The range and calibre of the contributing artists has been ensured through a close working partnership with the National Council of Visual Arts in Havana. Artists have been invited to either create a new piece or select an existing work, because of its particular significance. Featuring painting, print, drawing, mixed media and photography, Beyond the Frame will offer a diverse picture of contemporary Cuba, the creativity of its artists and its history. It will be the first presentation of work by some of these artists in the UK.
Highlights will include work by Alexis Leyva Machado, known as Kcho, one of Cuba's best known and most internationally recognised living artists. Kcho's conceptual work in recycled materials is sought after by collectors internationally. Manuel Mendive, another international exhibitor familiar to UK art viewers, uses myth and narrative to engage with Cuba's African roots. Mendive is contributing an oil piece created in 2011 to the exhibition. Eduardo Roca Salazar, known as Choco, has selected a highly textured human figure in the collographic technique that has contributed to his international reputation.
Juan Roberto Diago Durruthy, one of the younger contributing artists, has a growing reputation in the international arena. His work is held in collections in the USA, France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland, although he is not yet represented in the UK. The artist often works in jute, a material associated with African slavery. He is donating a conceptual portrait for this exhibition. Another of this new generation of exhibiting artists is Luis Enrique Camejo Vento. Working in a single colour wash, Camejo cites the influence of film and photography on his form and technique. He has selected a piece in green, ‘the colour of hope', fusing tradition with contemporary in a representation of Havana.
Artists working in the photographic medium, both fine art and documentary, will be represented in Beyond the Frame. René de Jesús Peña Gonzales has been at the forefront of trends in art photography in Cuba since the early 1990s. For this exhibition he is contributing Wardrobe, a stunning photographic piece that depicts the artist's hand encased in brass, resting against his body. Liborio Noval Barbara, a veteran of the revolution, is one of the documentary photographers exhibiting. Submitting his favourite picture of Fidel Castro, Noval comments that as you move around it, ‘Fidel's eyes follow you wherever you are'. The exhibition is also being staged to raise awareness of the Miami Five, five Cubans unjustly imprisoned in the United States for 13 years. Loosely referencing the title of the exhibition, some Cuban artists have selected works that engage with the concept of a frame's boundaries while others look beyond it, taking the ideals of the Five, who have never wavered in their beliefs, as a metaphor for the principles of Cuban society. Central to the exhibition is the artwork of two of the Five: Antonio Guerrero with drawing and painting; Gerardo Hernández with cartoons.
Beyond the Frame unites UK-based artists and patrons in support of the campaign This rare opportunity will see Cuban art displayed alongside work by other internationally acclaimed artists. Susan Hiller, Mona Hatoum, Alasdair Gray and John Keane are among the exhibitors. The exhibition's high profile patrons from the cultural sector include Dawn Ades, Rasheed Araeen, Steve Bell, Guy Brett, Richard Deacon and Catherine Lampert.
Full list of Cuban artists and photographers exhibiting in Beyond the Frame: Rafael Pérez Alonso – Eduardo Miguel Abela Torrás – Juan Vicente Rodríguez Bonachea – Manuel Comas – Luis Enrique Camejo Vento – Duvier del Dago Fernández – Juan Roberto Diago Durruthy – Humberto Díaz Perez – Gustavo Díaz Sosa – Nelson Dominguez Cedeño – Ernesto Fernández Nogueras – José Rodríguez Fuster – Sándor González Vilar – Javier Guerra Fernández – William Hernandez Silva – Alexis Leyva Machado (Kcho) – Rigoberto Mena Santana – Manuel Mendive Hoyos – Michel Mirabel Martínez – Ernesto Rancaño Vieites – Eduardo Roco Salazar (Choco) – Joan Arel Ruíz Continuo – Roberto Salas Merino – Lidia Esther Aguilera Sanchez – Liudmila Ivella Velasco and Nelson Ramírez de Arellano – Lesbia Vent Dumois – Manuel Comas
Full list of other contributing artists so far:Rasheed Araeen – Iwan Bala – Robert Ballagh – Derek Boshier – John Byrne – Khulood Da'ami – Rose Finn-Kelcey – Alasdair Gray – John Keane – Peter Kennard and Cat Phillipps – Mona Hatoum – Susan Hiller – Sandy Moffat – Tom Pietrasik – Jane Yates
Sale of artworksAll contributing artists are donating their artworks in order that funds raised can support the ongoing campaign for justice for the Miami Five.
Associated eventsLesbia Vent Dumois, Eduardo Roco Salazar (Choco) and Gustavo Díaz Sosa will be attending the exhibitions and events.
• Beyond the Frame: Contemporary Cuban Art is being organised in collaboration with the National Council of Visual Arts, Havana and Cuba Solidarity Campaign, London.• A programme of associated events will take place at the London and Glasgow exhibitions and at other venues in Edinburgh, Manchester and York. • Beyond the Frame: Contemporary Cuban Art is a not-for-profit event. Any surplus income from the sale of artworks will fund Cuba Solidarity Campaign's ongoing work to achieve justice for the Miami Five, a case supported by Amnesty International, the UN Commission on Human Rights, and prominent individuals including eleven Nobel Prize winners.
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