The exhibition, Without Masks: Contemporary Afro Cuban Art, was initiated in November 2007 and has been supported and financed by the South African-born, London-based businessman and collector Chris von Christierson and his family, who enthusiastically received the idea of creating a collection of Cuban art that would show the traces of Africa in Cuba’s artistic culture.
From the beginning the exhibition and publication of the catalogue, has been intended as a travelling event, emphasising those regions inhabited by the African population, by people who belong to the African diaspora or communities of African origin. These are of a diverse national origin in coexistence with members of other ethnic and “racial” groups.
The wide dissemination of cultural values coming from Africa, as well as from Afro-America, and the multi-ethnic and pluri-cultural nature of the majority of world societies today, with worsening ethnic and racial conflicts, ensures the wide reception and social and cultural usefulness of this artistic project.
The collection currently consists of 80 works by 25 contemporary Cuban artists, and comprises a relatively short period: from 1980 — the date of the oldest work — to 2009. The majority of works were created in the Nineties and in the first decade of the 21st century.
We have chosen this brief period of Cuban art because, in many ways, it is in this period that the treatment of the Afro-Cuban theme acquires new characteristics that contrast remarkably with the relatively stereotyped, idealised or picturesque nature that predominates in former periods (this is particularly evident in the 19th century and in a good part of the 20th century). The collection, however, may be considered “in progress” and may include works of other Cuban artists of different generations in the future and particularly those who have explored forms of creation not included in the present project.
The techniques represented in this collection are painting on canvas and wood, watercolour, drawing, engraving, collage, patchwork, installation, soft sculpture, photography, video-installation and video art.
What is exceptional about this collection of contemporary Afro-Cuban art is that it has brought together, for the first time, a numerous and varied group of Cuban artists devoted to exploring two great themes that have, in the past, been regarded independently — that of the cultural and religious traditions of Africa in Cuba and that of the multiple problems related to the so-called “racial issue”.
These themes have been enhanced by other unusual aspects in this context — the artistic representation of the political-military presence of Cuba in the wars in Africa and the incorporation of new African figures and ritual traditions in our religious practices. This has been because of the recent “Africanising” process — a process of reconnection with Africa that has been taking place in recent years in some religious circles in Cuba.
As far as we know, in spite of the existence of previous exhibitions related to the Afro-Cuban theme, there is no other private or institutional collection of this magnitude dedicated to handling these topics — neither in such a vast and diversified manner nor with such a high level of representation of relevant artists and works.
Although, from the start, we have followed a rigorous criterion in the selection of the artists, we must admit that our interest has been focused beyond the aesthetic, favouring the originality and profoundness of the discourses in the works. These may be sociological, historical, anthropological, religious, ethical or political.
Undoubtedly, this has been stimulated by the presence in the most recent Cuban art of contemplative or hedonistic outlooks, and by the importance of debates on “the racial issue” in Cuba.
But, although we may have inclined ourselves in some way more to content than to procedure, or to what the artists say rather than to the way in which they say it, we have taken good care to ensure that both requirements coincide. Because ours is an exhibition of artistic work, our curatorial outlook does not intend to be didactic or explanatory, but to remain within the questioning and exploratory key set by the works themselves.
Finally, the exhibition has placed renowned artists with international prestige on the same level as artists who are practically unknown. We have made no distinction between professional artists who have graduated from important academic institutions and popular or self-taught artists.
This is an edited extract from the catalogue of Without Masks: Contemporary Afro-Cuban Art