Wifredo Lam (Sagua la Grande 1902- Parigi 1982)

The artist attended the Havana Academy of Fine Arts where he continued his studies until 1923. He received a scholarship to study in Europe, which led Lam to move to Spain, where he lived for 14 years. During his stay in Madrid, Spain, the artist came into contact with the masters of Spanish painting and visited the Archaeological Museum and the halls of the Prado. In 1938 he left Spain and moved to Paris, where he met Pablo Picasso; that same year he held his first solo exhibition at the Pierre Gallery. In 1941 he tried to return to Cuba but, along with other artists, was interned for forty days in Martinique. Back in his home country, he deepened his artistic research by drawing on his childhood. After a stay in Haiti in the late 1940s, the artist divided his time between Europe, Havana, and New York. During this period, the influence of oceanic art merged with African art. In the early 1950s, he moved back to Paris and during these years, while maintaining close relations with the Cuban art scene, he collaborated with artists from the CoBrA group and the Italian avant-garde. In the 1960s, the artist divided his time between Paris and Albissola Marina, Italy, where he set up his studio.