Cuban Artist Humberto Castro exhibits his work at Miami’s Calle Ocho in a show called “Draw- Wings: A Retrospective 1990- 2010”, which is just that, a retro- spective collection of drawings by the artist dating back to the 90’s that had not been shown in Miami since around ‘93. During a re- cent conversation with the artist, he tells me, “Yes, I have always liked to draw, but I did well with my paintings. Now I have gath- ered a compilation of drawings from 1990 to the present day and created this show at Cremata Gal- lery, which will handle my draw- ings from now on.”
“Draw-Wings…” is composed of a selection of works that Cas- tro created while living in exile in Paris, France (1980’s), along with other large format pieces done in Miami over more recent years. The series of mostly black and white works depicting visions of human figures reveals a different side to this well-known painter, a side he admits to be happy to show, “The public really likes my drawings,” he says, “and I like to draw! This is important because I like to vary.”
Of course, as new as this se- ries may be to us, it is not really “new” and is one that still con- tains what we have come to love about Castro the most, and that is his focus and manipulation of an imagery of the human body. The concept of man is one that has al- ways been at the foundation of his work, and that is satisfyingly obvi- ous in these re-emerging pieces; hints of solitude, and human dis- connect are incredibly present in these drawings – an issue Castro has expressed frustration with in previous works. It is the first time Castro has exhibited at a gallery in Calle Ocho. Usually show- ing his work in Coral Gables, the shift with his drawings into this historic Cuban cultural center is something that has the artist quite pleased; “I have been in Miami since 1990, so I know how this all began. It started with Coral Gables, but then spread to Calle Ocho, which lead to the Design District, and now Wynwood.
Up to this point, Calle Ocho has held its place in the more traditional realm of contempo- rary art. It would be wonderful for Calle Ocho to continue to shine at this cultural level and beyond.” Castro describes the opening of “Draw-Wings: A Retrospective 1990-2010” last month as incred- ibly interactive and exciting. The public’s response has been won- derfully positive and inspiring to the artist who had not thought of looking through his “archives” and displaying its contents sooner.
Be the first to comment