Works by Matanzas Artisans Stand Out at Provincial Salon

Ilusión (Illusion), by José Manuel Díaz Herrera, «Noly,» earned the Grand Prize of the ninth El Artesano Salon, at the headquarters of the Cuban Association of Artists and Artisans in Matanzas.

The piece also received recognitions from the Génesis gallery, UNEAC, and the La Ribera Studio. «The work as a whole is a call to care for the species. I had to vary it a bit due to the difficulties we have now.

«There was another piece that was part of the installation and I couldn’t finish it, but it seemed quite adequate to what I wanted to express. It took me a year to make it, and I am very satisfied, not only because of the grand prize but because it has been very well liked, and for me that is the best of prizes,» confessed the artist.

«I believe it has grown enormously in quality and has been well thought out, well studied, and above all it greatly stimulates the artist. The artist has demonstrated in all times that the more difficult the moment, the more it helps creation and precisely to overcome that moment. We are living in a context in which inaugurating a salon with an artistic quality of that type becomes a challenge.

«Matanzas, the ACAA, the cultural community, including all institutions, all contributed a grain of sand,» expressed the president of the ACAA in Matanzas, Antonio Enrique Pérez Marrero.

The First Prize of the Salon went to the work Ninfas Marinas (Sea Nymphs) by Lidia Castillo and Lázaro Baró; second place went to Yasmany García and Reinaldo Encinosa for El néctar de la diosa (The Nectar of the Goddess) and Navegando la inocencia (Navigating Innocence) by Ileana Esnard obtained third prize. This last work also received mentions from the Hermanos Saíz Association and the Cuban Fund of Cultural Goods.

For the first time in the contest, recognitions were given by manifestations. In Ceramics, metal, and glass, the palms went to Julio Reynaldo Zamora for What about us?, with mentions for Vajilla (Tableware) by Richael Rosales, also awarded by the Cuban Fund of Cultural Goods, and Entre miradas (Between Gazes) by Daniel Valero, with recognitions from the Art Museum, the Provincial Council of Visual Arts, and UNEAC.

Adolfo Gómez Robaina stood out in Wood Carving with Nest; in Gourd and marine resources, Anphitritis by Lidia Castillo and Francisco Cortés achieved the top result; while Gretchen Arencibia and Amel Santana stood out with Resguardo (Safekeeping) in Fiber and papier-mâché.

Mentions were received in this manifestation by Flores en la sombra (Flowers in the Shadow) by Idania Godoy and Katery Zamora, and Luz de mis días (Light of My Days) by Alexander Rodríguez Castellanos and Abdel Quintero Castro, which in turn earned the prize of the Cuban Fund of Cultural Goods. In Leather, Carbonero by Dagney Dávila was the selected piece.

In Traditional Utilitarian Craftsmanship, the summer ensemble by Yolidaine Padrón and Dalia Esquijerosa triumphed, and in Artistic Craftsmanship it was El umbral ancestral (The Ancestral Threshold) by Extinay Vinet and Luis Yoel Batista.

«It is a salon that has a very inclusive dynamic where all manifestations are awarded. I believe that is also a way of stimulating the individual work of artisans who work ceramics, metal and glass, leather work, wood carving, to name some of them.

«Sometimes it is unfair to make different manifestations compete that, due to their artistic rigor, have other visual values, and precisely we recognized the artist within their own manifestation. The utilitarian was also awarded, which is a fundamental part of craftsmanship work, as well as the artistic category within craftsmanship.

«I believe that has made our Salon grow, in which 85 works were presented, of which 60 were selected, with exquisite craftsmanship, covering all manifestations from textile, work with metals, glass, ceramics, woodwork, fiber, seed, and in all of them there is remarkable and peerless quality.»

The Génesis Gallery also highlighted Escarcha (Frost) by Katery Zamora Izquierdo, and the Hermanos Saíz Association highlighted the work Sin título (Untitled) by Julio Manuel Guas.

«This is a gift to the community that has also required an extraordinary effort from our work team. I believe it is the result of daily work to achieve results like this, which, in short, is the work of the ACAA; it is the feeling, it is the most important thing of the Association.

«It is also our gift for this week that is transcendental for us, our celebration for National Culture Day, but which is also within the framework of the city’s founding, and each of our artists feels committed to it.

«That is why this ninth El Artesano Salon is clear proof that there is craftsmanship in the city, with a living heart, and that, of course, works for it.»

A parade by the Mary C academy of designer María del Carmen García, the performance of Lilian Padrón, National Dance Prize winner, and the interpretations of Aniubis Segura enlivened the inauguration of the ninth El Artesano Salon in Matanzas.