April 13, 2016 Yadira Leyva Ayón © Belkis Ayón Estate Belkis Ayón's work will be part of the exhibition "Memories" that will open next Thursday, April 14 at 6:00 pm in the Gallery Orígenes of the Gran Teatro de La Habana «Alicia Alonso». This exhibition brings together, in addition to Ayón's engravings, pieces by Ibrahim Miranda and Sandra Ramos, three of the most important contemporary artists of the 90s in Cuba. PREVIOUS NEWS NEXT NEWS

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

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

NKAME: RETROSPECTIVE OF THE CUBAN RECORDER BELKIS AYÓN (1967-1999) Museo del Barrio, New York, United States January 25, 2018 - April 29, 2018 The traveling exhibition Nkame: A Retrospective of the Cuban Printmaker Belkis Ayón (1967-1999) was inaugurated on June 13, 2017, at its second venue, Museo del Barrio, New York. A project organized by this prestigious institution and the Belkis Ayón Estate, Havana, Cuba. The exhibition is curated by Cristina Vives. Exhibition Tour Management by Landau Traveling Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA. Photographs: Darrel Couturier, Yadira Leyva Ayón, and Courtesy of the Museo del Barrio For more information, visit the Museo del Barrio website Press coverage New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/22/arts/design/how-an-afro-cuban-visionary-made-a-mans-world-her-own.html The Village Voice https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:mqkJ4A4KdtcJ:https://www.villagevoice.com/2017/08/22/how-belkis-ayons-explorations-of-ritual-make-for- one-of-2017s-best-shows / + & cd = 1 & hl = es-419 & ct = clnk & client = firefox-b-ab Art by Excellencies http://www.arteporexcelencias.com/es/node/23237 ArtNexus https://www.artnexus.com/Notice_View.aspx?DocumentID=30811 Jacques and Natasha. GELMAN FOUNDATION https://www.artnexus.com/Notice_View.aspx?DocumentID=30811 The opinion https://laopinion.com/2017/09/06/belkis-ayon-la-maldicion-de-sikan/ Granma http://www.granma.cu/cultura/2017-09-19/la-obra-de-belkis-ayon-se-aduena-de-nueva-york-19-09-2017-21-09-55 Repeating islands https://repeatingislands.com/2017/06/13/nkame-a-retrospective-of-cuban-printmaker-belkis-ayon-el-museo-del-barrio/ ARTS INITIATIVE. Columbia University in the City of New York http://artsinitiative.columbia.edu/events/nkame-retrospective-cuban-printmaker-belkis-ay%C3%B3n-0 THE BROOKLYN RAIL. Critical perspectives on Arts, Politics, and Culture http://brooklynrail.org/2017/09/artseen/BELKIS-AYON-NKAME Art geek https://www.artgeek.io/exhibitions/57f441e7ae98d49e7c1332cf/5925e7d932259c176b428e71 One Arty Minute https://oneartyminute.com/agenda/nkame-retrospective-cuban-printmaker-belkis-ayon.html Ethnic Epicure http://www.ethnicepicurenyc.com/culture-performances/2017/6/13/cuba-nkame-retrospective-of-cuban-printmaker-belkis-ayon artdaily.org http://artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=96681#.Wc5GCGe8rIV Art Stack https://theartstack.com/tags/exhibitions/Nkame:ARetrospectiveofCubanPrintmakerBelkisAy%C3%B3n/artists Your New York Magazine http://tunymag.com/nkame-retrospective-cuban-printmaker-belkis-ayon-view-now-el-museo-del-barrio/ Artnet news What's the Best Work of Art you saw this Summer? 18 Well-Traveled Experts weigh in https://news.artnet.com/art-world/the-best-work-of-art-i-saw-this-summer-part-one-1052006 ZEALnyc http://www.zealnyc.com/end-of-summer-museum-round-up-part-2/ The Tempest http://www.latempestad.mx/belkis-ayon-retrospectiva/ Harlem One Stop https://www.harlemonestop.com/event/25080/nkame-a-retrospective-of-cuban-printmaker-belkis-ayn New Yorkio http://www.newyorkio.com/2017/08/nkame-retrospective-of-cuban-printmaker.html OnCuba Billboard June 30, 2017 http://oncubamagazine.com/sociedad/cartelera-musica-de-barrio-en-barrio/ Afro-Cuban Directory http://directoriodeafrocubanas.com/2016/03/10/belkis-ayon/

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

I ALWAYS RETURN Havana Gallery, Havana, Cuba November 2000 Tribute Exhibition General coordination: Katia Ayón and Dalia González Texts: Yolanda Wood, Hilda Ma. Rodríguez, David Mateo Sponsor: Gan Gallery, Tokyo, Japan. SponsorS: National Council of Plastic Arts Wifredo Lam Contemporary Art Center National Union of Writers Artists of Cuba Cuban Fund of Cultural Assets VIRTUOSE OF LABYRINTHS From the same source of her power Their wounds come from Adrianne rich To Belkis Ayón We believed you to be a stone with an eternal edge, Unconquered Legends Challenge And we abandon ourselves to the lightning of your laughter, To the gravity of your image. Virtuous of labyrinths that she devoured with her hands, Persephone without temples or diaries, You left us only the crumbs of your cracks And the sob of a fleeing cortege. We thought you were a sumptuous abode of the tall word And we entrusted ourselves to the towers that wavered your iron silhouette We no longer listen to the whirlwind that stirred your waves, We do not notice the mist, nor the fragility of your shadow, And we get caught up in spasm and helplessness. We loved you the owner of the unfathomable magic, Of forges and bonfires But we didn't know about your bellows In the deep place of the unspeakable. A single blow burst out of grief, Anguish struck, erased the tracks And the silence and the pain left us Of the one who is still waiting. Hilda Maria Rodriguez September 1999 BACK OVER THE SENSES Once, naively, I thought I was penetrating the reserved universe of Belkis Ayón; I imagined that I could add to my curriculum of author revelations the unpublished fact that she did not know how to draw very well, and that it was her face and body that had always served as patterns for the elaboration of her images. The moment Belkis made that unusual confession to me, which I made public in La Gaceta de Cuba, I was able to allow myself to be seduced by the gesture of deference that she herself implied; although I also came to think that it was an attitude derived from a certain carelessness, a certain presumption, in someone who was not afraid to expose her imperfections because she had already entered the sacrosanct precinct of legitimation. I convinced myself in those days that her greatest expertise was then focused on knowing how to compensate for the lack of ability to carry out a precise sketch, a meticulous drawing, with the implementation of an impeccable, refined and strict collographic procedure in each phase of her particular method, and in which the impact of the composition fell fundamentally on a series of value and color effects. To all this was added, in my opinion, the suspicion of having known how to choose within the Cuban cultural heritage a legend little addressed by the plastic arts, in whose narrative nucleus the experienced woman the most deplorable of the principles: the absolute exclusion. By believing that I was breaking into the confidential space of Belkis Ayón's artistic production, the only thing I had actually managed to do with the appropriation of that news was timidly touch its vertices. I was not able to understand that this argument not only offered me the indispensable coordinates to unravel the devices that she used in the consummation of her works but also to be able to investigate the concerns and uncertainties that haunted her as a creator and individual. In other words, Belkis deposits in me, as perhaps she has done in other inquirers, the necessary indications for me to commit myself to develop a much deeper investigation, which would make the retaining wall demolish once and for all, the limit that I prefixed the difference between the public valuation of her work and her personal subsistence. Analyzing today the creation of this artist as a result of the unfortunate outcome of her life, it is presented to me in a very different way: much more humanized and visceral; stripped completely of the restraint implied by a technical concern; finally rescued from the desire to continue being legitimized as a project with a florist and almost anthropological spirit, without taking into account its purely existential foundation. I also realize that what I interpreted at the beginning as an absence of a definition, could now paradoxically become a reliable test of synthesis capacity. For if what seemed to interest her, was the use of the body as a depository model of dramatic force, it was logical to suppose that she eliminated everything superfluous, everything insignificant, in order to arrive at the scene of expression; it was enough then with a gesture, with a contortion, with a look ... When Belkis emphasizes the Sikan conflict, she seems to want to emphasize her own conflict. The cause of one was unfolding more and more until it became the cause of the other. The fantastic passage must have been the pretext, the excuse; and recreation with the figuration of the royal road to show the traces of anguish, of dissatisfaction that no one knew how to capture and dissolve, not even the beings closest to it. Despite the fact that some of us already felt a growing contradiction between the gloomy atmosphere, the excess of adversity that her works reflected, and the peaceful and optimistic character that she showed before others; even though, in the last days of her life, we forbid a very strange struggle to appear at times behind her gaze, a force something like between disturbed and apprehensive, which she knew how to hide very well with her inscrutable smile. David Mateo November 2000

NKAME: A RETROSPECTIVE OF THE CUBAN PRINTMAKER BELKIS AYÓN (1967-1999) Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, Arizona, United States October 13, 2018 - January 20, 2019 The traveling exhibition Nkame: a Retrospective of the Cuban Printmaker Belkis Ayón (1967-1999) was inaugurated on October 13, 2018, at its fifth venue, the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. A project organized by this prestigious institution and the Belkis Ayón Estate, Havana Cuba. The exhibition is curated by Cristina Vives. Exhibition Tour Management by Landau Traveling Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA. Photographs: Courtesy of the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art For more information, visit the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art website

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/

GLANCES Factory Havana, Old Havana, Havana, Cuba. May 23 - August 23, 2014 From May 23 to August 23, 2014, the exhibition Glances, curated by Dr. Concha Fontenla, took place at the Factory Havana exhibition space. The exhibition brought together works by nineteen artists representing Contemporary Cuban Art, including the printmaker Belkis Ayón, from which three of his large-format works La Familia, Nlloro, and Resurrección could be appreciated. As a whole, the works of the selected artists, according to the curator, trace a possible journey through Contemporary Cuban Art, highlighting a past that distinguishes it, without neglecting its intimate relationship with the latest creative proposals to which they undoubtedly contribute with decisive notes of deep repercussion. Participating artists: Aimeé García, Antonio Eligio Tonel, Belkis Ayón, Carlos Montes de Oca, Eduardo Pónjuan, Ernesto Leal, Felipe Dulzaides, Ibrahim Miranda, Jorge López Pardo, José Angel Toirac, José Manuel Fors, Lidzie Alvisa, Luis Enrique Camejo, Pedro Pablo Oliva, Roberto Fabelo, Sandra Ramos, Santiago Rodriguez Olazábal.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS Phillys Kind Gallery, New York, 1998 Couturier Gallery, Los Angeles, California, 1998 St Barbara Church, Aachen, Germany, 1995 1989 Proposal at the age of twenty (Belkis Ayón and Isary Paulet), Servando Cabrera Art Gallery, December 23-January, 1989, Havana. . . 1990 Sikán Kien, Leopoldo Romañach Art Gallery, June 30, Caibarién, Villa Clara, Cuba. . Sikan Kien, the powerful and wise, Art Gallery III Congress, August, Ranchuelo, Villa Clara, Cuba. . . 1991 Sacred memory, Alamar Art Center, June 22, Havana / Art Center, Guantánamo, Cuba. . . 1992 Art Cubain Contemporain (Belkis Ayón and Eduardo Yáñez), Center d'Exposition de la Gare L'Annonciation, May 1-27, L'Annonciation, Québec, Canada. . Engravings, Saw Gallery, May 7, Ottawa, Canada. . . 1993 Evidences of vindication (Belkis Ayón, Isary Paulet, Ibrahim Miranda), Centro de Arte 23 y 12, October-November, Havana. . I always go back. Engravings by Belkis Ayón, Provincial Center of Plastic Arts and Design, November 30-December, Havana. . . 1994 I always come back, Galleria Colorenero, May 17-June 11, Milan, Italy. . Belkis Ayón and Santiago Rodríguez Olazábal, [Galleria] Cheiros, Palazzo Colonnese Valeri, December 8-January, 1995, Vicenza, Italy. . . nineteen ninety five I always go back. Personal exhibition Belkis Ayón, Grau Gallery, Visual Arts Development Center, July, Cienfuegos, Cuba. . Unterstütze mich, halte mich hoch, im Schmerz. Belkis Ayón (Hold me in pain. Belkis Ayón), Kirche St Barbara, November 3-19, Breinig / Ludwig Forum fur Internationale Kunst, Aachen, Germany. . . nineteen ninety six Belkis Ayón, Cuban artiste, Galerie Bourbon-Lally, April 19, Pétionville, Haiti. . Two Contemporary Cuban Artists: Belkis Ayón and Nelson Domínguez, Hofstra Museum, Hofstra University, April 21-August 2, Hempstead, New York, United States. . . 1997 Ángel Ramírez + Belkis Ayón. The New Wave of Cuban Art - I, Gallery gan, March 31-April 26, Tokyo, Japan. . Grand Pas de Trois. Sixth Biennial of Havana, (Norberto Marrero, Belkis Ayón and Juan Carlos Menéndez), Zulueta esq. a Refugio, 5th. floor, apt. 52, May 3-31, Havana. . . 1998 Desasosiego / Restlessness, Couturier Gallery, March 6-April 11, Los Angeles, California, United States. . Bernardo Marqués / Belkis Ayón, Havana Galerie, August 27-December 5, Zurich, Switzerland. . Belkis Ayón / Elsa Mora. Recent Work, Phyllis Kind Gallery, September 19-October 31, New York, United States. . Belkis Ayón & Ángel Ramírez. The New Wave of Cuban Art –II, November 6-December 20. Gallery Gan, Tokío, Japan. . . 1999 Rites. Photographies by René Peña; Collographies by Belkis Ayón, Bourbon-Lally Gallery, May 14, Pétionville, Haiti. . . 2000 I always go back. Collographies by Belkis Ayón. Tribute exhibition, Seventh Havana Biennial, Galería Habana, November 15-December 18, Havana. . . 2001 Images from silence. Collographies and matrices by Belkis Ayón, National Museum of Fine Arts, July, Havana. For a return. Collographies of Belkis Ayón, Caguayo Foundation, Provincial Center of Plastic Arts and Design, November 2, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. . . 2002 Belkis Ayón. La Huella Múltiple 2002 (personal exhibition), April 19-May 19. La Casona Gallery, Havana. . . 2003 Belkis Ayón Early Work, Patricia Doran Graduate Gallery, Massachusetts College of Art, April 4-19, Boston, Massachusetts, United States. . . 2004 Resurrection. Belkis Ayón (1967-1999) Collographs from Cuba, Massachusetts College of Art, Arthur Ross Gallery, University of Pennsylvania and Brandywine Workshop, October 11-January 4, 2004, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. . . I always go back. Collographies of Belkis Ayón, Recoleta Cultural Center, May 21-June 21, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Reunion. Exhibition of Belkis Ayón and his students. Exhibition in tribute to the artist, José Antonio Díaz Peláez Gallery, San Alejandro Academy, July 6, Havana. . . 2005 I always go back. Colographs by Belkis Ayón, Colón Art Gallery, June 3-30, Colón, Matanzas, Cuba. I always go back. Colografías of Belkis Ayon, Provincial Art Gallery Villa Clara, July, Santa Clara, Villa Clara, Cuba. . . 2006 Belkis Returns. Collographies of Belkis Ayón, Ranchuelo Art Gallery, February 3-28, Ranchuelo, Villa Clara, Cuba. The challenge of permanence. Anthological exhibition of Belkis Ayón (1967-1999), Pedro Esquerré Gallery, CPAV, May 12-June 11, Matanzas, Cuba. Belkis Ayón. Origin of a myth, Villa Manuela Gallery, October 6 to November 4, Havana. . 2007 Sikan. Revelation of a myth, Art Gallery Raúl Martínez, Jan. 17- Feb. 15. Ciego de Avila, Cuba. . . 2009 Nkame. Belkis Ayón (1967-1999), Anthological Exhibition, San Francisco de Asís Convent, September 11 - December 20, Havana, Cuba. . .

HOLD ME IN PAIN Unterstütze mich, halte mich hoch, im Schmerz. Belkis Ayón / Hold me in pain Kirche St. Barbara, Breinig, Germany November, 1995 Curators: Helmo Hernández, Ludwig Foundation of Cuba Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Becker, Ludwig Forum Aachen Words to the catalog: “Among the artists who develop the theme of God in their paintings. We are passionate about Belkis Ayón for several reasons. She comes from Cuba, and the native population of Africa on this island has achieved in Santeria a special mixture of Christian icons with the orishas of the Yoruba religions. The fact that Belkis Ayón deals with these issues makes her an artist who began in the 80s when a new perspective on religions and their importance for the lives of mankind emerged throughout the world. And in the socialist state of Cuba, this occupation has a meaning: the contradiction assumed with the religious members of the Party enriches the political practice. Belkis Ayón is a draftsman, and a printmaker with precision, subtlety, and perfection rarely seen. And yet that desire for perfection is not put at the service of the search for any beauty, but for a respectful contradiction in works full of concerns and dignity ”(Wolfgang Becker, in Belkis Ayón, Halte mich hoch… (Breining, 1995).

NKAME: A RETROSPECTIVE OF THE CUBAN PRINTMAKER BELKIS AYÓN (1967-1999) Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, Illinois, United States February 29, 2020 The traveling exhibition Nkame: A Retrospective of the Cuban Printmaker Belkis Ayón (1967-1999) was inaugurated on February 29, 2020, at its sixth venue, the Chicago Cultural Center. A project organized by this prestigious institution and the Belkis Ayón Estate, Havana, Cuba. The exhibition is curated by Cristina Vives. Exhibition Tour Management by Landau Traveling Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA.