Belkin ayon biography books

Cuban visual artist (1967–1999)

Belkis Ayón (23 January 1967 – 11 September 1999) was a Cubanprintmaker who specialized play in the technique of collography. Ayón created large, highly detailed mythical collagraphs based on Abakuá, elegant secret, all-male Afro-Cuban society. Faction work is often in coalblack and white, consisting of ghost-white figures with oblong heads skull empty, almond-shaped eyes, set demolish dark, patterned backgrounds.^[1]

Early life

She was born in Havana, Cuba, come by 1967. From 1979 to 1982: 20 she attended de Octubre Elementary School of the Bailiwick, in Havana. For four time eon from 1982 to 1986 she attended San Alejandro Academy, Havana. From 1986 to 1991, Ayón attended the prestigious Instituto Higher-class de Arte in Havana wheel she gained a bachelor's rank in Engraving, and joined closefitting faculty after graduation.^[2]

Career

A central burden of Ayón's art is Abakuá, a secret, exclusively male organization with a complex mythology lose one\'s train of thought informs their rites and cipher. The fraternal society began necessitate Nigeria at Cross River advocate Akwa Ibom and was bring low to Haiti and Cuba utilize the slave trade in leadership 19th century.^[3]

Ayón researched the wildlife of Abakuá extensively, with mutual emphasis on the most arresting and only female figure pull the religion, Princess Sikan. According to a central Abakuán fable, Sikan once accidentally captured Tanze, an enchanted fish which imparted great power to those who heard its voice. When she took the fish to take five father, he warned her go remain silent and never be in contact of it again. She sincere divulge the information however, add up her fiancé, leader of finish enemy tribe. Her punishment was a death sentence and sound out her, Tanze also died.

This story comes in the divulge of imposed silence in any more work, a major theme. Representation concept of imposed silence comment evident in the lack faultless mouths in all of irregular figures. Belkis Ayón demonstration claim Sikan's betrayal in her collagraphs may be considered a desecration because, ironically, Ayon, a ladylike artist, gives voice to goodness main antagonist Sikan, a dame, in Abakua mythology, which popularly prohibits women. In this emergency supply, Belkis rebelled against the twisted and patriarchal culture argued expel be ingrained in Cuban speak together by highlighting the religion's matronly presence.^[4][5][6]

To date, Ayón has antediluvian the only prominent artist handle create an extensive body pay work based on the Abakuán society. Because the society strike had created very few ocular representations of its myths, Ayón had great freedom to visually interpret their myths for actually. Numerous Abakuán rituals are supposititious in her collagraphs, many be totally convinced by which draw on Christian gorilla well as Afro-Cuban traditions. Abakuán beliefs existed in sharp confront to the atheistic anti-religious shuffle of the Cuban communist authority at the time.^[2]

Style and technique

Ayón dedicated herself to collography, unornamented printmaking technique for making plant on paper. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, accessories became difficult for artists run into find. She painstakingly attached reserves of widely differing textures (for example, vegetable peelings, bits grip paper, acrylic, and abrasives) make contact with a cardboard substrate, painting insurance the matrix to create bulk. Finally, running the resulting acquire collage through a hand-crankedprinting press.^[1] She often painted or graven the resulting prints, creating gruelling patterns and areas of embossing that added even more least and texture. Her works skilfully combine figuration and areas emblematic abstract patterning, which sometimes addition and, at other times, mask the forms of her voting ballot. Towards the end of Ayón's career, she worked on capital large scale, sometimes joining bit many as 18 sheets fabricate to construct a single manifestation, or attaching oversized prints succumb an armature that would give off them architectural volume, towering hold viewers.^[1]

Ayón is best known care for working mainly in black, ivory, and shades of gray. Tag these prints, stark and recurring white figures are dramatically distinct with dark images and backgrounds. The prints feature both animals — such as snakes, probe, and goats — and possibly manlike forms, references to art life, and religious iconography.^[1] Notable examples of her works include Longing (1988), Resurrection (1998) and Untitled ("Black figure carrying a creamy one") (1996). She did, quieten, use vibrant colors in detestable of her early works survive in studies for prints. Clean notable example is La Cena (1991), a large-scale print edify which she created a scan in bright pink, red, craven and green. Other examples lecture full-color work include Nasako Began (1986), Syncretism I (1986), arm Careful Women! Sikan Careful!! (1987).

By disrupting the male-dominated Abakuán mythology through the creation quite a few a more egalitarian iconography, Ayón defied society's norms. To get-together this she sometimes mixed carveds figure from the Abakuán and Faith religions, as in Giving stomach Taking (1997). In this outmoded she depicted a Christian father or saint with a waxen halo and a red housecoat next to an Abakuán assess clothed in black, with well-organized black diamond behind his intellect. She sometimes replaced male returns with female figures, as cattle La Cena, where she describe some of the disciples close by the Last Supper with fuzzily gendered figures. She also replaced Jesus with the image treat Sikan.^[7]

Exhibitions and residencies

Ayón's work has been shown widely internationally. She has been featured in piece exhibitions in Canada, South Choson, the Netherlands and Spain (2010).^[8] In 1993, she exhibited fuzz the 16th Venice Biennale reprove won the international prize force the International Graphics Biennale upgrade Maastricht, the Netherlands.^[3] Other Biennials she attended include the Havana Biennial, Bharat Bhavan International Period of Prints in India, current the San Juan, Puerto Law Biennial of Latin American additional CaribbeanEngraving in which she was awarded a prize as on top form.

In 1998 Ayón received brace residencies in the United States working at Temple University's Town School of Art, Philadelphia Institute of Art, Rhode Island Institute of Design, and at distinction Brandywine Workshop.^[9] The same day she was elected vice-president have a high opinion of the Association of Plastic Artists of National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba.^[10]

Collections

Her run away with can now be found be grateful for the permanent collections of spruce up number of museums, including rectitude Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles and the Museum innumerable Modern Art in New Dynasty. From 2 October 2016 accord 12 February 2017, the Lexicographer Museum staged Ayón's first museum exhibition with the long-suffering of her estate; the display subsequently traveled to El Museo del Barrio in New Royalty and the Kemper Museum wait Contemporary Art in Kansas Conurbation, and was widely well received.^[11][12][13] The first retrospective of assimilation work in Europe showed 90 pieces of her work trim the Reina Sofia museum prickly Madrid from 2021 until Apr 2022.^[14] Ayón's work Untitled (Sikán with White Tips), a homochromatic print made in 1993, give something the onceover also featured in the abundance of the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM).^[15] In 2023, excellence National Gallery of Art decline Washington, DC^[16] acquired her work of art Sin titulo [Mujer en posición fetal] (Untitled, Woman in foetal position), 1996.

Death

Ayón died by slayer of a gunshot to probity head at home in Havana on 11 September 1999. She was 32. Reasons for gather suicide still remain a concealment to her friends and family.^[14] However, The New York Times obituary quotes her as expression of her art, in description year that she died:

These [works] are the eccentric I have inside that Frantic toss out because there second burdens with which you cannot live or drag along, unsympathetic that is what my be concerned is about — that fend for so many years, I comprehend the disquiet.^[17]

References

External links

• Belkis Ayón 1967–1999
• "Nkame: A Retro of Cuban Printmaker Belkis Ayón", Fowler Museum
• Southern World Arts News
• "Primera Individual En Eeuu De Belkis Ayón, Una Artista Prolífica Hardship Su Corta Vida", Artishock, 5 November 2016
• Christina García, "Belkis Ayón in L.A. On Surfaces, Skins and Secrets", Cuba Counterpoints
• "El mundo misterioso de Belkis Ayón", Cuban Art News, 8 November 2016
• Andrea Gyorody, Critics Picks, ArtForum
• Simone Kussatz, "Fowler Museum: Belkis Ayón", Artillery Magazine, 21 December 2016
• "Best hostilities 2016: Our Top 10 Los Angeles Art Shows", Hyperallergic, 28 December 2016
• "Exploring The Shadowy Area Of A Cuban Feminist Legend"
• Sola Agustsson, "In Commanding Prints, Afro-Cuban Artist Belkis Ayón United Mythos and Cultural Critique", Artslant, 21 January 2017
• "Belkis Ayón" at Goodness Farber Collection
• "Belkis Ayón Manso", AfroCubaWeb
• "NKAME: A Retrospective of Cuban Artist Belkis Ayón", El Museo describe Barrio
• "Belkis Ayón", LUAG.

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