El Refugio showcases a curated collection of Afro-Caribbean masterpieces, highlighting the vision and craft of the region’s most influential artists.
Angels by Manuel Mendive. An essential piece by Afro-Cuban artist Manuel Mendive, executed during his travels to Europe in 1982, illustrates his visions of the passage between life and death. Mendive was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1944. His family practiced La Regla de Ocha, or Santería. A mulatto, he cherishes his Yoruba roots from the West Coast of Africa.[1] In 1963, he graduated from the San Alejandro Academy of Plastic Arts, Havana. Size (h w d): 14 x 18 in. Medium: pen and ink on paper. Creation Date: 1982
Nkuyo by Jose Bedia. The title of Jose Bedia’s work on paper, Nkuyo, is a reference to a deity in the Santería religion that is a “spirit figure of the night” who is the deity of forest and roads, and acts as a guide and balance in the universe. This work depicts the figure moving to a new place, and the chain that he holds in his left hand signifies his connection to what he has left behind. For Bedia, this image relates to leaving his homeland of Cuba, as he currently lives and works in Miami, Florida. Size (h w d): 18 x 24 in. Medium: ink and acrylic on paper. Creation Date: 1994
Kettle of Poppies by Roberto Diago. Afro-Cuban artist Juan Roberto Diago Durruthy is a descendant of another famous artist, Roberto Diago (1920-1955), and has garnered international acclaim for his pieces evoking the dehumanizing effect of slavery. This is one of his early works, executed in the materials available to him in the poverty of Havana. In Classic Cuban improvisation, he uses exterior house paint on a stretched linen canvas. The archetypal images in this piece draw from Diago's African heritage and evoke the works of his friend Manuel Mendive, Jose Bedia, and Eduardo Choco. Size (h w d): 60 x 60 in. Medium: house paint on linen fabric.
Jamming at the Savoy by Romare Beardon. Jamming at the Savoy - the classic NYC jazz venue in the 1940s, home to greats from Duke Ellington to Count Basie.
Poner El Universo En Orden Otra Vez (Putting the Universe Back in Order) by Jose Bedia. Jose Bedia, master of the contemporary Cuban art movement, incorporates images of religious archetypes drawn from indigenous art collected from around the world. This image includes Yoruban-based figures that have evolved in Cuba's Santeria religion. This work was featured on the cover of the catalogue of the exhibition of Bedia's work at Snitzer gallery in 2022, one of the first pieces as Bedia's practice turned to works of larger scale and ambition. Size (h w d): 62 x 110 in. Medium: Acrylic on Handmade Weaving. Creation Date: 2020
Protesta by Rufino Tamayo. A mixographic engraving on handmade paper, signed by the artist. One of Tamayo's most iconic images. This is acknowledged as a masterpiece of the mixographic technique developed by Tamayo, clearly showing the architecture of disconnected fiery planes to emphasize the terror of the subject. This image is featured as the cover of the catalog and postcards of the Tamayo Museum in Mexico City and became a key figure in a ballet dedicated to Tamayo by Guillermina Bravo entitled Constellations and Dancers. Size (h w d): 30.5 x 22.75 in. Medium: mixographic print. Creation Date: 1983
Gun and Head Sculpture by Carlos Alphonso. Alfonso's take on Miami and US gun culture, in 1990, after his diagnosis of AIDS. Alfonso arrived at the Mariel boat lift in 1980. Size (h w d): 21.5 x 14 x 21 in. Medium: painted iron. Creation Date: 1990
Untitled - Four Sketches of Deconstructed Body by Carlos Alphonso. A small but powerful evocation of Alfonso's symbology of the human body, executed in 1988 or 1989, around the time of his diagnosis of AIDS. Medium: gouache on paper. Creation Date: 1988.
Cabesa by Carlos Alphonso. Size (h w d): 25 x 31 in. Medium: gouache on paper. Creation Date: 1988
Oceanic by Carlos Alphonso. Size (h w d): 60 x 60 in. Medium: Oil On Canvas. Creation Date: 1989
Côte d'Ivoire artist Aboudia blends Yoruban religious figures and symbols with contemporary graffiti from the streets of his hometown of Abidjan. Aboudia was the top-selling artist at auctions in 2022, with 75 works purchased at international auctions, surpassing Damian Hirst's record of 73. Aboudia, aka Abdoulaye Diarrassouba, draws from the street culture in his war-torn home town of Abidjan in Ivory Coast, and the traditional wood carvings of West Africa. His work has been compared to the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat, who made his name with graffiti-like images. Aboudia always includes images of children, many of whom have been forced to be soldiers, and the images reflect the social conflicts in his country. They also share a great deal with the imagery found in Afro-Caribbean art, especially the Santeria-influenced work of Carlos Alfonso and Jose Bedia. Since the Ivorian civil war in 2011, Aboudia’s pictures have reflected the trauma of man’s inhumanity to man with images of skulls and soldiers. Size (h w d): 60 x 60 in. Medium: acrylic and oil on canvas. Creation Date: 2018
Source of Knowledge by Carlos Capelán. Although his conceptual work includes drawings and paintings, his installations are more widely known for their atmospheric impact, constituting an environment in which the viewer is free to wander around and experience notions of displacement. In 1995, Capelán received the Guggenheim Fellowship. In 1973, Capelán moved to Lund, Sweden. Capelán studied at Grafikskolan Forum in Malmö, Sweden. Capelán currently resides in Moravia, Costa Rica. Size (h w d): 48 x 92 in. Medium: oil and gouache on paper mounted on wood. Creation Date: 1992. Weight: 200 lbs.
Untitled by Carlos Alphonso Alfonso's graffiti despoliation of a Mondrian image. The forked tongue from the symbolic head and a black cross over Mondrian imagery. Size (h w d): 28 x 28 in. Medium: ink and acrylic on paper. Creation Date: 1986.
Maternity #2 by Carlos Alphonso. Size (h w d): 32 x 48 in. Medium: gouache on paper - color. Creation Date: 1989.
Oye en la Suya by Jose Bedia. Since the 1970s, José Bedia’s work has focused on the Amerindian and Afro-Cuban religions of Santería and Palo Monte, referencing their spiritual practices and the relationship of man to nature and animals. Bedia is a priest of Palo Monte, and his practice has helped him realize that all indigenous cultures are more often linked by similarities than divided by differences. The result is a body of work that is rich in symbolism and mythology. Oyá en lo suyo/ Oyá in his Own World, 1998, exemplifies the synthesis of sources and trademark style present in Bedia’s work. In Yoruba and Palo Monte mythologies, Oyá is the warrior-spirit of the wind, lightning, fertility, fire, and magic. She creates hurricanes and tornadoes, guards the underworld, and is the spirit of change, chaos, and transition. In this etching, Oyá is “doing her work” by blowing wind to a mountain village, where we can see a house and an electric post having the effect of being blown away by her wind. Size (h w d): 32 x 44 in. Medium: etching. Creation Date: 1992
Slave by Roberto Diago. Example of recent work by Havana artist Roberto Diago. Size (h w d): 32 x 32 in. Medium: oil on canvas.
Manuel Mendive
Cigarette, from White Things Series by Rene Pena. Size (h w d): 16 x 20 in. Medium: photographic print B&W. Creation Date: 2001.
Peter Gillon, curator and collector.
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