SOLO EXHIBITIONS Barker Gallery at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, Eugene, Oregon, United States. February 6, - September 5, 2021 Nkame : A Retrospective of the Cuban printmaker Belkis Ayón (1967-1999) Read more Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, Illinois, United States. February 29, 2020 Read more Nkame : A Retrospective of the Cuban printmaker Belkis Ayón (1967-1999) Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Arizona, United States. October 13, 2018 - January 20, 2019 Nkame : A Retrospective of the Cuban printmaker Belkis Ayón (1967-1999) Read more Station Museum of Contemporary Art, Houston, Texas, United States June 2, - September 3, 2018 Nkame : A Retrospective of the Cuban printmaker Belkis Ayón (1967-1999) After the successful presentations in different cities of the United States while traveling through this country, the exhibition Nkame. A retrospective of the Cuban engraver Belkis Ayón (1967-1999), arrives at the Station Museum in Houston, Texas. The exhibition (...) Read more Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri, United States January 25 - April 29, 2018 Nkame : A Retrospective of the Cuban printmaker Belkis Ayón (1967-1999) Read more Museo del Barrio, New York, United States June 13 - November 5, 2017 Nkame : A Retrospective of the Cuban printmaker Belkis Ayón (1967-1999) Read more NEXT

TOWERS AND TOMBS Estudio Figueroa-Vives / Norwegian Embassy, El Vedado, Havana, Cuba September - November, 2019 On September 11, 2019, the exhibition Towers and Tombs in homage to the 20th Anniversary of the death of Belkis Ayón (1967-1999) were inaugurated at the Figueroa-Vives Studio / Norwegian Embassy. Also dedicated to her sister, Dr. Katia Ayón (1964-2019) who worked tirelessly and successfully in the promotion and conservation of her sister's artistic legacy through the Belkis Ayón Estate. The exhibition presents "an unsuspected parallel between historical moments, lives and aesthetics", which come together on the date of 09/11, unveiling through works and matrices of the outstanding Cuban printmaker alongside the photographic work of Janis Lewin (USA) and José A. Figueroa (Cuba). Press coverage https://rialta.org/el-11-de-seipt-de-belkis-ayon-por-el-estudio-figueroa-vives/

COLLECTIVE EXHIBITIONS 1983 II National Salon of Plastic Arts. Middle Level Schools. Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana, Cuba. . 1986 VII Biennial of San Juan of Latin American and Caribbean Engraving [November 19/1986 February 28/1987]. Arsenal de la Marina, San Juan, Puerto Rico. . 1987 La Joven Estampa Award. Haydeé Santamaría Gallery, Casa de las Américas, Havana, Cuba. . Encounter of Engraving 87. National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba. . III International Exhibition of Engraving, New Delhi, India. . . 1988 Malerei und Grafik aus Kuba [January-February]. Kunsthalle Rostock, Rostock, GDR Cuban Art in Boston [May 9-23]. Massachusetts College of Art, Administration Building, Boston, MA., United States. 3rd Hall of Awardees [May]. National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, CUBA. First Exhibition of Cuban Graphics in Guadalajara [July 7]. Cabañas Cultural Institute, Museum Area, rooms 127 130, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. VIII Biennial of San Juan of Latin American and Caribbean Engraving [September 30-December 30]. Arsenal de la Marina, San Juan, Puerto Rico. II Latin American Biennial of Graphic Arts. Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art (MOCHA), NY, United States. . . 1989 Tribute (collateral to the Third Havana Biennial) [November]. Alamar Art Center, East Havana, Havana, Cuba. The 15th International Independent Exhibition of Prints in Kanagawa'89 [November 23-December 10]. Kanagawa Prefectural Gallery, Kanagawa, Japan. . 1990 Intergrafik'90 [April 17-May 27]. Berlin, GDR 6th International Biennial Exhibition of Portrait, Drawings and Graphic. Tuzla 90 [July 31-October 31]. The Yugoslav Portrait Gallery, Tuzla, Yugoslavia. La Joven Estampa Award [October 13?]. Haydeé Santamaría Gallery, Casa de las Américas, Havana, Cuba. [November 22-December 9]. Kanagawa Prefectural Gallery, Kanagawa, Japan. Young Cuban Recorders. Nucleus of Contemporary Art, Joao Pessoa, Paraiba / Museu Assis Chatebriant, Campina Grande, Paraiba / Federal University Gallery, Rio Grande do Norte / Evasión Gallery, Sâo Paulo, Brazil. . . 1991 Seventh Triennale India 1991 [February 13-March 14]. Lalit Kala Gallery / Rabindra Bhavan / Bahawalpur House Complex, New Delhi, India. Challenge to colonization. Fourth Biennial of Havana [November 15-December 31]. National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba. Contemporary Cuban Engraving. Fourth Biennial of Havana [November]. Colonial Art Museum, Havana, Cuba. The Second Bharat Bhavan International Biennial of Prints [December 9-31]. Roopankar Museum of Fine Arts, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopa, India. . . 1992 Silk Screen Prints from René Portocarrero Serigraphy Workshop [January 15-February 14]. La Peña Cultural Center, Berkeley, CA., United States. Von dort aus: Kuba [March 12-May 31]. Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Aachen, Germany. Africa in America [July 3-19]. Casa das Artes e da Historia, Vigo, Spain. The Cuban Round [July 4-August 31]. Van Reekum Museum, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands. X Mostra da Gravura Cidade de Curitiba / Mostra America, Afro America A. Spiritual Contribution X. Mostra da Gravura [Outubro 16-Dezembro 6]. Romário Martins House, Curitiba, Brazil. Young Recorders [October 16-December 6]. Provincial Center of Plastic Arts and Design, Havana, Cuba. 20 Cuban Plastics [November 12-?]. University Artistic Center, National University of Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina. The 17th International Independante Exhibition of Prints in Kanagawa'92 [November 19-December 6]. Kanagawa Prefectural Gallery, Kanagawa, Japan. Art Festival, Shanghai, China. . 1993 La Joven Estampa Award [June August]. Haydeé Santamaría Gallery, Casa de las Américas, Havana, Cuba. 1st Internationale Grafiek Biennale [June 24-August 9]. Maastricht Exhibition and Congress Center (MECC), Maastricht, The Netherlands. Punti Cardinali dell'Arte. XLV Biennale di Venezia [Giugno-Ottobre]. Istituto Italo Latino Americano, Venezia, Italy. Empassant de Collectie [October 1-December 4]. Van Reekum Museum, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands. Encounter of Engraving '93 [October-November]. Provincial Center of Plastic Arts and Design, Havana, Cuba. With their own hands [December / 1993-January / 1994]. Engraving Gallery, Experimental Graphic Workshop, Havana, Cuba. Five Creative Women. Palacio del Segundo Cabo, Havana, Cuba. Graphica Creativa 93. The 7th International Print Triennial. Alvar Aalto Museum, Finland. . 1994 La Jeune Peinture Cubaine [Janvier 18-Février 11]. Maison de la Culture du Lametin, Fort de France, Martinique, France. Arte do momento [February 28-March 6]. Gessy Lever Social Center, Valinhos, Brazil. Art of the moment [Março 11-18]. Biblioteca da FURB, Blumenau, Brazil. Art of the moment [Março 23-29]. Auditorio Alceu Amoroso Lima, Brazil. Art of the moment [April 11-16]. Latin American Gallery, House of the Americas, Havana, Cuba. Vindication of the Engraving [March 24-?]. La Acacia Gallery, Havana, Cuba. Cuban Art of Today / Art Cubain Actuel [Avril 14-Mai 7]. Galerie de L'UQAM, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada. A gap between heaven and earth. Fifth Biennial of Havana [May July]. Provincial Center of Plastic Arts and Design, Havana, Cuba. Cuban Art. The Last Sixty Years [October 15-December 31]. Panamerican Art Gallery, Dallas, TX., United States. The Shapes of the Earth [February-March]. Buades Gallery, Madrid, Spain. Kunst aus Kuba [March-April]. Museum Bavaria, Zürich, Switzerland. One of Each Class. Ludwig de Cuba Foundation [March 26-?]. Center for Conservation, Restoration and Museology (CENCREM), Havana, Cuba. [Video catalog] International Exhibition of Contemporary Art of Non-Aligned Countries [April 28-June 30]. National Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia. Kuba Kunst Heute. Grafiksammlug Schreiner [July]. Stadtgalerie Bamberg, Villa Dessauer, Bamberg, Germany. Made in Cuba [July August]. «Luis Miró Quesada» room. Cultural Center of the Municipality of Miraflores, Lima, Peru. Art of the Moment II. Cuba Mexico Brazil [July-August]. Espuela de Plata Gallery, Center for the Development of Visual Arts, Havana, CUBA. / [October]. Michoacan Institute of Culture, Michoacán, Morelia, Mexico. Cuban Mystic. Arte dell'ultima generazione [October 18-November 5]. Openspace, Palazzo dell'Arengario / [Ottobre 18-29]. Spazio Vigentina, Milano, Italy. . nineteen ninety five Current Cuban Plastic [October 24/1995 February 3/1996]. Fotocentre (Gallery of the Union of Journalists of Russia), Moscow, Russia / [1996]. Embassy of the Republic of Cuba, Beijing, China. . XI Mostra da Gravura Cidade de Curitiba [Outubro 31 December 29]. Fundaçao Cultural de Curitiba, Curitiba, Brazil. Contemporary Cuban Painting. Cuban Afro-Caribbean Painting Show [November 7-?]. Veracruzano Institute of Culture, Veracruz / [November 23-?]. "Ramón Alva de la Canal" University Gallery, Veracruzana University, Veracruz / [December 6-?]. Cabildos Room, CD. Mendoza, Veracruz / [December 18-24]. Town Hall, Orizaba, Veracruz, Mexico. Estampa Edition 95. International Exhibition of Engraving and Contemporary Art Editors [November 7-12]. Superior Room of the Old Spanish Museum of Contemporary Art, Madrid, Spain. 1st. Contemporary Cuban Art Salon [November 15/1995 January 15/1996]. National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba. Warehouse Gallery, Lee, MA., United States. Alex Rosenberg Fine Art, NY, United States. . Women Beyond Borders [1995]. Wifredo Lam Center, Havana, CUBA. / [nineteen ninety five]. Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum, Santa Barbara, CA., UNITED STATES. / [nineteen ninety six]. ICC Contemporary Gallery, Jerusalem, ISRAEL / [1996]. Kunstlerhaus, Graz, AUSTRIA / [August 7/1998]. Wifredo Lam Center, Havana, Cuba. . nineteen ninety six Dream World. Young Cuban Plastic [February-March]. House of America, Madrid, Spain. Zonder Woorden [March]. Van Reekum Museum, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands. Arte do Momento. Encontre Latino Americano de Artes [Março]. Pavilhâo Antonio Palácio Neto, Mons. Bruno Nardini Municipal Park, Valinhos, Brazil. Cuba 20th century. Modernity and Syncretism [April 16 June 9] Atlantic Center of Modern Art, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria / [July 2 September 1]. La Caixa Foundation, Palma de Mayorca / [October 8 November 17]. Center d'Art Santa Mónica, Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain. Skulpturen und Grafische Werke aus Kuba [September 25-November 2]. Museum Leuengasse, Zürich, Switzerland. The budding womb. Contemporary Cuban Graphic Art Show [November-December]. Exhibition Hall, Faculty of Arts, University of Antioquia, Colombia. . Transgressing the Limits / Today as Yesterday. The Multiple Footprint. Collective Exhibition of Contemporary Engraving [December / 1996 January / 1997]. Visual Arts Development Center, Havana, Cuba. . 1997 ARCO'97 International Contemporary Art Fair [February 13-18]. Juan Carlos I Fair Park, Madrid, Spain. Represented by Galería Habana, Havana, Cuba. Pervasive Referents. Belkis Ayón, Attila Richard Lukacs, Elsa María Mora, Manuel Ocampo [April 19-May 31]. Phyllis Kind Gallery, NY, United States. '97 Kwangju Biennale. Unmapping the Earth. Speed. Hybrid. Power. Becoming [September 1-November 27]. Art Museum. Kwangju, South Korea. Take part in the «Hybrid» section. Polychrome of black. Contemporary Cuban art [September 11-?]. Quintana Monterde. Contemporary Art, Mexico, DF, Mexico. Encounter of Engraving'97 [November]. Visual Arts Development Center, Havana, Cuba. . . 1998 Comment peut-on être cubain? [Février 10-Mars 12]. Maison de L'Amérique Latine, Paris / [Juliet]. Counvent des Minimes, Perpignan, France. XII Biennial of San Juan of Latin American and Caribbean Engraving [April 30-September 30]. Arsenal de la Marina, Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, San Juan, Puerto Rico. ART BA'98. 7th Art Galleries Fair [May 15-24]. General San Martín Municipal Exhibition Center, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Contemporary Art of Cuba [June 2-July 5]. Urasoe Museum, Okinawa / [July 18-August 2]. Hillside Forum Daikanyama, Tokyo / [December 1-7]. Iwaki City Cultural Hall, Iwaki, Japan. Contemporary Art From Cuba: Irony and Survival on the Utopian Island [September 26-December 13/1998] Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, AZ./[January 15-May 2/1999] Center for the Arts at Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco, CA./[June 5-August 15/1999]. Canbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan / [September 4-November 7/1999]. Austin Museum of Art, Austin, TX. / [February 11-April 23/2000]. Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids, Michigan / [May 19-September 10/2000]. Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, CA, / [October 10-December 10/2000]. University Art Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA./[January 13-March 18/2001]. Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS./[May 11-July 14/2001]. University of South Florida, Contemporary Art Museum, Tampa Bay, FL., United States. Creole Kongo. Artists in Crossroads. Boricua Gallery Workshop [October 23-November 20], NY, United States. Estampa Edition 98. International Exhibition of Engraving and Contemporary Art Editors [November]. Fairground of Casa Campo, Madrid, Spain. . 1999 La Huella Múltiple 1999. Center for the Development of Visual Arts / Center for Conservation, Restoration and Museology (CENCREM), [January 15-February 13], Havana, Cuba. The 4th Kochi International Triennial Exhibition of Prints [March 12-]. Kochi, Japan. Afro-Cuban Contemporary Graphic Art. Roca, Miranda, Torres and Manso [April 7-August 13]. The Kennedy Center, Washington, DC, United States. Working for English [May 14-June 27]. Concourse Gallery, Ground Floor and Stalls, Barbican Center, London, UK Rituals Contemporary Room [May-June]. House of the Americas, Havana, Cuba. International Fair of Modern and Contemporary Art [September 16-20]. Carrousel del Louvre, Paris, France. Kunst-Welten im Dialog [November 5/1999-March 5/2000]. Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany. Cuban art. Beyond paper [December 3-1999-January-2000]. Conde Duque Cultural Center, Madrid, Spain. Gallery Gan, Tokyo, Japan, 1997 Casa América, Madrid, Spain, 1996 Apeldoorn, The Netherlands, 1992

CURATORSHIP AWARD 2009 July 1, 2010 Virginia Alberdi Benitez © Granma newspaper The National Council of Plastic Arts presents the CURATORSHIP AWARD to Cristina Vives for the NKAME. BELKIS AYÓN (1967-1999) ANTHOLOGICAL EXHIBITION. Curatorship Award 2009 Personal exhibition Title: Nkame. Belkis Ayón (1967-1999). Anthological Exhibition Date: September 11 - December 20, 2009 Place: San Francisco de Asís Convent, Havana, Cuba. The general direction of the project: Dra. Katia Ayón. Estate of Belkis Ayón Curator: Cristina Vives Invited curator for collateral exhibitions at Espacio Ayón: Cristina Figueroa Graphic design: Laura Llópiz Spot: Raúl Valdés (Raupa) Sponsors: National Council of Plastic Arts San Francisco de Asís Convent Belkis Ayón Estate The City Historian Office National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana Ericsson Air Europe PREVIOUS NEWS NEXT NEWS

RENDERINGS: NEW NARRATIVES AND REINTERPRETATIONS Mechanical Hall at Delawere University, Philadelphia, United States September 3 - 30, 2014 In September 2014, the Brandywine Workshop in Philadelphia, opened to the public in the Mechanical Hall Gallery of the University of Delawere, an exhibition of works in paper from its archives and of invited artists for the exhibition, under the title: Renderings. New Narratives and Reinterpretations, curated by Dr. Cheryl Finley. In it, works by 26 artists from different nationalities were presented, among which were the Cuban printmakers Belkis Ayón and Ibrahim Miranda, all representatives of the art of the African diaspora. Participating artists: Terry Adkins, Maya Freelon Asante, Belkis Ayon, Camille Billops, Jamal Cyrus, Andrea Chung, Letitia Huckaby, Sedrick Huckaby, Curlee Raven Holton, Valerie Maynard, Paul F. Keene, Ibrahim Miranda, Ayanah Moor, Howardena Pindell, Michael B. Platt, Faith Ringgold, Robert Pruitt, Alison Saar, Betye Saar, Juan Sanchez, John T. Scott, Clarissa Sligh, Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum, Janet Taylor-Pickett, Hank Willis Thomas, Deborah Willis.

NATIONAL COLLOGRAPHY CONTEST BELKIS AYÓN find out MORE

DINNER - AUCTION WITHIN THE EVENTS OF THE SIXTHAND LAST EDITION OF THE LEO BROUWER INTERNATIONAL CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL Havana Cuba. October 5, 2014 Within the events of the Leo Brouwer International Chamber Music Festival in its sixth and last edition, a Dinner-Auction was held on Sunday, October 5, 2014 in the Scepter Salon of the Hotel Meliá Cohiba, a Dinner-Auction with the noble objective of raising funds for the Children's Room of the Oncological Hospital. In it, works by Cuban visual artists were put up for auction: Belkis Ayón, Eduardo Roca (Choco), Manuel Mendive, Roberto Fabelo, Alfredo Sosabravo, Alexis Leyva "KCHO", Esterio Segura, Moisés Finalé and Nelson Domínguez. Of which only with the sale of the works of Mendive, Fabelo and Finalé, it was possible to contribute with such a laudable purpose.

Sikán’s image is paramount in all these works because like myself, she led and leads –through me- , a disquieting life, looking insistently for a way out Belkis Ayón, January, 1998 Belkis Ayón Manso (1967-1999) Printmaker, drawer , curator, teacher The Artist Havana, January 23, 1967 - September 11, 1999 STUDIES • 1979-1982 Elementary School of Plastic Arts "20 de Octubre", Havana. • 1982-1986 San Alejandro Academy, Havana. Printmaking teachers: Pablo Borges, Carlos A. García and Ángel Ramírez. • 1986-1991 Bachelor of Art in Printmaking, Art Superior Institute (ISA), Havana. Printmaking teachers: Luis Cabrera, Luis Lara, Rolando Rojas and Pablo Borges. ARTIST'S RESIDENCES • 1999 Brandywine Workshop, Center for the Visual Arts Cuba Project, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. • 1999 The Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. • 1999 Bronski Center, Philadelphia College of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. • 1999 Bensen Hall Gallery, Rhode Island School of Design, Rhode Island, United States. MAIN COLLECTIONS pe rsonal exhibitions collective exhibitions

ROLLING THEY MEET Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center (SUPEC), Shanghai, China March 3 - April 8, 2014 Under the title Rolling they meet, the CNAP collection exhibited at the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center (SUPEC) a selection of its main acquisitions and thus an entire inventory of the most recent Cuban plastic production. It is a set that includes around one hundred artists from the most diverse generations, aesthetics and ways of doing, gathered in an exhibition that seeks to function as a kaleidoscope of the island's symbolic production. The show ran from March to April 2014, following a roaming tour of two other cities in China. Participating artists: Pedro Abascal, Eduardo Abela Torrás, Eduardo Abela Villarreal, Gustavo Acosta, Lidzie Alvisa, Douglas Arguelles, Belkis Ayón, Abel Barreto, Abel Barroso, Agustin Bejarano, Adigio Benitez, Osmany Betancourt, Jacqueline Brito, Servando Cabrera, Luis E. Camejo, Ivan Capote, Yoan Capote, Agustin Cárdenas, Sandra Ceballos, Rafael Consuegra, Raúl Cordero, Raúl Corrales, Arturo Cuenca, Duvier del Dago, Roberto Diago, Alberto Díaz (Korda), José A. Díaz Peláez, Humberto Díaz, Nelson Domínguez , Antonia Eiriz, Roberto Fabelo, Ernesto Fernández, Moisés Finalé, Adonis Flores, Flora Fong, Ever Fonseca, José Manuel Fors, José Franco, Gilberto Frómeta, José Emilio Fuentes, José Fúster, Eduardo Rubén, Osneldo García, Ernesto García Peña, Rocío García, Julio Girona, Luis Gómez, José Gómez Fresquet, José R. González, Javier Guerra, William Hernández, Maykel Herrera, Aisar Jalil, Fayad Jamís, Ruperto Jay Matamoros, Joel Jover, Tomás Lara, Alicia Leal, Evelio Lecourt, Glenda León , TO lberto Lescay, Kcho, Liudmila and Nelson, Rita Longa, Kadir López, Manuel López Oliva, Jorge López Pardo, Raúl Martínez, Rigoberto Mena, Janler Méndez, Manuel Mendive, Michel Mirabal, Ibrahim Miranda, Arturo Montoto, Elsa Mora, Juan Moreira and others.

Belkis Ayón. The preamble to an infinite journey to earth. Norberto Marrero December 1, 1999 © Extramuros, 1, December 1999, pp. 25-26 For us, weary of the tumult and bad nights, reaching Alamar (land of promise) meant, among other things, being able to verify that there was still a full place, devoid of hatred and betrayal; a castle where we could exercise ourselves in the greatest and clearest spiritual tranquility. Then Belkis would appear with her enormous eyes of an Egyptian goddess, she ushered us in, and no one dared to let go of her spirit anymore, and we would be left hanging comfortably by her smile, her contagious optimism. I see Belkis as that mysteriously invulnerable woman, ready to offer us the best spaghetti in Havana and the clearest beer, capable of satiating the appetite, thirst, and fatigue of the most demanding traveler; I see her there with her kind and enthusiastic face, giving each of us a torrent of affection and vitality. When I met her in San Alejandro, I was just another student in the evening course with an avid interest in printmaking. She was already the artist that everyone admired, a teacher of two groups of students in the day course, quite numerous. With somewhat excessive persistence, in which I silently slipped away among her disciples and patiently waited for each moment of respite to ask her any technical or conceptual concerns, to which she responded without the slightest qualm, without the slightest suspicion. At the end of my four years of studies we had become very good friends, and by chance, almost always unpredictable, she ended up being the opponent of my thesis. I remember her as one of those essential teachers, very concerned for her students from San Alejandro, to whom she gave all her knowledge about engraving, including very expensive materials that she managed to buy on her travels, or others that were donated to her by foreign friends; catalogs and all kinds of information that he managed to collect. For a long time, the Chair of Engraving of Saint Alexander survived thanks to his unrelenting interest. She was an irreplaceable friend, and I can't stop thinking about her eyes, with her always encouraging words. For Cuban culture, impeccable work will remain, overflowing with perfection and constancy, of exquisite elegance. A path opened by someone who dedicated a large part of his days to specially promoting Cuban engraving, with unquestionable seriousness and professionalism. For Cuban culture, it is the gross and useless loss of an artist who with her scarce thirty-two years managed to climb the highest levels of national and international culture in the plastic arts, with an astonishingly mature work, of great originality and spiritual depth. . For those of us who loved her, for those of us who were by her side, something more intimate, more imperishable, will remain. We will be left with his goodness, his disinterested way of giving himself, his concern for everything that meant the well-being of his family and his friends, which was the same; his desire to always achieve a fair and happy future for artists and friends. I remember now when he received one of the prizes from the Puerto Rico Engraving Biennial, one of the most important graphic arts events on the continent. It was a moderately happy surprise for her; I could assure you that he received it with a certain amount of modesty. However, I very well remember her inordinate joy and pride when Abel (1) visited La Huella Múltiple, and with her, he toured each of the exhibition halls, which he had appreciated in their exceptional quality. I looked at his eyes and could perceive endless wonderful thoughts, plans for engraving, opportunities never latent before as up to that moment, and then we remembered all the difficulties to carry out the event, the early mornings of work at the UNEAC putting together the catalogs, the money that was not enough and that much of it came from his pocket; the difficulty of assembling many of the pieces, the fatigue, the sleep, and although we always had the conviction that La Huella ... would cost us a lot, now, while we talked about Abel and all that, we knew deep inside that the effort would not it had been in vain. Her work as Vice President of Plastic Arts at UNEAC, for many of the engraving artists who knew her, was a saving dream; there was someone who gave engraving its true importance, such a laborious technique and so much tradition in Cuban culture. Belkis was not only a very responsible artist but also was absolutely affordable for any artist, not only for the most important but also, since they paid special attention, to those less known, less "privileged". He had a special agglutinating capacity, thanks to which he carried out any event, counting not only on the engravers but also on the sculptors, the photographers ... To all this he gave himself with absolute devotion, leaving aside, even, his own work of creation. Today, while making the same trip that I did so many times, I think about the time that Eliseo left us (2), and I cannot conceive of including Belkis in that immaterial, insubstantial time; I try to understand their essences, their latitudes, and I cannot manage their body and spirit through those labyrinths. For some, it is the unspoken and irreversible end. For others it is one of her many trips, one of which inexplicably sometimes she returned very depressed, even having done very well professionally. For me, it is neither one nor the other. I still know that he will be there, in his castle (and ours), waiting for the first traveler, thirsty, spreading his arms. I know this is absolutely true and I don't want to be fooled. We share too many joys, too many sorrows, too many truths, and although for all this means a selfish and terribly devastating loss, we will try to be calm. I wonder about the things that we did not say to each other, because of how dark no one perceived, about the things that we did not understand, and then I think: How else would I see suicide, if not as a prelude of a fervent banquet, and tell each other why it would be worth very little to strip ourselves of our sardonic sorcery as if all our anguish ended there, where the water runs transparent and the salt shines like gold vomited by a goat. How else would we see emptiness. One and the other are voracious objects that our exhausted youth possesses, a relic of knowledge that is spent so inevitably like our children. Love accompanies bodies when they die. A fine line divides the stones and desire. Patience. Before the yew tree, patience. After the desserts, slow and infinite patience. Then I arrive at the door of that wonderful castle. When it opens the door she appears, says "hello", and her huge eyes pull me, Apprehending me for all eternity (1) - Abel Prieto, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Cuba. (N. of the publisher) (2) - It refers to the Cuban poet Eliseo Diego and his poem "Testament", where he bequeaths to future generations "the time, all the time." (N. of the publisher) PREVIOUS article back to texts

NKAME: A RETROSPECTIVE OF THE CUBAN PRINTMAKER BELKIS AYÓN, SELECTED AMONG THE BEST ART OF 2017 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES December 8, 2017 Yadira Leyva Ayón © The New York Times The Nkame Exhibition: A Retrospective of the Cuban Printmaker Belkis Ayón, exhibited this summer at Museo del Barrio, New York (June 13 - November 5) was selected among the best of the art of 2017 by the New York Times, according to the selection of Holland Cotter, one of three New York Times art critics who shared his picks. Link to the article HERE Likewise, Holland Cotter, Art Critical Co-Director of The New York Times, reviewed the exhibition at Museo del Barrio, NY. Link to the article HERE PREVIOUS NEWS NEXT NEWS

PROPOSAL AT AGE 20 Belkis Ayón and Isary Paulet Servando Cabrera Moreno Art Gallery December, 1988 PIECE FOR FLUTE AND CLARINET We are simply between two worlds, where fantasy, where THE FABULOUS, have the floor. If for a moment we put aside the virtuosity of the printmaker, which are everywhere here, and evade a certain illustrative character, not because these things are despicable, but because she wanted to bring them to the center of her expression, then we would have to face a message directly poetic, based on harmony, on a lyricism that plays with reasons and beautician desires, which make a delicate piece for flute and clarinet from the vision of reality. Everything unfolds like the scenery of a story: in Isary, the characters, like crazy pixies, are distributed following the whims of the kaleidoscope, playing, I believe, the role of the only saviors of a world that increasingly needs and wishes the arrival of some representative of the magical world capable of transforming it into something else. Spielberg? Neo-infantilism? Like Isary, Belkis works with mystery in her work, drawn from such perfect configurations, of colors so peacefully pleasing, that they arouse unease. But suddenly one has the feeling that we are only facing an idealization, too much tenderness, almost in a peaceful reverie, in that unreal film that cannot continue, that cannot be, that one more moment and explodes. It may be that neither of the two interpretations is exact, it does not matter, they are only the style that fits for these expressive centers, surrounded by the deployment of an arsenal of irreproachable techniques and invoices. Because some could stay there, in the resplendent quality of the finish of their products. That finish is nothing more than the superficial of the art of these charming. The elements are well managed by the magician to integrate them into the illusion. Then the feeling is presented in the force of a very own saying in each case that in Isary and Belkis, in their proposals, they have the presentation of a meticulous structure, many times thought and calculated, destined to transmit security or very security purified that it becomes practically brittle. Aldo Menendez (Text for the exhibition catalog)