Agustín Cárdenas Alfonso

AGUSTÍN CÁRDENAS ALFONSO (Cuba, 1927 - 2001).
Untitled.
Mahogany wood and metal. Plaster base. Unique piece.
Attached certificate of authenticity issued by Livia Cárdenas, the artist's wife.
Signed in the inferior zone.
Measurements: 87 x 31 x 60 cm.
This work belongs to the stage of the artist where he stood out for his aesthetic experimentation with wood, used as a support and unique material for his works. However, this work presents an exceptionality based on the presence of metal, which envelops the wooden structure in a light and subtle way, exerting a play of volumes based on the empty space that coexists with the volumetric rotundity of the wood. In fact, it is a resource that he used on a few occasions, as for example in the sculpture entitled Jucambe, 1950-59. The work is defined through forms that fluctuate between the figurative and the abstract, defined through a set of sinuous and organic lines that, when contemplating the sculpture, invite us to think of two lovers that merge together. The technique of the carving work evidences the harmony that the artist generates between matter and space. The result is an evocative work, which introduces the viewer into a world of insinuations, nuances and conceptual depth. It is not surprising that this type of work, which defined Cárdenas' artistic production, was called "Forms of Silence", the title of the artist's exhibition held at the Wilfredo Lam Center in Havana.
A painter and sculptor, Cárdenas studied at the San Alejandro National School of Fine Arts in Havana between 1943 and 1949, where he studied under the guidance of artist Juan José Sicre, who introduced him to the works of great sculptors such as Jean Arp, Henry Moore and Brancusi, which had a great influence on the development of his later work. Cárdenas was a member of the Association of Engravers of Cuba (1951-55) and of the group Los Once (1953-55). In 1955 he obtained a scholarship to study in Paris, the city where his most creative period took place, consolidating him as an international figure. In 1957 he joined the Parisian surrealist movement, and in 1965 he was awarded the Paris Biennial prize. As a sculptor, his work is divided into three stages, defined by the material used in each one of them: wood first, then marble, granite and basalt, and finally bronze. His painting is closely related to his sculptural work, also presenting dynamic bodies that appear to be in constant change, with fluid and synthesized forms. Cárdenas exhibited his work both in Cuba and in the United States, France, Italy and South Korea, and participated in multiple group exhibitions, such as the Tokyo International Biennial in 1965. His awards include the Cuban National Plastic Arts Award (1955), although he has also been awarded several medals in Cuban fine arts salons, and in 1976 he won the Fujisankey Biennial Award (Japan) and was named Knight of the National Order of Arts and Letters of France. Cardenas is represented at the CNAC in Paris, the Hakone Art Museum (Japan), the National Museum of Fine Arts of Cuba, the Museums of Contemporary Art of Algiers and Montreal, the Museum of Modern Art of Tel Aviv and the Museum of Fine Arts of Caracas.