Antonia’s pain portrayed in papers

Heridas sobre el papel: the title is much more than a tough and clear metaphor. It is, actually, a mission statement. You just have to see the works exhibited in the exhibition: from a truly grotesque expressionism —which may be even aggressive to some— to disturbing abstractions, always relative, as we can perceive traits of pain, fear, in the drawings.

It is the universe created by the immense Antonia Eiriz, which is rarely a place of complacency. The artist's commitment to her context materializes in a somewhat dark, arduous discourse. Tormented beings, at least in appearance, emerge from complex networks. They are the sides of reality that many artists rightfully ignore. Antonia had the right and felt the need to show it. And she was an artist of great talent and proven abilities. Not even her detractors could question the strength of her lyricism.

In a decade of often radical changes and, therefore, to some extent traumatic, the 1960s, Antonia gave birth to a dream world that built bridges to the landscape of her daily life... and to a much more intimate space, which she had the courage to bring it to light. It was too much for some back then; it continues to be, in fact, too much for many contemporary viewers. But it is the voice of an honest artist, and of a woman of her time... whose work has transcended in time.

The exhibition at the Galiano gallery, an institution closely linked to Antonia's itinerary, reveals some of the artist's constants, this time on paper. There are more than four dozen art works, in dissimilar techniques and formats, in which the strength and uniqueness of a style are evident.

Curated by Teresa Toranzo, Sandra García Herrera, and Patricia Santos Hernández, the exhibition will be open to the public until August 31, a collaboration between the National Museum of Fine Arts and the Cuban Fund of Cultural Assets. Highly recommended.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff