Born in Cuba in 1927, Cárdenas showed a precocious talent for drawing. After studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in San Alejandro, he turned to woodcarving in direct carving and had an exhibition in Havana in 1953 where he met Jorge Camacho. He moved to Paris in 1955, where he met André Breton and took part in the Surrealists' exhibitions. At their side, he gave new vigour to the spiritual, sensual and lyrical character of his work, in particular by renewing his Latin American and African origins. Considered one of the greatest sculptors of the twentieth century, Cárdenas has always devoted an important place to drawing, which is the complementary and indispensable side of his sculptural work. Testifying to a search for variety in the choice of media and techniques, his drawings testify to an apprehension of global creation as summarized by Susan Power in the text of the catalogue for the exhibition Cárdenas, My Shadow After Midnight. Works on paper, sculpted works that the Maison de l'Amérique latine is currently devoting to the artist: "Over a career spanning five decades, Cárdenas has alternately used the tools of sculpture and drawing, blurring or even abolishing the boundaries between specific practices, in order to reconcile apparent antinomies - black and white, darkness and light, night and day, interior and exterior, unconscious and consciousness, dream and awakening - and to elaborate a harmonious, sensual and coherent body of work. »
Agustin Cardenas (1927-2001)
Sans titre (Projet pour une sculpture)
Fusain et crayon sur papier
800 / 1 200 €