"He has never allowed himself to be tied to one medium or another. He can be a color-crazy abstract painter, a wildly inventive junk sculptor, or a master collage maker who specializes in grids of snapshots,”wrote Doug MacCash, art critic for The New Orleans Times-Picayune, of Luis Cruz Azaceta. The 67-year-old artist’s latest work is on view in New Orleans, where he has lived for many years.

At the New Orleans Museum of Art, Swmming to Havana presents a suite of new paintings that explores the idea of "crossing over" between cultures, artistic styles, and the historically linked cities of New Orleans and Havana. The show runs through March 28, 2010. On January 9, a second exhibition, Exile Fifty, opens at the Arthur Roger Gallery. This exhibition depicts Azaceta's life far from Cuba over half a century. The artist left Cuba in 1960, settling first in New York.

Azaceta's work has been presented in exhibitions at major museums, including MoMA, the Whitney, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Using objects, personal images, abstract paintings, and a large dose of humor, Azaceta´s work clearly articulates his experiences as an immigrant. Azaceta´s two exhibitions are part of Sí Cuba, a citywide celebration of Cuban art and culture running January-April 2010.