{"id":199448,"date":"2019-05-26T18:23:29","date_gmt":"2019-05-26T22:23:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=199448"},"modified":"2019-05-26T18:23:29","modified_gmt":"2019-05-26T22:23:29","slug":"pedro-pablo-oliva-and-art-as-a-weapon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/culture\/visual-arts\/pedro-pablo-oliva-and-art-as-a-weapon\/","title":{"rendered":"Pedro Pablo Oliva and art as a weapon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pedro Pablo Oliva<\/span><\/a> is a magician of color and shapes. His oneiric and symbolic universe reaches the viewer directly from his soul, from his spirit, in sculptures, fabrics and cardboard.<\/span><\/p>\n

From Pinar del R\u00edo and faithful to his roots, winner of the National Prize for Plastic Arts in 2006, he leaves a piece of himself in each of his works. In the concluded <\/span>Havana Biennial<\/span><\/a> it was possible to observe it in several places visited by OnCuba<\/strong> to converse with him.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I participated, thanks to the Office of the City Historian and to Eusebio Leal, with bronze sculptures in the public space. Three of the sculptures: Clementina, la siesta y el gato, from the series \u2018Sillones de mimbre\u2019; El beso, from the series \u2018Alegr\u00edas y tristezas del Malec\u00f3n\u2019; and El tierno amor de Bustelo, were located in the Plaza de Armas on the corner of Obispo and Oficios.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I\u2019ve been told that people have passed by and embraced the sculptures, there are those who have asked themselves if it is a tradition to clean them or touch them, as at some point it became a tradition, because it gave good luck to touch the beard of the sculpture of the Caballero de Par\u00eds, by Jose Villa, located in the Plaza de San Francisco de As\u00eds.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Pedro Pablo Oliva. Photo: Courtesy of the artist \/ Archive.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“I\u2019m happy that people approach my art and that it generates in them enjoyment or hope. In the Biennial I also exhibited the sculpture Novia llorando, a song to the loves that have been broken by emigration, a cry of shores.<\/span><\/p>\n

“In Pinar del R\u00edo, in the exhibition ‘Vitral de Vueltabajo,’ I presented, let\u2019s say, a gesture, an intervention in the 3 meters of wall I was given to exhibit. It is a small red canvas that\u2019s called ‘Naturaleza Muerta no. 349,’ a tribute to L\u00e1zaro Saveedra.<\/span><\/p>\n

“It’s something unusual in my work. I think I hadn\u2019t painted a still life since the 1980s, but my friend Saavedra taught me that art is a weapon of struggle. In the OPEN studio, in the La Mina workshop in Old Havana, I also have on exhibit drawings from the series ‘Los fantasmas de la Utop\u00eda’ and small- and medium-format sculptures.”<\/span><\/p>\n