Modern and Contemporary Cuban art: what you need to know to start collecting

For a collector who is just starting out, where are the best places to see Modern and Contemporary Cuban art?

Since the 1940s, New York has been a great place to see Cuban art. During that decade collectors had the opportunity to buy first-rate examples of Cuban Modernism at important galleries such as Perls and Pierre Matisse, while MoMA’s groundbreaking Modern Cuban Painters exhibition in 1944 showcased the full breadth of the island’s artistic talents.

You might say that in recent years we’ve seen a return to the 1940s, since one can find great exhibitions of Cuban art at an array of the city’s important museums and galleries, from the Whitney to David Zwirner and many others.

Miami, with its close ties to the island, has also long been a hotspot for Cuban art. There is a tradition there of dealers supporting the island’s new emerging talent, together with well-established artists.

European cities such as Paris, London and Madrid have also been a great place to see Cuban art from the early to mid-20th century. An array of artists from the island settled in Europe to develop their careers, Wifredo Lam being a good example. The outstanding retrospective of his work that opened at the Centre Pompidou in 2015 and travelled to the Reina Sofía in Madrid was at Tate Modern until January 2017.

Of course, it goes without saying that Havana is one of the best places to see Cuban art, whether in an artist’s studio or at the city’s prominent Biennial, which has been going strong since 1984. Be sure not to miss the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de Cuba.

Who are the important modern artists to look out for?

New collectors may hear people refer to groups of artists — La Vanguardía, for example, refers to artists from the first half of the 20th century who are credited with introducing Modernism to Cuba. Key figures include Victor Manuel, Amelia Peláez, Cundo Bermúdez and Mario Carreño among others.

Later influential groups were Los Once and Diez Pintores Concretos — two radical groups of the 1950s and early 1960s who delved into geometric abstraction, hard-edged painting and kinetic sculptures. Artists like Sandu Darie and Loló Soldevilla are thankfully becoming more familiar household names as new scholarship and gallery exhibitions make their work more public. 

Not aligned with any particular group, but sharing affinities with Surrealism, Wifredo Lam is perhaps the best known of the Cuban modernists. Lam is considered by many to be the Picasso of Cuban art — indeed, the two artists were friends.

Who are the important contemporary artists to follow?

A few of the key artists whose works are well represented internationally in museums, galleries and at auction include the artist’s collective Los Carpinteros, Alexandre Arrechea, Yoan Capote, Kcho, Carlos Garaicoa, Roberto Fabelo and Manuel Mendive.

Since 2007, María Magdalena Campos-Pons showcased her first multimedia survey of nearly forty years of her dedication to photography, painting, and performance at the Brooklyn Museum. From September 2023 to January 2024, Behold reveled in the artist’s exploration of the interconnectedness of global histories both past and present and its relation to migration, motherhood, and spiritual practices. She recently sold Soy una Fuente (I Am a Fountain) at Christie’s in New York in 2023 for $100,800, reaching a new record price for the artist since 2008.

Another contemporary artist, or ‘artivist’, who has received a lot of press but is rarely found at auction or in galleries is Tania Bruguera, who recently threw her hat into the ring to become the president of Cuba. Primarily a performance artist, she is unafraid to delve into such fraught topics as political propaganda and immigration.

What should a collector consider when seeking to acquire Cuban art?

While important for any collector, good provenance is particularly significant when it comes to acquiring Cuban Modernism. We’ve seen a lot of works that have come to the market recently with little to no provenance. With limited literature and few institutions or experts who will confirm authenticity, the need for research is imperative. One notable exception is the Madrid-based Fundación Arte Cubano, which authenticates the work of many, but not all, Vanguardía artists.

There are also restitution issues that are beginning to come to light with the loosening of the Castro government. After Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, many works in private collections were seized by the government. Slowly, demand is building for these works to be returned. Again, buyers should do their homework on provenance in order to avoid having to deal with a restitution claim years from now.

How has the market grown, and what has driven this?

London auction records for Cuban Modernists date back to the 1950s and 1960s, a clear sign that these artists had already been ‘discovered’ by international collectors. Indeed MoMA had bought Wifredo Lam’s magnum opus The Jungle in 1945, and Mario Carreño had been enjoying solo exhibitions at such prestigious venues as the San Francisco Museum of Fine Art even before then.

This shows that there has been strong international demand for Cuban art for a very long time. We continue to see steady demand from our traditional Latin American buyers, but we’ve also noticed an increase in demand from new buyers.

Are there any Cuban artists the market has yet to discover, or who are undervalued?

We’ve seen a rise in prices for modern and contemporary Cuban art, but nothing near the prices achieved by European or US artists. Unfortunately, it is common for female artists to sell for significantly less than their male equivalents, and Cuban female artists are no exception. Works by well-known artists of great merit such as Zilia Sánchez, Loló Soldevilla and Ana Mendieta, for example, can typically be acquired for a fraction of what works by their male equivalents in the US and Europe might sell for. New collectors should educate themselves about these artists’ work, and enlist the help of a knowledgeable advisor to help them make financially prudent and art-historically significant purchases.