PRESENTE! Contemporary Art from Cuba.

El Arte Contemporáneo Cubano  «Presente» en Londres.

El pasado 8 de noviembre la Embajadora de Cuba en Reino Unido, Teresita Vicente Sotolongo, inauguró la exposición de artistas cubanos en el emblemático edificio The Gherkin, ubicado en la City de Londres y de arquitectura neomoderna.

En esta ocasión no solo el disfrute de la muestra de nuestros artista recreó la vista del público invitado, también lo hizo la espectacular y preciosa vista de la City Londinense, desde un piso 38.

By Doreen Weppler-Grogan

9 November 2016

Cuban art on display in iconic London venue

‘We are proud of our artists and very pleased to view their art in this wonderful setting’ said HE Ambassador Teresita Vicente Sotolongo as she welcomed guests to a private view of Cuban art at Searcy’s Club in London on 8 November.

The Club occupies a spectacular space on the 38th floor of the iconic Gherkin building, located in the capital’s financial district. The stunning showcase of Cuban art on display is a selection from the recent highly successful show at the GX Gallery in London – PRESENTE! Contemporary Art from Cuba. The show captured the dynamism and diversity of contemporary Cuban art at its best and the selection at the Gherkin, which will remain until 22 December, displays the same exceptional creativity and talent.

The GX Gallery show that closed last week exhibited art by over 30 artists living in Cuba today, and the selection at the Gherkin continues to provide a cross-section of the island’s lively visual art scene. Both shows are a first for London, as the city has never before exhibited Cuban art on this scale and with this generational spread. Artists like Pedro de Oráa, Lesbia Vent Dumois and Ernesto Fernandez Noguera, who have been creating art for six decades, display work alongside established mid-career artists like Luis E Camejo, René Peña and Reynerio Tamayo, and a host of newly emerging talent on the international art scene including Niels Reyes, Lisandra Isabel Garcia, Harold Lopez Muñoz, Osy Milian, Adislen Reyes and several others.

These two exhibitions, at the GX Gallery and now at the Gherkin, were coordinated by a team of volunteers led by Doreen Weppler-Grogan and Trish Meehan as part of a broader project coordinated by the UK charity Music Fund for Cuba in partnership with the Fondo Cubano de Bienes Culturales and the GX Gallery. Rob Miller, Director of the charity, explained at the event that ‘This project gives Cuban artists a rare opportunity to present their work to UK viewers and secondly, through the sale of the art, we are raising funds for supplies for art education in Cuba, badly needed in light of the continuing illegal blockade by the US government.’

Artists from Cuba – Luis Camejo, Adislen Reyes and Mario Gonzalez (from The Merger art collective) plus Cuban art specialist Chrislie Pérez – were in London for the first two weeks of the GX Gallery show in October. A highlight of their visit was an intensive programme of educational events, artistic exchanges, gallery-based talks and public meetings at some of the UK’s most prestigious educational institutions. Through their presentations, hundreds of students, teachers, artists, and friends of Cuba in the UK learned about why and how the Cuban revolution continues to create generation after generation of highly talented artists committed to vibrant and innovative artistic practices.

Chrislie Pérez spoke of the Cubans’ views about the warm welcome they received and noted that ‘We learned about art and culture in London and in other cities during our visit and this helped us to realise that we should be proud about what we have achieved… Culture in our country is not for longing for the past, but stands confidently in the here and now.’