By Raquel Martori
The exhibition ‘Women’, by the Cuban artist Zaida del Río, opened its doors to the public this Sunday at the National Museum of Fine Arts of Havana with a review of its extensive experience through paint series, sculptures and drawing.
The versatile creator, which has also been tested in ceramics and engraving, arrives for the third time to the halls of Fine Arts, but this time as part of the National Award of Plastic Arts 2023 that received in recognition of its “multiple and recognizable work” work and “indisputable reference of contemporary Cuban art.”
Del Río explains in an interview with Efe that this exhibition covers a selection of pieces from its first exhibitions to its most recent works.
“They are going to see some works of the series ‘Los Terorreales’, of the triptychs of Afro -Cuban religion – among them two awarded in the biennials of Cairo and Japan – that occupy a whole wall of one of the museum’s rooms,” he says.
He also adds that his iconic birds “are always, if it is not as the main theme they always appear in some corner of any of the works.” In the case of sculptures, they all include that female character, the most recognized of all its production in the treatment of the human figure as the center of their work.
‘Breath’ also brings together drawings with carboncillo techniques on fabric and pencil on paper.
The set is completed with pieces of their series of men, Buddhism, marine, Hinduism, the queens of hearts and four works that “nobody has seen.”
In total, there are almost 60 pieces – the majority of large format, up to at least 2 × 2 meters, and several sculptures – and among them many that have not been exhibited since the nineties and that “many people will see for the first time.”
Of the four new productions integrated in this exhibition, the artist emphasizes that her theme is based on Afro -Cuban religion popularly known as “Santeria” and reflects as the main element to the malanga blade “with a lot of color”.
The work of Del Río – degraded by the engraving specialty of the Higher Institute of Art (ISA) of the Island and the School of Fine Arts of Paris – is basically figurative, with a very country and bucolic initial stage to which the subject of women and horse followed.
The artist, born in 1954 on an estate in the municipality of Remedios, in the province of Villa Clara, arrived for the first time to the National Museum of Fine Arts of Havana in 1978, with a personal exhibition of drawings that titled ‘Narratos’. Some of his works are currently in the permanent collection of that prestigious cultural institution.
Your plans
An exhibition in the Vatican for November, a shared with three Cuban colleagues in the Mexican city of Mérida (Yucatán) – in June – and a third that will present in Austria next year they are part of the next projects of the artist of the plastic.
Zaida del Río affirms that he always has plans: “I really like what I do, I always have inspiration and things to say, to transmute art and creation.”
Therefore, the charismatic artist specifies its future projects in “continuing to work, make new exhibitions and several trips”, one of them repeat visit to Italy to make at least two new pieces in Murano crystal.
