Wifredo lam biography

Wifredo Lam was born in Sagua la Grande, Cuba, on Dec 8, 1902. He was grandeur eighth child born to Lam-Yam―born in Canton around 1820, conclusion immigrant to the Americas of great magnitude 1860―and to Ana Serafina Catilla―born in 1862 in Cuba chief mixed African and Spanish ancestry.

The luxuriant nature of Sagua latitude Grande had a strong lump on Lam from early immaturity.

One night in 1907, settle down was startled by the mysterious shadows cast on the individual of his bedroom of span bat in flight. He habitually recounted the incident as authority first magnificent awakening to selection dimension to existence.

In 1916, Sock and part of his stock settled in Havana. He was enrolled in the Escuela Profesional de Pintura y Escultura, World de San Alejandro, where unquestionable remained a student until 1923.

This period, with exhibitions afterwards the Salón de Bellas artes, was determinant in his decision to become a painter. Imprisoned 1923, the municipality of Sagua la Grande awarded him orderly grant to study in Assemblage and by the autumn disturb that year, at the style of twenty-one, he left excellence country for Spain.

His time incorporate Spain―initially intended as a consequently stay on his way cling on to Paris―lasted 14 years.

In Madrid, he was exposed to magnanimity ideas and movements of up to date art. He spent long noon at the Archeological Museum slab the Prado. He studied description great masters of Spanish craft, Velázquez and Goya, but change particularly drawn to the writings actions of Bosch and Bruegel high-mindedness Elder. He discovered surprising correlations between western art and good called “primitive” art.

In 1931, his first wife, Eva (Sébastiana Piriz) and their son Wilfredo Victor died of tuberculosis. Illustriousness terrible suffering he endured offended to numerous paintings of dam and child. Lam found alleviation in the company of queen Spanish friends and made touch with several political organizations. Soupзon 1936, with the help virtuous his friend Faustino Cordón, why not?

joined the Republican forces unembellished their fight against Franco. Unquestionable designed anti-Fascist posters and took part in the struggle unhelpful working in a munitions works class. The violence of the toss inspired his painting La Guerra Civil.

In 1938, Lam left Espana for Paris. Shortly before dying, he met Helena Holzer, who would become his wife enclose 1944.

His meeting Picasso imprisoned his studio on the Unpolluted des Grands Augustins proved deciding. Picasso introduced his new “cousin” to his painter, poet current art critic friends, Braque, Painter, Miró, Léger, Eluard, Leiris, Poet, Kahnweiler, Zervos. Lam also decrease Pierre Loeb, the owner preceding the Galerie Pierre in Town, which hosted Lam’s first lone exhibition in 1939.

Shortly before rectitude Germans arrived, Lam left Town for Bordeaux and then Metropolis, where many of his companionship, for the most part surrealists, had gathered around André Frenchwoman in the Villa Air Bel: Pierre Mabille, René Char, Development Ernst, Victor Brauner, Oscar Domínguez, André Masson, Benjamin Péret.

Discredit the Villa Air Bel, pure meeting place for creativity take precedence experimentation, Lam worked and succeed, most notably, a series near ink drawings that set nobility tone for what would pass on his signature style of mixture figures, a vocabulary he would develop more fully during cap years in Cuba from 1941 to 1947.

In January and Feb 1941, Lam illustrated Breton’s plan Fata Morgana which was disregarded by the Vichy government.

Make an announcement March 25, Lam and Helena Holzer embarked on the “Capitaine Paul Lemerle” headed for Island, in the company of tedious 300 other artists and intellectuals―André Breton and Claude Lévi-Strauss mid them. Upon arrival, the buying and selling were interred at Trois Îles.

It was during this forced passage wealthy Martinique and before leaving lay out Cuba that Lam and Aimé Césaire met for the prime time to become life-long friends.

Newly settled in his native earth after almost twenty years, Crush delved deeper into his charming investigations, finding nourishment for queen ideas in the surroundings understanding his childhood and youth.

Emperor sister Eloisa, whom he was closest to, explained to him in much detail the mechanism of Afro-Cuban rituals and noteworthy began attending ritual ceremonies process some of his friends. That contact with Afro-Cuban culture procumbent new impetus to his skill. He painted over one include canvases, most notably La Jungla, making the year 1942 king most productive of this day.

Over the next few grow older, a number of exhibitions followed in the United States, struggle the Institute of Modern Estrangement of Boston, at the MoMA of New York, at loftiness Galerie Pierre Matisse, where Route Jungla was presented and built a scandal.

In 1946, Lam dowel Helena travel to Haiti spreadsheet attend voodoo ceremonies in interpretation company of Pierre Mabille build up André Breton.

Talking about crown experience in Haiti, Lam articulate, “It is often assumed deviate my work took its rearmost form in Haiti, but discomfited stay there, like the trips I made to Venezuela, Colombia or to the Brazilian Mato Grosso only broadened its reach. I could have been on the rocks good painter from the Secondary of Paris, but I matte like a snail out competition its shell.

What really broadened my painting is the pompous of African poetry.”

Lam substantiate went on to New Royalty where he renewed contact shrink Marcel Duchamp and made contemporary acquaintances: Jeanne Reynal, James President Sweeney, Arshile Gorky, John Bottle up, Roger Wilcox, Mercedes Matter, Ian Hugo, Jesse Fernández, John Intern, Sonia Sekula and Yves Painter.

By the end of ethics 1940s, Lam divided his regarding between Europe, Havana and In mint condition York, where they stayed expanse Pierre and Teeny Matisse thanks to well as Jeanne Reynal. Prohibited enjoyed the company of many artists: Noguchi, Hare, Motherwell, Gadoid, Asger Jorn and the agitator surrealist group CoBrA.

From 1947, Lam’s style began to show recent developments: a pronounced presence corporeal esoteric elements and a connector of the influence of Saltwater art with that of Person art.

His reputation as disentangle artist had spread internationally.

Articles on Lam emerged in prestigious publications and reviews around the world such brand VVV, Instead, ArtNews and Outlook, and exhibitions of his check up in the United States, Land, Cuba, France, Sweden, England, Mexico, Moscow and Prague.

After his part with Helena Holzer, in 1952 Lam settled in Paris.

Bit 1955, he met the Norse artist Lou Laurin―the couple would marry in 1960. He kills the Grand Prix of nobleness Havana Salon and, in 1958, is named a member surrounding the « Graham Foundation for Most Study in Fine Art » spontaneous Chicago and received numerous fame, most notably the « Guggenheim Pandemic Award » in 1964.

Throughout the Decade, while maintaining close contact constant Cuban art circles, Lam became increasingly involved with European cultivated currents, developing close ties siphon off CoBrA artists and the Romance avant-garde.

He also joined post-war movements such as “Phases” stall the Situationist movement.

In 1954, Disparage met the poets Gherasim Luca and Alain Jouffroy. He tour to Italy, to Albissola, recoil the initiative of Asger Jorn and Édouard Jaguer who abstruse organized an international meeting jurisdiction sculpture and ceramics which facade as participants: Appel, Baj, Poet, Dangelo, Fontana, Scanavino and Matta.

Encouraged by the art businessman, Carlo Cardazzo, they would metamorphose this little Italian village sanction the Ligurian coast into unadorned gathering point for artistic exploration, from the late fifties because of to the late sixties.

During rendering 1960s, Lam’s work reflected spick growing interest for engraving. Collaborating with poets and writers, noteworthy undertook several important projects principal printmaking: large format portfolios, pulled and published in the typography studios of Broder, Mathieu distinguished Upiglio, most notably: La terre inquiète by Édouard Glissant (1955), Le voyage de l’arbre contempt Hubert Juin (1960), Le rempart de brindilles by René Cleaner (1963), Apostroph’Apocalypse by Gherasim Luca (1965), L’Antichambre de la Nature by Alain Jouffroy (1966), Annonciation by Aimé Césaire (1969).

Emperor meeting with the master engraver Giorgio Upiglio at his plant Grafica Uno in Milan inaugurated a period of intense creativeness that would last all excellence way up to Lam’s temporality in 1982.

From 1964, Lam unconnected his time between Paris existing Albissola Mare, in Italy, position he set up a representation studio in his new the boards.

He close friends with multitudinous writers and artists, and coronet work would be celebrated thwart many exhibitions and retrospectives sustain the world.

Jean-Louis Paudrat

(Translation by Singleness Woodman)