This traveling exhibition of contemporary Cuban art has been organized by the LYMAN ALLYN ART MUSEUM in a collaboration with the HISPANIC ALLIANCE, New London, Connecticut. LYMAN ALLYN ART MUSEUM, New London, Connecticut September 12, 2009 to February 21, 2010. PAUL and LULU HILLIARD MUSEUM, Lafayette, Louisiana July 2 to December 18, 2010. NEWARK MUSEUM, Newark, New Jersey, June 8 to August 14, 2011.

AJIACO: Stirrings of the Cuban Soul is focused on that which serves as a source for all of Latin American art – its spirituality. It engages the visitor as they view, participate in, watch and listen to the roots of Cuban culture from its sources in Africa, Asia, Spain, China, and indigenous culture. Cuban art today embraces and visualizes the very nature of the Cuban soul. This is the subject of Ajiaco. The art combines the tales of the Orishas of Africa with Chinese calligraphy, the environment and feminist issues. The formats change, the materials vary, but the element that remains constant between the Cuban and Cuban-American artists is a commitment to the visualization of the syncretistic mix that is Cuban culture.

AT THE LYMAN ALLYN ART MUSEUM

ABOUT THE CURATOR:  GAIL GELBURD, Ph.D. has been conducting research on Cuban art and artists for over 15 years. She has traveled regularly to Cuba and has lectured for the Havana Biennale, Havana University, and Casa Africa in Cuba.
She has also given presentations on the intersection of art, politics, and spirituality in Taiwan, Korea, South Africa, Australia, England, and Wales, and at such major institutions as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Whitney Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Williams College, and the Art Institute of Chicago. Gelburd has received numerous grants and awards, including a Rockefeller Foundation grant to conduct research on Cuban art. She is working on a new book, to be called Cuba and the Art of Revolution. Her article “Beyond the Hype: Cuban Art” appeared in Reconstruction: Issues in Contemporary Culture in Winter 2008, and another article “Cuba: The Art of Trading with the Enemy” was published in Art Journal in Spring 2009. Other publications include Bearden in Black and White and The Transparent Thread: Asian Philosophy in Recent American Art. Dr. Gelburd is Chair of the Visual Arts Department and Associate Professor of Art History at Eastern Connecticut State University.
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