By Darian Rahnis, Contributing Writer
Nine Cuban artists’ paintings and ceramics were showcased in a new exhibition at the Lore Degenstein Gallery on Sept. 2.
The exhibition, titled “Closeup II: Nine Contemporary Cuban Artists,” is the first gallery exhibition of this school year.
According to one of the artists, Alberto Jorge Carol, all of the artists live in Miami and have become friends and work together.
Carol was at the exhibit’s opening reception to talk about the artwork on display.
Born in 1945 in Havana, Cuba, Carol said he has had 17 solo art shows and worked as a professor of drawing at the Fine Arts School of San Alejandro in Cuba.
Carol explained that all of the artists who have art in this collection emigrated from Cuba to America because of Cuba’s political state and the inability to display art that criticized Cuba’s history and government.
Paying tribute to his friends’ art, Carol said that their work is dependent on craftsmanship to have a meaningful impact on those who view it.
Carol also said that the artists are always true to themselves when completing different pieces of artwork.
“It is fruitful to us to receive feedback,” Carol said when talking about the audience’s reaction to his and his friends’ paintings and ceramics.
Carol went on to interpret the paintings on display in the gallery for the audience.
One artist, Ivonne Ferrer, believes that irony and humor are the best way to convey messages, so there is a good amount of Western imagery and Cuban culture evident in Ferrer’s paintings, Carol explained.
The diversity among the different paintings was apparent when Carol began talking about another artist featured in this collection, Victor Gomez. Gomez primarily paints cityscapes teeming with depression to show the changes Havana has endured in the recent decades, Carol said.
Carol spent a large portion of his discussion focusing on Gomez’s work, in which he explained that Gomez focuses on elegance and technicality the most. Carol also said that there is an evident sensuality that reminds him of poetry in Gomez’s paintings.
Turning the discussion in the direction of himself, Carol dissected the meaning of his own paintings for the audience. Combining the likes of Frida Kahlo and Andy Warhol, Carol created a series of portraits, some of which included himself.
When asked why he uses Kahlo and Warhol for inspiration, Carol said art like the paintings he has created makes people think.
Carol also discussed work by Aimee Perez and Rafael Lopez-Ramos.
With Perez’s work, Carol highlighted the fight between her head and her heart when she creates each ceramic piece.
For Ramos, Carol noted his use of critique and rejection to insert poignant visual language in his paintings.
Other artists featured at the reception included Lia Galletti, Aldo Menendez, Heriberto Mora and Ismael Gomez Peralta.
Audience members noted the distinctiveness of the exhibition and what it could teach attendees.
Sophomore Quinn Evans said: “I think it’s a pretty unique show. It’s a peek into the Cuban culture.”
Sophomore Hannah Houtz added, “I haven’t had a lot of experience looking at art from Hispanic cultures, but the culture is evident.”
Carol believes it is important to show people, especially young students, the art that he and his friends have created.
As Carol said, the audience consists of “people full of dreams that have many different goals and the will to pursue them.”
The art exhibition will be on display in the Lore Degenstein Gallery until Oct. 8.
