In the Mind's Eye

In the Mind's Eye: Landscapes of Cuba examines how Cuban and U.S. painters active largely from 1850 to 1910 projected and injected ideas about Cuba into landscape painting as a reflection of political, social, and ideological changes in both countries. While some artists depicted a pastoral, serene Cuba, others acknowledged the history of race and slavery and created works that equate landscape to nationalism. Multilayered readings found in historic landscapes pictured by U.S. artists reflect the complex ways in which Cuba has been viewed and imagined by its skeptical northern neighbors. U.S. artists William Glackens, Childe Hassam, Winslow Homer, and Willard Metcalf will be featured alongside contemporary artists such as Juan Carlos Alom, María Magdalena Campos Pons, and Juana Valdés. While works by Emilio Perez and Lilian Garcia-Roig respond to historic depictions of landscape, while works by Carlos Martiel and Carrie Mae Weems intervene in the historical tropes and ideologies present in the landscapes featured in the exhibition. Other artists featured in the exhibition include Esteban Chartrand, Miguel Melero Rodriguez, Valentín Sanz Carta, Yoan Capote, Enrique Martinez Celaya, Diana Fonseca Quiñones, Alejandro Campins, and Glexis Novoa.

In the Mind’s Eye is accompanied by a catalogue published by Giles, Ltd. featuring essays by Jorge Duany, Katherine Manthorne, and interviews with artists Juana Valdés and Carlos Martiel conducted by Donette Francis and Elvia Rosa Castro.

This exhibition and catalogue are made possible by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Additional generous support for the exhibition is provided by Ramón and Nercys Cernuda, the Shadravan Family, the Gazitua family, and ArtesMiami/Aida Levitan, Ph.D.

Winslow Homer (1836-1910), Governor's Wife, Santiago de Cuba, Watercolor and graphite on paper, 1885, 11 5/8 x 19 inches, Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence, Museum Appropriation Fund