Wifredo Lam

Wifredo Óscar de la Concepción Lam y Castilla, known as Wifredo Lam (December 8, 1902–September 11, 1982) was a Cuban artist.

Quotes

• I thought back to Europe being invaded by the Nazi army with great sadness … For me, seeing Europe had been everything. When I came back to Cuba, I was taken aback by its nature, by the traditions of the Blacks, and by the transculturation of its African and Catholic religions. And so I began to orientate my paintings toward the African.
  • On painting after returning to Cuba in “Wifredo Lam: Man of the World” (Tate; 2016 Aug 16)

• In the 1950s we were all hungry for travel and new experiences. There was something in the air: the end of World War Two was still fresh in our minds and everyone needed to find an opening up, a way to discover other countries.
  • On returning to Paris when Cuba felt unsafe in “Wifredo Lam: Man of the World” (Tate; 2016 Aug 16)

• I wanted with all my heart to paint the drama of my country but by thoroughly expressing the Negro spirit, the beauty of the [visual] art of the blacks.
  • On seeing poverty and corruption in Cuba in “Wifredo Lam: the unlikely comeback of the Cuban Picasso” in The Telegraph (2016 Aug 31)

• It was like some sort of hell…For me, trafficking in the dignity of a people is just that: hell. I refused to paint cha-cha-cha.
  • On adopting a new form of painting in Cuba in “Wifredo Lam: the unlikely comeback of the Cuban Picasso” in The Telegraph (2016 Aug 31)