"Ensemble"

In Cuba, no spaces remain empty. In each corner lays an object, on every wall hangs a painting, a poster or a photograph. Colors on facades, cornices and windows change from balcony to balcony. Likewise, grilles and gates curl up into seemingly free motifs – Neoclassical or Art Deco regardless, they flourish from Tropical soils. On the other hand, palm trees and flying roots sprout from roadsides, and so do fichus and bougainvillea.

 

Somehow, the architectural eclecticism, as well as nature’s exuberance, reflect the people’s diversity. For centuries, traditions and cultures have layered and mingled blending races and religions. The recent past has fueled solidarity within the islanders. In ancient palaces, where today live various generations of families, at night one even hears the breathing of a neighbor. By day, the same families share spaces, meals and entertainment gathered in courtyards in front of a screen or a game of dominoes.

 

Inspired by Cuba and its inhabitants, Arte CONTINUA, from its opening in November 2015, fills walls and floors with artworks that echo even in the air. In its space, a former cinema theater in Havana’s Chinatown, three exhibitions overlap. The first show, Anclados en el Territorio, dedicated to Cuban artists, in January 2016 was joined by the artworks of four Italians. The union of the two groups became YOU + ME = US. On April 28, 2016, Arte CONTINUA expands once again including the works of Galleria Continua’s Francophone artists. Whereupon, this new exhibition, Ensemble, will undergo the fourth and final phase of the journey, both mirror and genesis of the Cuban culture. In early summer, in addition to Cuban, Italian and Francophone artists, Galleria Continua’s Chinese will deal with a space not only already busy, but practically full.

 

Opening Ensemble to celebrate the Month of French Culture in Cuba (May), Arte CONTINUA invites Etel Adnan, Daniel Buren, Pascal Marthine Tayou and KADER ATTIA to express themselves both within its space and around town.

 

Daniel Buren’s Périmètre - Blanc (1969-2015) installation during Havana’s XII Biennial paced the perimeter of Águila de Oro, an abandoned cinema theater at the heart of Chinatown. Today the artist’s white stripes no longer find an empty space but Arte CONTINUA and the works of YOU + ME = US and Anclados en el Territorio.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Barrio Chino to San Lazaro and Casa Blanca, Daniel Buren’s stripes and colors cover doors and a train station. Promenade à La Havane is a gift to the city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pascale Marthine Tayou embraces the French Embassy in Cuba with a mural. Whereas Kamouflage’s five colors represent the continents, its characters embody a phantasy-tribal iconography. In the Gallery’s space, he suspends a “flying carpet” with plastic bags.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Similarly suspended within the Gallery are Etel Adnan’s poems. Inspired by the sun, they name in different languages Cuban skies, begotten heroes and love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last, although Kader Attia scatters the space with testimonies of reconciliation, not everyone can find them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In occasion of the Month of the French Culture in Cuba, Arte CONTINUA Habana invites the public to participate to its events:

 

 

April 28, in Arte CONTINUA, Águila de Oro, Rayo 108 e/Zanja y Dragones, Barrio Chino.

 

5 pm: Opening of the exhibition Ensemble with works by Etel Adnan, Kader Attia, Daniel Buren and Pascale Marthine Tayou.

 

7 pm: Reading in French and Spanish of the poems by the French-Lebanese artist Etel Adnan.

 

 

April 30, in Arte CONTINUA, Águila de Oro, Rayo 108 e/Zanja y Dragones, Barrio Chino.

 

3 pm: Opening of the Third Paradise Embassy, a project (Cuba, 2014) by Michelangelo Pistoletto and Cittadellarte, in collaboration with Galleria Continua. Presentation curated by Laura Salas Redondo and Erick González León.

 

In front of the French Embassy in Cuba, Calle 14 entre 5ta y 3ra, Miramar. 6 pm: Presentation of Kamouflage, Pascale Marthine Tayou’s mural.

 

May 2, in Arte CONTINUA, Águila de Oro, Rayo 108 e/Zanja y Dragones, Barrio Chino.

 

4 pm: Within ‘Charlas Continuas’, Arte CONTINUA’s artist talks Program, presentation and dialogue in between Pascale Marthine Tayou and the art critic Hamlet Fernández about his recent work and his work in Cuba.

 

6 pm: Official donation of Promenade à La Havane, Daniel Buren’s oeuvre to the city of Havana.

 

 

May 4, in Arte CONTINUA, Águila de Oro, Rayo 108 e/Zanja y Dragones, Barrio Chino.

 

3 pm: Dialogue in between Jorge Fernández Torres, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes’ director and Nicolas Bourriaud, art historian and creator of the concept of «relational aesthetics» moderated by Lorenzo Fiaschi, Galleria Continua’s co-founder and co-director.

 

 

May 7, 14 and 21: Meeting at Esquina Calle San Lázaro y Prado.

 

10 am: Guided tours through calle San Lázaro to visit Promenade à La Havane, Daniel Buren’s oeuvre.

 

 

Exhibitions and artists:

 

 

1. Anclados en el Territorio

 

Alejandro Campins, Elizabet Cerviño, Susana Pilar Delahante Matienzo, Carlos Garaicoa, Reynier Leyva Novo, José Yaque

 

 

2. TÚ + YO = NOSOTROS

 

Loris Cecchini, Ornaghi & Prestinari, Giovanni Ozzola

 

 

3. Ensemble

 

Etel Adnan, Kader Attia, Daniel Buren, Pascale Marthine Tayou