established in 1999
for the promotion of Cuban artists and
their art. Its purpose was to facilitate
donations of artist materials to the
artists, establish an internet presence
for Cuban artists and open the world
market to them.  Ateneo Art was an idea
born in the streets and heat of summer in Santiago de Cuba, amongst artists
connected to the Gallerie  Ateneo Culturale in Santiago.