(…) Obviously, for the last fifty years, the representation of Cuban art in the United States has been negligible. While the artists of earlier generations, Wifredo Lam, for example, are well known, most of the population is too young to remember first hand what the artists in Cuba were doing before the embargo and during that time period access was difficult. Manuel Mendive who had begun working before the embargo is certainly underrepresented.
Hopefully our exhibition and certainly the Bronx Museum show will change this situation. So yes, I think we will make a difference with the exhibition simply because we are presenting the work and advertising our show, NUEVOS COLORES. The work will speak for itself. (…)
While the selection of artists for the September exhibition is diverse, we did not consider trying to offer a general overview on Cuban contemporary art. As a starting point we consulted several curators including Juanito Delgado who has been most helpful. Three of us, Randy White, Diana Burroughs and I, visited a number of studios and made a preliminary selection of artists whose work we thought had a vital and international impact. (…)
