Cuban Art - Contemporary Cuban Art

Contemporary Cuban Art

“Contemporary art is an imprecise term that has been made fairly recently and which is considered ‘of its time’ in spirit”. While generally agreed to cover the time period that follows World War II, in practice it is an elastic term that describes the myriad of art forms produced today. In Cuba, Contemporary Art includes painters who were active in the 1940s such as Wilfredo Lam, Eduardo Abela and others strongly associated with earlier Cuban art movements. These influential artists can be seen as links bridging art from European Modernism, which contemporary Cuban artists vigorously reacted against in pursuit of genres more resonant with their own visions, to the diversity of today’s Cuban art. These new artists emerged (and or reemerged) after the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, a time period that coincides with the definition of ‘contemporary art’ as used by Christies, the famous auction house, and museums of contemporary art. Contemporary art includes Conceptual Art, Performance art, and the reconceptualization of traditional Afro-Cuban influences, particularly Santeria: an integral cultural element in the Cuban art scene.