Cuban Art News

Wifredo Lam Painting Sets New Record at Art Basel Miami Beach

December 02, 2010

Minutes after the opening of this year’s Art Basel Miami Beach fair, Cernuda Arte gallery sold Wifredo Lam’s 1944 painting Les Fiancés for $3 million, setting a new record for work by the artist. Cuban Art News spoke with Ramón Cernuda about the sale, Art Basel, and Cuban art.

Planned Demolition of Modernist Landmarks Causes Virtual Uprising Among Cuban Intellectuals

November 30, 2010

Designed by architects Ricardo Galbis and Vicente Llanera, the Hotel Internacional in Varadero first opened its doors in 1950. Nearby, another landmark of modern Cuban architecture, the Cabañas del Sol hotel, was designed by Moenck and Quintana Company. The recent announcement, via email, of the forthcoming demolition of both buildings by the Ministry of Tourism has caused a virtual uprising among intellectuals across the island.

Corina Matamoros: “Cuban Art Is So Strong”

November 23, 2010

Corina Matamoros, curator of contemporary Cuban art at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Havana, was in New York recently as part of a Rubin Foundation fellowship. Cuban Art News caught up with her for a wide-ranging conversation about Cuban art, New York City, and why she wishes art were more like baseball.

New York Auction Report: Record Price for Lam, Strong Showing for Sánchez

November 18, 2010

This week’s Latin American art sales in New York saw record prices set for several artists, including Cuba’s modernist master Wifredo Lam. The Sotheby’s sale, which was held Tuesday evening, November 16 and Wednesday, November 17, produced records for eight works, including one of Lam’s. The Christie’s sale, which followed on Wednesday evening, saw particiularly strong results for contemporary Cuban painter Tomás Sánchez.

Luis Cruz Azaceta: Abstraction, Absurdity, and “the Cuban Condition”

November 12, 2010

Cuban-born artist Luis Cruz Azaceta left the island as a teenager in 1960—marking, in 2010, his fiftieth year of exile. With a new show currently on view at Pan American Art Projects in South Florida, he spoke, via email, about the influences that have shaped him as an artist, including his time in New York City and New Orleans.