"De aquí y de allá- From Here and From There" Cuban Art Exhibit At Galerias Bohemia

ST. PETERSBURG, FL October 29, 2010 (Press-News.org) Galerias Bohemia is exhibiting art work from renowned Cuban-American artist Agustin Gaínza and Cuban artist Sandra Dooley Medina.

Cuban art reveals the constant conflict between its country's island beauty and its isolated struggle. From colorful, naive explorations of its cities and countryside to cynical installations offering commentary on consumerism and a restrictive regime, Cuban art reflects the challenges unique to the island nation. Today, collectors are sampling a little of both.

The newest generation of Cuban artists use their work to explore arte con la vida (art together with daily life). These artists voice concerns about issues of escape, shortages of material necessities, Cuban bureaucracy, inequality and racism. They express loyalty to their island's natural beauty and socialist ideals, without ignoring the daily hardships in Cuba.

Never before has there been as much Cuban art on view in the United States, at the museum level and in retail galleries. "We have had a lot of interest in Cuban works," said Anthony Fisher, co-owner of Indigo Arts Gallery in Philadelphia, which specializes in self-taught art from around the world. "There is a tremendous general cultural interest in Cuban music and dance and the arts. At least part of it is the aspect of being forbidden fruit."

Artist Biography

Agustin Gaínza is a Cuban-American artist who for over four decades has devoted himself to the visual arts, in special, painting, drawing, printmaking and ceramics. His work has been exhibited in his native country as well as in the United States, Europe and the Americas being acclaimed by the public and the specialized circle. His work is well represented in private and public collections all around. Gaínza live and works in his adoptive Miami Since 1979.

"There are artists who can leap over the culture currently in fashion and grow to gigantic proportions, moved by their memory and by deep awareness of their historical inheritance. For these artists, the act of creating and that of breaking away occur simultaneously and harmoniously-they are part of one same natural and mysterious process. Agustin Gaínza is one of those artists. We see this in the way he peers into a window or paints an evening to reveal the poetic side of reality. His images capture the spirit, light, air, shadows, sensuality and throbbing of the human heart. "

Zoe Valdes
Novelist & Poet
Paris, Spring of 2010

Sandra Dooley Medina
Artist Statement

"The story of how I started painting is very amusing: in the Christmas of 1999 I wanted to make some new decorations because, between you and me, the ones we had in the house were horrible. So I took some hollow egg shells and made them into ornaments which I hand painted with a set of children's temperas, and my friends went crazy for them. I ended up painting more than 40 eggs, then I started to make cards and then some little paintings. After that I was hooked, and I haven't stopped painting since."
The current collection at Galerias Bohemia is titled "Mi Vida"

"My Life" reflects Sandra's daily life at home with her friends, her dogs and cats, in the seaside town of Santa Fe, Cuba. The paintings have bright splashes of color and the women within them are shown as reflective and thoughtful...."

Galerias Bohemia is one of the leading provider of cuban art from artis working and living in Cuba. (727)388-9200 http://www.gbohemia.com