Cuba Libre – Contemporary Art in Cuba since Peter Ludwig

As early as 1995, husband-and-wife art collectors Peter and Irene Ludwig set up the Ludwig Foundation of Cuba to demonstrate their close attachment to the country and the artists who live there. At the time, it was seen as looking beyond the established cultural centres and art market trends. It was definitely a risk because the Communist state under Fidel Castro barely allowed any freedom of movement, let alone freedom of expression. Aware of this situation and bound by the major commitment they felt towards artists in Cuba, in the few years up until the premature death of Peter Ludwig, they collected a large number of works which even today have not lost their visual and conceptual power. Amongst them are works by Belkis Ayón Manso, José Bedia Valdés, Los Carpinteros, Antonio Eligio Fernandez, Kcho, Marta Mariá Pérez Bravo and others.

Since the politically significant restoration of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States, a new art scene has flourished. Another period of radical change is looming which will proceed this time in an incredibly exciting and also very topical context in relation to the international art market.

This exhibition shows the relationships between the older pieces from the collection and the new forms of the Cuban art scene.

Artists: Adrián Fernández Milanés, Adonis Flores, Diana Fonseca, Carlos Garaicoa, Alex Hérnandez Dueñas, Glenda Léon, Frank Mujica Chávez, Marta María Pérez Bravo, Lidzie Alvisa Jiménez, José Bedia Valdés, Iván Capote Puentes, Yoan Capote, Liset Castillo, Ariamna Contino Mendoza, Robert Fabelo, Carlos Quintana Ledesma, Los Carpinteros, Kcho

Exhibition: Koblenz, Ludwig Museum, April – June 2016