By: Jorge Domínguez Morado
The artworks “Nunca pude decirte que te amaba” (Could never told you I loved you), by José Basulto Caballero and “Antes de que llegue el diluvio” (Before the flood arrives), by Cenia Gutiérrez Alfonso, were awarded at the 14th Hall of Naïf Art, held in Cienfuegos Cuban central province.
In both pieces the jury praised the appropriate handling of the naïf aesthetic main codes, besides the expressive richness and strength on reflecting the popular imagination.
“Nunca pude decirte que te amaba” is a work carved on stone which joins the prolific career of Basulto Caballero, one of the main painters of naïf art in Cienfuegos, while “Antes de que llegue el diluvio” is part of “El arca de José” series, by Gutiérrez Alfonso, who, since the nineteen-eighties has been working this expression.
There were also mentions for the works “Amo esta Isla” (I love this island), by Gabriela Díaz Acosta and "Fantasías” (Fantasies) by Ernesto Álvarez.
Several institutions granted awards in this edition, where 22 works were submitted. The Cuban Fund of Cultural Asstss highlighted La leyenda del monte, Omar Ismael Castellanos' project.
Julián Espinosa Rebollido, artistically known as Wayacón, one of the most important painters of naïf art in Cuba, received a special award. According to the jury, “this artist from Cienfuegos has traced, with his artistic career, from the simplest of his soul and the craziest of his follies, the road to be followed, and his work, without any doubt, influences and defines us”.
Cienfuegos is among the main squares of naïf art in Cuba. The inclusion of over a dozen painters from this province on the different editions of the book Arte mágico en Cuba (Magic art in Cuba), by Algerian writer and art collector Gérald Mouial, residing in the French Caribbean, reaffirms the raising of this artistic movement in this city.
Source: Cubarte
