Amelia Peláez

AMELIA PELÁEZ (Yaguajay, Cuba, 1896 – Havana, 1968).
Untitled, 1964.
Gouache on paper.
Signed and dated “AP 64” in the lower right corner.
Condition: has a small tear on the right margin.
Measurements: 29.5 x 21.5 cm; 36.5 x 28.5 cm (frame).

Created in 1964, this work belongs to the mature period of Amelia Peláez, one of the key figures of the 20th-century Cuban avant-garde. Her artistic language, developed from Cubist influences and the ornamental tradition of colonial architecture, achieved a unique synthesis between figuration and abstraction, characterized by the prominence of color and line.

The composition features two stylized floral forms, vertically articulated by thick black outlines that delineate areas of intense yellow and red. The geometric simplification, the rhythm of the curves, and the symmetrical arrangement of the elements evoke the structure of traditional Cuban stained-glass windows, a recurring motif in the artist’s work. The chromatic hallmarks and the expressiveness of the brushwork lend the work a distinctly decorative character, characteristic of her work from the 1960s.

Amelia Peláez trained at the San Alejandro Academy in Havana and furthered her studies in Paris, where she studied under Alexandra Exter and came into contact with the European avant-garde. After returning to Cuba in 1934, she developed a personal artistic language that integrated artistic modernity with elements of Caribbean visual culture. She participated in the “Modern Cuban Painters” exhibition at MoMA in New York in 1944 and in the 1952 Venice Biennale. Her work is represented in institutions such as MoMA and the Art Museum of the Americas in Washington.