Viredo, the most ephemeral of Los Once (Granma, August 30, 2012)

Updated 12:00 a.m. (local time)

Havana, Thursday August 30, 2012. Year 16 / Number 239
Viredo, the most ephemeral of Los Once

Virginia Alberdi Benítez

Cuban painter Viredo Espinosa died this weekend at the age of 84 in Costa Mesa, California, U.S.A., where he had lived his last forty years.

Viredo Espinosa’s oil painting The Cabildo is Coming

Although his work moved towards folkloric motifs which are highly appreciated by certain sectors of the American arts market, his name will be forever engraved in the history of the Cuban plastic arts as a member of Los Once, the “Group of Eleven”, which marked the emergence of abstractionism on the island.

In 1953, eleven artists –hence the group’s name– exhibited a number of abstract paintings and sculptures at the La Rampa gallery. Their names were Hugo Consuegra, Guido Llinás, René Ávila, Fayad Jamís, Tomás Oliva, Agustín Cárdenas, José Antonio Díaz Peláez, José Ignacio Bermúdez, Francisco Antigua and Viredo Espinosa, who were joined in short order time by Raúl Martínez.

Viredo’s disagreement with the rest of them didn’t take long to surface. According to his colleague Consuegra, some of the others were very upset when Viredo chose for a second exhibition in the Lyceum later that same year a painting that looked unfinished and was still bearing the traces of wet paint.

Cuba was ever-present in his work and thoughts. In 2009 he wrote: “I’m glad that my Island has produced a new generation of highly qualified artists so eager to experiment. They’re putting Cuban art on a very high place in the world”.

		Updated 12:00 a.m. (local time) Havana, Thursday August 30, 2012. Year 16 / Number 239 Viredo, the most ephemeral of Los Once Virginia Alberdi Benítez Cuban painter Viredo Espinosa died this weekend at the age of 84 in Costa Mesa, California, U.S.A., where he had lived his last forty years. Viredo Espinosa’s oil painting The Cabildo is Coming Although his work moved towards folkloric motifs which are highly appreciated by certain sectors of the American arts market, his name will be forever engraved in the history of the Cuban plastic arts as a member of Los Once, the “Group of Eleven”, which marked the emergence of abstractionism on the island. In 1953, eleven artists –hence the group’s name– exhibited a number of abstract paintings and sculptures at the La Rampa gallery. Their names were Hugo Consuegra, Guido Llinás, René Ávila, Fayad Jamís, Tomás Oliva, Agustín Cárdenas, José Antonio Díaz Peláez, José Ignacio Bermúdez, Francisco Antigua and Viredo Espinosa, who were joined in short order time by Raúl Martínez. Viredo’s disagreement with the rest of them didn’t take long to surface. According to his colleague Consuegra, some of the others were very upset when Viredo chose for a second exhibition in the Lyceum later that same year a painting that looked unfinished and was still bearing the traces of wet paint. Cuba was ever-present in his work and thoughts. In 2009 he wrote: “I’m glad that my Island has produced a new generation of highly qualified artists so eager to experiment. They’re putting Cuban art on a very high place in the world”.
		Actualizado 12:00 A.M. (hora local) La Habana, jueves 30 de agosto de 2012. Año 16 / Número 239 Viredo, el más fugaz de Los Once Virginia Alberdi Benítez El pintor cubano Viredo Espinosa falleció el pasado fin de semana a los 84 años de edad, en la localidad californiana de Costa Mesa, Estados Unidos, país en el que residió las cuatro últimas décadas de su vida. *El cabildo viene, óleo de Viredo Espinosa.* Aunque su obra dio un giro hacia la representación de motivos folclóricos apreciados en cierto sector del mercado de arte norteamericano, su nombre estará asociado, para siempre, en la historia de las artes plásticas cubanas, al punto de ruptura que significó a mitad del siglo pasado la irrupción del grupo de Los Once para el desarrollo del abstraccionismo en la Isla. Fue en 1953 cuando once creadores —de ahí el nombre colectivo— exhibieron en la galería La Rampa una serie de pinturas y esculturas abstractas. Los artistas eran Hugo Consuegra, Guido Llinás, René Ávila, Fayad Jamís, Tomás Oliva, Agustín Cárdenas, José Antonio Díaz Peláez, Francisco Antigua, José Ignacio Bermúdez y Viredo Espinosa. Casi inmediatamente después se incorporó Raúl Martínez. Las desavenencias con el grupo se presentaron muy pronto, pues de acuerdo con el testimonio de Consuegra, Viredo presentó para la segunda muestra del grupo, en el Lyceum el propio 1953, una obra que parecía inacabada, con las huellas de la pintura fresca, y ello provocó el rechazo de algunos de sus compañeros. Cuba fue una presencia constante en su obra y su pensamiento. Al respecto escribió en el 2009: "Me alegra que en mi isla haya surgido una nueva generación de artistas de muy avanzado nivel y deseo de experimentar. Están poniendo al arte cubano muy en alto en el mundo". http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/2012/08/30/cultura/artic04.html