Forthcoming Art Exhibition and Edited Volume on Cuban Landscapes

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Curated by Dr. Amy Galpin, the new art exhibition, In the Mind's Eye: Cuban Landscapes, will open at the Frost Art Museum in Miami on September 17, 2022, and run until January 8, 2023. In the Mind's Eye will be accompanied by a publication and robust educational programs that engage the university and South Florida. An English/Spanish bilingual volume will explore Cuban and U.S. landscape painters largely active from 1850 to 1910 whose portrayals of Cuba reflect political, social, and ideological changes in both countries.

A ground-breaking exploration of the Cuban landscape in the imagination of American and Cuban artists, the book In the Mind's Eye opens new avenues of inquiry about the Caribbean island which has played an outsized role in global politics, economics, and culture. For centuries an Edenic image of fantasy and escapism has been projected onto Cuba by observers from North America and Europe. Until recent times, the harsh historical and contemporary realities of servitude, racial strife, and environmental degradation rarely colored artists' portrayal of the country, presenting a skewed perspective on this nation.

In the Mind's Eye tells many stories about Cuba that reflect the island's significance, both as the place from which Cubans fled, and a destination to which Americans flocked. While the dynamics of the Revolution in 1959 frame many conversations about Cuba, this volume seeks a longer historical trajectory by focusing on the 19th century—with visual interpretations and commentary by 21st-century artists. American artists William Glackens, Childe Hassam, Winslow Homer, and Willard Metcalf are featured alongside contemporary artists including Juan Carlos Alom, María Magdalena Campos-Pons, and Juana Valdés. Two new interviews with artists Juana Valdés and Carlos Martiel conducted by Donette Francis and Elvia Rosa Castro highlight the importance of contemporary Cuban art.

The volume includes a foreword by Dr. Jordana Pomeroy (Director of the Frost Art Museum); an introduction by Dr. Galpin (Frost Art Museum); two contributions by Drs. Jorge Duany (Florida International University) and Katherine Manthorne (Graduate Center, City University of New York); an illustrated catalogue of the exhibition; and a chronology of Cuban history since the 19th century, compiled by Rozzmarie Palenzuela Vicente (Florida International University) and Dr. Galpin.

The book, slated for publication by D. Gilles Limited in London in October 2022, will be available for purchase on several digital platforms.

Dr. Amy Galpin is chief curator, Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum-FIU, Miami. She previously served as curator of the Cornell Fine Arts Museum at Rollins College. She holds a Ph.D. in Art History, Criticism, and Conservation from the University of Illinois at Chicago.