Wifredo Lam, The Eternal Presence (An Homage to Alejandro García Caturla) (detail), 1944. Oil and pastel over papier mâché and chalk ground
on bast fiber fabric. RISD Museum, Nancy Sayles Day Collection of Modern Latin American Art. Courtesy of the RISD Museum, Providence, RI. Courtesy image.
SANTA BARBARA — SBMA Art Matters lecture explores “The Multiple Surrealisms of Wifredo Lam” with Mey-Yen Moriuchi, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Art History La Salle University, at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 2.
The Cuban artist Wifredo Lam (1902-1982) is acclaimed for his semi-abstract, polymorphic paintings that draw on African motifs and the Santeria religion, in addition to avant-garde movements such as Cubism and Surrealism. His hybrid animal-human figures and fragmented, flattened compositions are linked to his Afro-Cuban culture, as well as to his experimentation with automatism and surrealist games. The emphasis on Lam’s African roots and his encounter with European modernism has neglected the influence of Lam’s Chinese culture on his art. Is there a convergence of Chinese and Afro-Cuban traditions that have been overlooked? This lecture explores the impact of Lam’s Chinese heritage on his artistic production and considers the significance of multiple Surrealisms—European, Caribbean, Asian—present in his oeuvre.
Location: SBMA’s Mary Craig Auditorium, 1130 State Street
Free Students and Museum Circle Members/$10 SBMA Members/$15 Non-Members
Get tickets at tickets.sbma.net.
Please note: This event is in person at Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s Mary Craig Auditorium. Visitors who plan to attend an event in SBMA’s Mary Craig Auditorium must show proof of being fully vaccinated with a booster (if eligible) OR, in some cases, supply a negative Covid-19 medical test result (taken within 72 hours prior to each event), along with an official photo ID, before entering the venue. All visitors must also follow SBMA’s mask policy and wear a mask while attending events in SBMA’s Mary Craig Auditorium.