Artist KCHO (born Alexis Levya Machado) created “Obras Escogidas” in 1994 using his Cuban school textbooks. The boat is a symbol of the tenuous freedom offered by his education to get him off the island.
Exploring Cuba’s artistic production in the years following Fidel Castro’s revolution in 1959, “Adiós Utopia: Dreams and Deceptions in Cuban Art Since 1950” looks at how Cuba’s revolutionary aspirations for social utopia—and subsequent disillusionment—shaped 65 years of Cuban art. The exhibition is the most significant presentation of modern and contemporary Cuban art shown in the United States in more than 70 years.
Although many artists have emigrated from Cuba to live and work abroad, “Adiós Utopia” focuses on the untold narrative of those artists who remained, and it explores how the country’s history affected individual artists, shaped the character of art produced on the island, and conditioned the reception of Cuban art both in Cuba and abroad.
The exhibit runs at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston from March 5—May 21, 2017.
