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“Paintings and Drawings 1990-2005” by Humberto Castro is the first 15-year retrospective by one of the leading members of the celebrated 1980s generation of Cuban artists, a group that includes José Bedia and Tomás Sanchez. Humberto Castro’s work often features mythological parallels to life in Cuba.
Click here to see the 2006 gallery installation.
Click here to see the 2008 gallery installation. |
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Larger paintings by Humberto Castro often refer to classical mythology, their figures “images of faceless primal entities,” according to the professor and critic Ricardo Pau-Llosa, along with symbols representing what he calls “the horror of having to abandon one’s homeland through a maritime Berlin Wall.”
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see the artwork. |
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The subject matter of medium-sized paintings by Humberto Castro often include isolated boats, floating figures, walls separating individuals, figures facing in opposite directions, and other references to the treacherous maritime route from Cuba and to the Cuban diaspora.
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In recent years the artist has continued his exploration of the themes of isolation and alienation while his palette has softened, favoring backgrounds predominantly pastel—a kinder, gentler environment than the violent reds, whites and blacks of his paintings when he first left Cuba, and softer than the deep gold and black he favored in the mid-1990s.
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In 1982 Humberto Castro held a one-person exhibition, “Blanco y Negro,” of drawings at the Galería Galiano in Havana. Critics view it as a precursor to his subsequent stylistic development. Mostly black and white, his works on paper often feature ethereal, isolated figures floating in space, possibly suggesting an uprooted society.
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Humberto Castro’s latest ceramics are inspired by his recent series of paintings that pay homage to the minotaur and other mythological subjects. Each 17-inch ceramic platter is molded and fired in Italy before being painted and glazed by the artist.
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