According to the American edition of The Christian Science Monitor, creativity born on the islands of freedom is becoming increasingly popular. Recently, at the Museum of Latin American Art (Long Beach, Calif.), an exhibition of two of the most famous Cuban artists - surrealist Vifredo Lama (Wifredo Lam) and the modern artist, Carlos Luna (Carlos Luna). In scenes both painters reflected the themes that are important to all generations of Cuban artists, in particular the topic of their search for cultural identity. «Country winning socialism», located at the crossroads of the powerful North American and Latin American civilizations and sowed these contradictions culture. Exhibitions Lama, and the moon is yet another proof that the Cuban art (and art in general, Latin America) is - hot. At the end of May in this area has been set a new record: picture of the Mexican avant-gardist Rufino Tamayo (Rufino Tamayo) was sold for 7.2 million dollars and became the most expensive piece of Latin American Art . In New York's Metropolitan Museum has recently completed the first major exhibition of works by Cuban artists. But representatives of the only galleries in the United States, which sells only art of Liberty Island, said that over the past year, their turnover has increased three times and totaled 13 million dollars.

«Cuba has always been at the crossroads [cultures. - Ed .]», - said Curtis Carter (Curtis Carter), the organizer of the exhibition Vifredo Lama. Historically, this small Caribbean country with a population of 11 million people have absorbed the cultural influence around the world. But the past 50 years because of the dictatorial regime of Fidel Castro (Fidel Castro) libertine artists have been very difficult to create their works. In order to be heard, many of them had to flee abroad. Because of the trade embargo imposed by the United States, very few works by Cuban artists come abroad. But the rule of Fidel seemed eternity was over, came to power and his younger brother Raul (Raul Castro). Thanks to Raul in Cuba, began a kind of «Thaw» - now everything is in anticipation of significant political and social reforms. Mitigating the impact mode and the artistic life of the island - many young Cuban artists are ready to go on the world art scene.

The past decade was marked by the boom in Russian art, home art-style 2000's China has become ... the next Cuba? According to the director of Cernuda Arte Gallery in Florida Sernudy Ramon (Ramon Cernuda), «when the country is a serious social upheaval, the art-market value and the gain went to the world market of art».

«The time has come», - said a famous Cuban artist Carlos Luna, now residing in Miami. He said Cuba was on the sidelines of the world's artistic process is too long. Moon notes that his work reflects the struggle against the oppression of artists of Cuban authorities. In his paintings, drawings and sculptures is also influenced by the realities of Cuban culture, such as Spanish Catholicism and African Santeri. (Santeri - this syncretic religion, common in Caribbean countries. It is a synthesis of the beliefs of slaves brought to Latin America from West Africa.)

Carlos Luna is proud to have him compared to Vifredo Lamom, one of the most famous Latin American modernists. Unlike the Moon, Lam supported Castro's regime, but these two artists have much in common. According to Moon, the fundamental principles of their work the same - this is love for the Cuban people and the desire to tell his story. «Guajira» (common man) constantly appears in the painting of the moon and is the main hero of his famous painting «Big mambo dance» (El Gran Mambo). «I tell my children about my Dede, about my father, so they know who their ancestors. The man without a past has no future », - explains Moon.

Regarding Vifredo Lama (8.12.1902 - 11.09.1982), it can only exult: Finally the creativity of the talented artist was awarded the necessary attention. Despite the fact that Lam is one of the most famous representatives of surrealism and friends with such major figures as Pablo Picasso (Pablo Picasso) and Andre Breton (Andre Breton), a large-scale exhibitions of his works, as in the Museum of Latin American art, had not previously arranged . «Latin American artists has long suffered from the fact that they are considered less talented than the Europeans," - says Okasio Rafael (Rafael Ocasio), a specialist in Latin American art of Agnes Scott College (pcs. Georgia, USA). - Simply, many felt their art of exotic or primitive ». While this is not true.

The Cuban Government has allocated a lot of funds for arts education to youth, so in many professional artists. «With regard to the quality and content of Cubans to truly succeed, - notes Okasio. - At last the world has opened our eyes».

Cuban art collectors are also interesting. Allan Boss (Allan Boss) from New York, had long been collecting works by artists from the island of freedom, proud of its recent acquisition - watercolors «world class».

Mari-Claudia Jimenez (Mari-Claudia Jimenez), an expert specializing in the art of the New York law firm Herrick Fenstein, said that the main obstacle to the spread of Cuban art, is the trade embargo. Americans are not allowed to deal with the «enemy». But the case is gradually changing for the better.

Ramon Sernuda remembers their struggle for right to buy Cuban art. In the 1980's, he publicly stated that, despite the embargo, its right to buy and display works of Cuban artists is guaranteed by the Constitution. In spring 1988, he and several other collectors have organized an exhibition of art in Miami Cuba, which exhibited works Vifredo Lam, Rene Portocarrero (Rene Portocarrero), Amelia Pelaez (Amelia Pelaez), etc. Many people in the city were opposed to the exhibition «enemies», and constantly gave under the windows of a museum demonstration to protest. A regime of Castro haters bought at an exhibition of paintings and publicly burnt it. Came even before that, at the door of the museum detonated the bomb. According to Sernudy, he received many threats, which is simply tired of complaining to the FBI. And in 1989 the gallery was arrested - he was accused of violating the embargo. But the judge sided Sernudy, recognizing the work of art «Information materials», to which the trade ban does not apply. Collector was acquitted, and the works of Cuban artists have appeared in galleries across America. A very Sernuda assembled one of the world's largest collections of art Liberty Island.

Exhibitions Vifredo Lam and Carlos Luna in Long Beach are very popular among art lovers. «This work was such an unusual," - says one of the visitors, the young artist Steven Amado (Steven Amado). - It feels as if I open a new world ... Art - the cleanest way of interaction between cultures. It does not preach, it simply speaks to you on the souls ».

Material prepared Yulia Maksimova

Sources: www.csmonitor.com , www.cubamania.com , artinvestment.ru