Under Fidel

Salvador Gonzalez

Curated by:
Ana Maria Quintana and Jelani Lawson

Contact: UnderFidel.com
323.313.6596, info@underfidel.com

Location:
Santa Fe Lofts 121 E. 6 th Street Los Angeles, CA 90013

Salvador Gonzalez is a muralist, sculptor and painter. He is best known for his masterwork known as el Callejón de Hamel, or Hamel’s Alley, located in the neighborhood known as Cayo Hueso in Central La Habana, Cuba.

Hamel’s Alley is a two block alley created in the 1990s when one of Salvador’s friends asked him to paint a mural in his home Salvador instead opted to paint the mural outside. El Callejón de Hamel has become a multidimensional outdoor art space complete with live music, theater dance performances, ongoing murals projects and art education classes. On Sundays, el Callejon hosts it’s weekly Rumba gathering where musicians gather to play, dance and sing to the beats of the Bata’s and Congo’s El Callejón de Hamel is considered to be a temple to the Afro-Cuban religious cultures where Salvador serves as a priest of Shango.

After the creation of El Callejón de Hamel, Salvador began to receive commissions to paint murals in different countries, such as Venezuela, Norway, Denmark, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. He was also commissioned to paint murals in the United States. Two of his murals are on display in Philadelphia: “Flower for Africa," (2001) is a 60 ft. by 30 ft. mural located in Strawberry Mansion on the corner of Oxford and 30th Street in Philadelphia; “Butterflies of the Caribbean," (2000), is a 60 ft. by 33 ft. mural located in the heart of the Latino community at 2nd Street and Susquahana.

Eduardo Gonzalez Exposito

Curated by:
Ana Maria Quintana and Jelani Lawson

Contact: UnderFidel.com
323.313.6596, info@underfidel.com

Location:
Santa Fe Lofts 121 E. 6 th Street Los Angeles, CA 90013

Eduardo Gonzalez Exposito was born in La Habana, Cuba, in 1964. Exposito is a professional actor who became interested in artes plasticas while he served as the director of an art gallery. His work also includes sculpture, engravings, paintings, and photography. He has been a member of the Union Nacional de Pintores y Artistas de Cuba for the past 15 years.

The works available belong to a collection entitled “Estados del Tiempo,” which was exhibited in the Universidad de Colima, Cuba in January of 2004. The works consist of figuratively altered visages placed in backdrops that range from complete blackness to vivid red and blue tones. The artist uses the simplicity of his work to create an impression in the viewer that ultimately results in an intimate yet intense connection between the image and the spectator.

Alfredo Manzo Cedeño

Curated by:
Ana Maria Quintana and Jelani Lawson

Contact: UnderFidel.com
323.313.6596, info@underfidel.com

Location:
Santa Fe Lofts 121 E. 6 th Street Los Angeles, CA 90013

Alfredo Manzo Cedeño was born in La Habana, Cuba on October 23, 1964. His artistic training took place at the Academia de Bellas Artes “San Alejandro” and the Facultad de Educación Artística de Instituto Superior Pedagógico Enrique José Varona.

The works available are part of a series that pay tribute to Andy Warhol’s contribution to Pop art, an art form that emerged as mass advertising and television became dominant forces in American life. Even though Manzo’s work has also been labeled as Pop art, he prefers to refer to is as “Populista” because of its reference to both Cuban and American culture and heritage.

Luis Lamothe Duribe

Curated by:
Ana Maria Quintana and Jelani Lawson

Contact: UnderFidel.com
323.313.6596, info@underfidel.com

Location:
Santa Fe Lofts 121 E. 6 th Street Los Angeles, CA 90013

Luis Lamothe Duribe was born in La Habana, Cuba on July 27, 1965. He received elementary instruction in School 23 and C and later continued his studies through workshops in Taller de Manero and under the instruction of Carmelo González. The latter mentioned has been largely responsible for shaping his career.

Lamothe is a self-taught artist, painter, sketcher/drawer, and engraver who also has experience in wood sculpture. He was also an illustrator for the Gaceta de Cuba, Revista Unión and Revista Revolución y Cultura. Some of the prints available consist of images of his homeland that have been carved in used, black-and-white linoleum and then printed on a small handpress. Lamothe prints exceedingly small runs of this works, usually printing only
15 copies of the pieces he has spent a month or more carving. Lamothe has received several international awards for his works.