José Garcia Montebravo: Cuban Self-Taught Painter

José Garcia Montebravo... Un Gallo para Eleggua (2005, Acrylic on Canvas). From the exhibition José Garcia Montebravo: Cuban Self-Taught Painter at Indigo Arts Gallery. "...José Garcia Montebravo was born in Cienfuegos, Cuba on October 15, 1953. A self-taught artist, Montebravo received a college degree in geography and taught in secondary schools for 19 years before begining to paint seriously in 1980. He had his first solo exhibition in 1984. He still lives in the town of Cienfuegos, where he is a leading member of the art community.
Montebravo is best known for his powerful images of Afro-Cuban infantas or princesses. In a witty play on the court portraits of Velasquez as well as the Latin American“santo” icon tradition, Montebravo’s infantas are unmistakably Afro-Cuban women who carry the attributes of the Santeria deities or orishas to which they are devoted. His 'Infanta con Pez' holds a fish and wears blue in reference to the orisha of the sea, Yemanja, or the 'Infanta con hacha', dressed in red wields a stone club, in honor of Shango/Santa Barbara. His paintings depict birds, animals and the lush Cuban plant life with a strength which suggests an allegorical or religious symbolism. Concurrent with his infanta portraits, Montebravo has worked on two extensive series of mixed media works on paper he calls 'Escenas Fantasticas' (Fantastic Scenes) and more recently a series of 'Espacios Transitados' (Transitional Spaces)."