Belkin ayon biography books

Cuban visual artist (1967–1999)

Belkis Ayón
Born	(1967-01-23)23 January 1967 Havana, Cuba
Died	11 September 1999(1999-09-11) (aged 32) Havana, Cuba
Known for	Collography
Movement	Cuban art
Awards	Cuban Prize for National Cultural Eminence (1996) the Biennial of San Juan Prize for Latin English and Caribbean Engraving (1997) Global Prize at the International Artwork Biennale in Maastricht, the Holland (1993)
Website

Belkis Ayón (23 January 1967 – 11 September 1999) was a Cubanprintmaker who specialized restrict the technique of collography.

Ayón created large, highly detailed allegoric collagraphs based on Abakuá, uncluttered secret, all-male Afro-Cuban society. Have time out work is often in swart and white, consisting of ghost-white figures with oblong heads post empty, almond-shaped eyes, set be drawn against dark, patterned backgrounds.^[1]

Early life

She was born in Havana, Cuba, forecast 1967.

From 1979 to 1982: 20 she attended de Octubre Elementary School of the Terrace, in Havana. For four life from 1982 to 1986 she attended San Alejandro Academy, Havana. From 1986 to 1991, Ayón attended the prestigious Instituto Upper-level de Arte in Havana wheel she gained a bachelor's enormity in Engraving, and joined untruthfulness faculty after graduation.^[2]

Career

A central topic of Ayón's art is Abakuá, a secret, exclusively male organization with a complex mythology cruise informs their rites and standards.

The fraternal society began vibrate Nigeria at Cross River captivated Akwa Ibom and was brought to one\'s knees to Haiti and Cuba plunder the slave trade in magnanimity 19th century.^[3]

Ayón researched the account of Abakuá extensively, with muchrepeated emphasis on the most noticeable and only female figure breach the religion, Princess Sikan.

According to a central Abakuán tradition, Sikan once accidentally captured Tanze, an enchanted fish which imparted great power to those who heard its voice. When she took the fish to go backward father, he warned her figure up remain silent and never say something or anything to of it again. She exact divulge the information however, traverse her fiancé, leader of be over enemy tribe.

Her punishment was a death sentence and investigate her, Tanze also died.

This story comes in the homogeneous of imposed silence in throw over work, a major theme. High-mindedness concept of imposed silence denunciation evident in the lack lacking mouths in all of torment figures. Belkis Ayón demonstration hold sway over Sikan's betrayal in her collagraphs may be considered a raction because, ironically, Ayon, a tender artist, gives voice to position main antagonist Sikan, a spouse, in Abakua mythology, which commonly prohibits women.

In this go rancid, Belkis rebelled against the inconsiderate and patriarchal culture argued cross your mind be ingrained in Cuban the public by highlighting the religion's female presence.^[4][5][6]

To date, Ayón has antiquated the only prominent artist work stoppage create an extensive body blond work based on the Abakuán society.

Because the society upturn had created very few optical representations of its myths, Ayón had great freedom to visually interpret their myths for individual. Numerous Abakuán rituals are supposititious in her collagraphs, many nigh on which draw on Christian in the same way well as Afro-Cuban traditions. Abakuán beliefs existed in sharp discriminate to the atheistic anti-religious stance of the Cuban communist decide at the time.^[2]

Style and technique

Ayón dedicated herself to collography, well-ordered printmaking technique for making mechanism on paper.

After the hangout of the Soviet Union, materiel became difficult for artists wrest find. She painstakingly attached holdings of widely differing textures (for example, vegetable peelings, bits warning sign paper, acrylic, and abrasives) merriment a cardboard substrate, painting kill the matrix to create capacity.

Finally, running the resulting set out collage through a hand-crankedprinting press.^[1] She often painted or etched the resulting prints, creating elaborate patterns and areas of embossing that added even more grand and texture. Her works effortlessly combine figuration and areas expose abstract patterning, which sometimes add-on and, at other times, protection the forms of her poll.

Towards the end of Ayón's career, she worked on natty large scale, sometimes joining primate many as 18 sheets come together to construct a single stance, or attaching oversized prints crossreference an armature that would appoint them architectural volume, towering spin viewers.^[1]

Ayón is best known in line for working mainly in black, ivory, and shades of gray.

Restrict these prints, stark and indelible white figures are dramatically ill-matched with dark images and backgrounds. The prints feature both animals — such as snakes, vigorous, and goats — and mortal 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 chalky one") (1996).

She did, despite that, use vibrant colors in heavygoing of her early works subject in studies for prints. Dialect trig notable example is La Cena (1991), a large-scale print awaken which she created a peruse in bright pink, red, panic-stricken and green. Other examples some full-color work include Nasako Began (1986), Syncretism I (1986), unacceptable Careful Women!

Sikan Careful!! (1987).

By disrupting the male-dominated Abakuán mythology through the creation cosy up a more egalitarian iconography, Ayón defied society's norms. To break away this she sometimes mixed copies from the Abakuán and Christlike religions, as in Giving fairy story Taking (1997). In this uncalled-for she depicted a Christian clergywoman or saint with a creamy halo and a red wit next to an Abakuán configuration clothed in black, with exceptional black diamond behind his mind.

She sometimes replaced male count with female figures, as eliminate La Cena, where she represent some of the disciples level the Last Supper with unclearly gendered figures. She also replaced Jesus with the image be required of Sikan.^[7]

Exhibitions and residencies

Ayón's work has been shown widely internationally.

She has been featured in sort out exhibitions in Canada, South Choson, the Netherlands and Spain (2010).^[8] In 1993, she exhibited examination the 16th Venice Biennale soar won the international prize incensed the International Graphics Biennale exertion Maastricht, the Netherlands.^[3] Other Biennials she attended include the Havana Biennial, Bharat Bhavan International Twoyear of Prints in India, service the San Juan, Puerto Law Biennial of Latin American scold CaribbeanEngraving in which she was awarded a prize as with flying colours.

In 1998 Ayón received one residencies in the United States working at Temple University's Town School of Art, Philadelphia Institution of Art, Rhode Island Educational institution of Design, and at position Brandywine Workshop.^[9] The same vintage she was elected vice-president recompense the Association of Plastic Artists of National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba.^[10]

Collections

Her employment can now be found pulsate the permanent collections of a- number of museums, including depiction Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles and the Museum get the message Modern Art in New Dynasty.

From 2 October 2016 look after 12 February 2017, the Lexicographer Museum staged Ayón's first on one`s own museum exhibition with the edifying of her estate; the cheerful subsequently traveled to El Museo del Barrio in New Royalty and the Kemper Museum be in the region of Contemporary Art in Kansas Ambience, and was widely well received.^[11][12][13] The first retrospective of on his work in Europe showed 90 pieces of her work knock the Reina Sofia museum well-off Madrid from 2021 until Apr 2022.^[14] Ayón's work Untitled (Sikán with White Tips), a monochromous print made in 1993, equitable also featured in the mass of the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM).^[15] In 2023, position National Gallery of Art imprison Washington, DC^[16] acquired her portrait Sin titulo [Mujer en posición fetal] (Untitled, Woman in vertebrate position), 1996.

Death

Ayón died by slayer of a gunshot to class head at home in Havana on 11 September 1999.

She was 32. Reasons for brew suicide still remain a confidentiality to her friends and family.^[14] However, The New York Times obituary quotes her as byword of her art, in excellence year that she died:

These [works] are the possessions I have inside that Unrestrainable toss out because there fill in burdens with which you cannot live or drag along, brutal that is what my business is about — that aft so many years, I become conscious of the disquiet.^[17]

References

External links

• Belkis Ayón 1967–1999
• "Nkame: A Retrospective of Cuban Artist Belkis Ayón", Fowler Museum
• Southern Globe Arts News
• "Primera Individual En Eeuu De Belkis Ayón, Una Artista Prolífica En Su Corta Vida", Artishock, 5 November 2016
• Christina García, "Belkis Ayón in L.A.

  Fragments 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 Dec 2016
• "Best of 2016: Our Get carried away 10 Los Angeles Art Shows", Hyperallergic, 28 December 2016
• "Exploring Probity Shadowy World Of A State Feminist Legend"
• Sola Agustsson, "In Pronouncement Prints, Afro-Cuban Artist Belkis Ayón United Mythology and Cultural Critique", Artslant, 21 January 2017
• "Belkis Ayón" at The Farber Collection
• "Belkis Ayón Manso", AfroCubaWeb
• "NKAME: A Retrospective ransack Cuban Printmaker Belkis Ayón", Original Museo del Barrio
• "Belkis Ayón", LUAG.

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