Art Brut CUBA - December 6, 2024 through April 27, 2025

The exhibition Art Brut CUBA takes us back to Cuba four decades after Art Inventif à Cuba was held at the Collection de l’Art Brut in 1983. The earlier show was curated by Samuel Feijóo (1914–1992), a leading figure of Cuban cultural life – he was a writer, poet, publisher, ethnologist, painter, self-taught draughtsman and adviser to Cuba’s Ministry of Culture.

The 1983 exhibition stemmed from Jean Dubuffet’s wish to show, at the Collection de l’Art Brut, works by self-taught Cuban artists in the collection of his friend, Feijóo. It featured pieces by more than 30 artists from Villa Clara, all of whom were members of Signos, the group founded by Feijóo in the late 1960s to showcase popular Cuban art and literature.

But why is this particular country deserving of our interest once again? Because its insular nature, its history and its territory – long isolated from the rest of the world for political and economic reasons – make this island a fertile environment for the production of creations unaffected by outside influences. For those same reasons, it is also much more difficult in Cuba than elsewhere to depart from collective norms and establish artistic individuality.

Now, 41 years later, Art Brut CUBA brings together a selection of drawings and paintings by the artists who appeared in the original exhibition. It also features works by contemporary Cuban outsider artists promoted by Riera Studio in Havana and shown for the first time at the Collection de l’Art Brut. In all, the new exhibition contains 266 works of different kinds: drawings, paintings, collages, assemblages, finery and photographs.

The practice of recycling or repurposing materials and ordinary objects for creative purposes, which is a characteristic feature of Art Brut, is particularly evident in Cuba, where the artists featured here lack almost everything. Nonetheless, their endless imagination, ingenuity and creative drive allow them to exploit, transform and repurpose these assorted materials to create remarkable and incredibly expressive works. The themes they reflect echo their own experiences, the economic, social and political realities of their country, their personal worlds, and their obsessions. And what makes these creations so surprising is that they all present a facet far removed from standard conceptions of Cuba, which is still essentially controlled by the state.

Curated by Sarah Lombardi, director, Collection de l’Art Brut

The Art Brut CUBA exhibition in the medias
RSI, Lou Lepori, Art Brut CUBA, 6 december 2024
RTS, Gilles de Diesbach, Journal 19h30/Chronique culturelle - le musée de l'Art Brut nous ammène à Cuba, 5 december 2024
La Liberté, Aurélie Lebreau, A Cuba, des artistes libres, 14 december 2024

Practical information

Dates

December 6, 2024 - April 26, 2025

Evening opening

Thursday, December 5, 2024, 6:30pm

Publication

Art Brut CUBA, under the direction of Sarah Lombardi, texts by Derbis Campos, Andrea Dal Lago, Edward M. Gómez, Sarah Lombardi, Rosmy Porter, Samuel Riera and Michel Thévoz, Lausanne/Milan, Collection de l’Art Brut/5 Continents Editions, 2024, 208 pages, more than 150 color plates, bilingual edition french/english

Guided tours

Upon request for groups and classes: in French, German, English.

Press Kit

To be downloaded on the media page by october 2024

Accessibility

The exhibition Art Brut CUBA is accessible to people with reduced mobility.

Associated event(s)

Public opening of the "Art Brut CUBA" exhibition - Thursday 5 December 2024, 06:30 pm
Atelier de gravure mythopoétique - Saturday 7 December 2024, 01:30 pm
Workshop for the general public, continuous from 1.30 to 5.30 pm, free without registration
Free musical tour of the "Art Brut CUBA" exhibition - Saturday 7 December 2024, 02:30 pm
By Sophie Clément, with Grand Balthazar, quatuor trad/folk.

THIS EVENT IS CANCELED
Free guided tour of the "Art Brut CUBA" show for teachers - Tuesday 21 January 2025, 06:00 pm
Booking via the online ticket shop
Children’s workshop ""Les enfants de la télé"" - Wednesday 22 January 2025, 02:00 pm
Booking via the online ticket shop
Children’s workshop "Les enfants de la télé" - Saturday 8 February 2025, 02:00 pm
Booking via the online ticket shop
Free guided tour of the "Art Brut CUBA" exhibition - Saturday 8 February 2025, 02:30 pm
Specially adapted tour for visually impaired visitors

Booking via the online ticket shop
Nolosé - Concert at the Jumeaux Jazz Club, Lausanne - Friday 28 February 2025, 09:00 pm
door opening 7pm, concert 9pm
bookings via www.jumeaux.club
Children’s workshop "Les enfants de la télé" - Saturday 8 March 2025, 02:00 pm
Booking via the online ticket shop
Free musical tour of the "Art Brut CUBA" exhibition - Saturday 8 March 2025, 02:30 pm
By Sarah Lombardi, director of the Collection de l'Art Brut and exhibition curator, with Yilian Cañizares, violonist, singer and composer.

Booking via the online ticket shop
Children’s workshop "Les enfants de la télé" - Saturday 5 April 2025, 02:00 pm
Booking via the online ticket shop
Free guided tour of the "Art Brut CUBA" exhibition - Saturday 5 April 2025, 02:30 pm
By Sarah Lombardi, director of the Collection de l'Art Brut and exhibition curator

Booking via the online ticket shop