Reinaldo Pagán Ávila (Cuban, b.1971)

Predisctinacion Tropicale 

Oil on canvas

Signed to lower left

Visible 15 in. x 19 1/2 in., matted and framed to 22 1/16 in. x 26 9/16 in.

Standing before a cornfield, a man wearing sandals, rolled-up pants, and a straw hat is bent over a block. His hands are firmly grasping the hilt to a machete, perhaps in an attempt to free it from where it is embedded in the block. 

As a graduate from the José Joaquín Tejada Art School, Reinaldo Pagán Ávila (b. 1971) began working under the Cuban Cultural Foundation with the mission of beautifying the city. Joined by fellow young artists, also participating in the project, the group known as “Cara Joven” (Young Faces) was formed and began changing their existing art scene by introducing contemporary ideas, which quickly began to infiltrate galleries around the city. Themes of existentialism and ecological concerns became the center of these artists' work, and their powerful installations and exhibitions captivated the community of Santiago de Cuba. Ávila’s work was an instant success, winning him a variety of awards, including the National Aquelarre prize in 1993 and 1996, as well as winning a prize at the Olense Kartoenale in Belgium in 1996. 

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[Art, Cuban Art, Latinx Art, Latino Art, Latin-American Art, Caribbean Art]