Belkis Ayón, “La familia (The Family),” 1991
Belkis Ayón was a Cuban artist who was fascinated by the secret Afro-Cuban fraternal society Abakuá. She used the iconography of its origin story as the principle subject matter for her multitextured grayscale colograph prints, while infusing each picture with her own feminist and subversive twist. She died in 1999 at the all-too young age of thirty-two, though she had already begun to make her mark on the art world. Her immense talent and provocative imagery mixed with her tragic end have made her the stuff of legend.
Still, most of her work hasn't been exhibited together in the US until this year, via an exhibition entitled NKAME, which is "a word meaning praise and salutation in the Abakuá language," according to the show statement of curator Cristina Vives. Thrilled that it has made its way to NYC, up now at El Museo Del Barrio through November 5th. Can't wait to see these pieces in person and bask in their shadow.
(Thank you to Jesse Bransford, Susan Aberth, and Karsten Krejcarek for introducing her work to me and telling me about this show).
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