Auge o decadencia del arte cubano (Pinnacle or Decline of Cuban Art), 2006

The seminal piece Auge o decadencia del arte cubano (Pinnacle or Decline of Cuban Art) by Flavio Garciandía was shown for the first time at the Novena Bienal de la Habana in March 2006 and never since. The color chart in the form of a 20-meter-long canvas is accompanied by a video that was made during the process of producing the work, a collaborative effort involving 158 Cuban artists.

Flavio Garciandía was born in Caibairién, Cuba, in 1954, five years before the Cuban Revolution. He was later educated in Havana, and went on to devote himself to teaching at the Instituto Superior de Arte, becoming the Dean of School of Fine Arts there. He was also one of the founders of the Havana Bienal in 1984. Garciandía’s perspective has always come from an unsettling, yet skillful ability to resolve things. He is seen as the father of Conceptual art in Central and South America, and founder of the tongue-in-cheek movement, New Tropical Abstraction. He lives and works in Mexico City.

Access the Audio Guide by Magalí Arriola.