Arnaldo Larrinaga

ARNALDO LARRINAGA (Havana,1948).
"Woman in red". Woman and nature series, 1996.
Mixed media on canvas.
Presents information on the back.
Signed and dated in the lower left corner.
Measurements: 80 x 65 cm.
Arnaldo Rodríguez Larrinaga, is one of the most renowned contemporary Cuban painters. His artistic production has gone through diverse styles, themes and experiences that have pivoted under the same central axis: man and his existence. In this constant search, Larrinaga found in the alliance between abstract and figurative elements an expressive means that allowed him, in his own words, to "delve into the interior of man and go in search of his real identity". This symbiosis is visible in his celebrated series of paintings "Los negros brujos" to which this canvas belongs. In this case, the human eye with its strong symbolic charge stands as a repeated motif on a base of expressionist conception that vertebrates the work based on vigorous strokes from which seems to emanate an endless cry of pain, which may well reflect the pain experienced by Larrainga himself in complex stages of his eventful life. The genesis of these canvases is rooted in literature, but particularly in the work of Wilfredo Lam, whom he considers his great master and whose influence was decisive in the formation of his plastic ideology.
Arnaldo Tomás Rodríguez Larrinaga (Havana, August 30, 1948), better known as Arnaldo Larrinaga, is one of the most renowned artists of the contemporary Cuban art scene. He received his artistic training at the National School of Art (ENA) in Havana, where he graduated in 1965. The more than 50 years of artistic life have led him to star in multiple solo exhibitions in Europe and other countries, and to participate in more than 100 group exhibitions. After almost three decades of coming and going to Europe, and traveling through several countries of the American continent, in 2002, at the height of his fame, he decided not to return to the island of Cuba and stayed to live in Madrid. Since he is a Cuban exile, he has had some personal exhibitions and has participated in group exhibitions in Spain, in addition to giving lectures and carrying out artistic and cultural activities for altruistic purposes. His works are in prestigious private collections, museums, art centers and foundations around the world. Arnaldo Larrinaga's exhibitions and personal successes, as well as the multiple awards he has received, ratify the authentic aesthetic values of his artistic production. He is a member of the International Association of Plastic Artists of UNESCO, member of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba, founding member of the Antillean Group created in 1978. He is also a founding member of the Youth Artistic Organization "Brigada Hermanos Saíz". His work belongs to important collections both private and public, highlighting the MEIAC Museum (Extremadura and Ibero-American Museum of Contemporary Art) and the City Council of Madrid.