WEAM is pleased to present a new, historic exhibition, Forbidden Fruit: The Art of Cuban Sexuality,
which will open on December 2nd, 2024 to start off Miami Art Week.
For press inquiries & information concerning these exhibitions, please contact: info@weam.com
Exhibition: Forbidden Fruit: The Art of Cuban Sexuality
Curated by: Antonio Permuy, joined by assistant curator Karina Sirven
Location: WEAM, 1205 Washington Avenue, Miami, FL
Dates: December 2, 2024 - July 2025
Opening: December 2nd, 6-7pm Press & VIP preview, 7-10pm public opening
WEAM is proud to present the museum’s first-ever exhibition of Cuban art, a notable and historic
exhibition, as it is one of the largest exhibitions dedicated to Cuban erotic art ever held, on-or-off the
island. It spans more than 50 artists and over 70 works across painting, drawing, sculpture, and
photography from the last 90 years. The featured works span from the legendary Cuban “Vanguardia”
(Vanguard) generation, who are credited with creating modern Cuban art, up to contemporary artists, tobridge as well as contrast contemporary works with the works of previous decades, stretching back to theearly 1930s. Forbidden Fruit is noted for its ambitious scale and taboo-breaking, genre-bending approachto curation. The fullest range of sexuality is showcased, from the subtle, lyrical, abstract, and symbolic tothe palpable and explicit. Sexuality is explored through various themes, including spirituality, mythology,and nature, to the surprisingly dark landscapes of the psychological.
Forbidden Fruit is the last exhibition to feature the active involvement of two pioneering longtime leadersof the Miami art community, Baruj Salinas and Margarita Cano, who both passed away in 2024.Additionally, the exhibition features works by established and emerging Cuban artists of the 20th and 21stcenturies based in Greater Miami, Tampa Bay, New York, Boston, Chicago, Europe, and on the island,capturing the growth, evolution, and synthesis of Cuban art with American art, African art, European art,and Asian art. Even with this astonishing breadth, curator Antonio Permuy explains, “The exhibition doesnot attempt to aim for completeness within the vastness of Cuban art, but rather prioritizes impact throughunique selection of works and exhibiting arrangements.” Many of the works by the more well-knownartists were purposefully curated to show rarely-seen aspects of these familiar artists, thereforecontributing to the public and historical depth of their legacies and respective bodies of work.
Notable featured artists include vintage works by renowned pioneering “Vangaurdia” (Vanguard) artistCarlos Enriquez, Amelia Pelaez, the only woman who was part of the same pioneering “Vangaurdia”(Vanguard) movement, as well as established figures such as Víctor Manuel, Wifredo Lam, MarioCarreño, and René Portocarrero.
Visit weam.com to get your ticket for the opening reception.
This exhibition opens on December 2nd and will remain on view through July 2025
