User:Esobelschultz/sandbox/Yamilys Brito Jorge

Yamilys Brito Jorge

Early Life Yamilys Brito was born in Havana, Cuba in 1972. She has always been interested in being an artist. According to Brito, the process of becoming an artist in Cuba is very competitive. At a young age, Brito and her sister took an exam to determine if they qualified to become an artist. Only a certain amount of students were accepted to each level of school. Once students were accepted into school, they were taught one of the three mediums: painting, printmaking, or sculpture. Yamilys Brito graduated from the Instituto Superior de Arte in 1966. She primarily studied printmaking. The Instituto Superior de Arte is located in Havana.

Work

Brito tends to be experimental with printmaking and finds new, different ways to be creative. She mixes mediums and then uses printmaking to unify her work. Each work Brito creates is original, since she doesn’t make copies. She always creates her work in series. Brito focuses on a central theme in her series, and each piece relates to society as well as the overall theme. Havana is commonly a main theme of her work, as well as identity. Yamilys is also known for her monotypes and collages. Yamilys Brito has been featured in many different shows and museums.

Yamilys Brito considers herself skeptical of society, which is shown in her work. Brito’s work appears contemporary, but has many historical ties. Her subject matter is often related to the history of Havana, and the society of Havana. The iconography present has a deep meaning that connects colonial times with the modern era. Engraving is an important part of Cuban history, and Yamilys Brito takes advantage of this to show her passion for Cuba. Yamilys Brito has brought this engraving tradition back to life, and expresses herself to no extent. With more than sixty series, Brito creates a sophisticated individualistic style using her intelligence and language.

Professional Life Yamilys Brito Jorge currently teaches at the school she graduated from, the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana, Cuba. The following are exhibitions Yamilys Brito has been in:

Solo exhibitions: Días contados(Counted Days) at 23 y 12 Gallery in Havana (2010); Natural Causes at the Center for Cuban Studies in New York, NY (2007); Recursos internos (Internal Resources) at San Francis of Assisi Convent in Havana (2003); Criticism vs. Escapism at Robert Saavedra Gallery in Los Angeles, California (2000); Espejos y ventanas (Mirrors and Windows) at La Acacia Gallery in Havana (1998); Al final de la calle (At the End of the Street) at the Wifredo Lam Center for Contemporary Art in Havana (1996); and Desde el ISA (From ISA) at the Teodoro Ramos Blanco Gallery in Havana (1995). She has been an artist-in-residence at the University of Castilla, La Mancha, Spain; the Santa Rosa School of Arts in La Pampa, Argentina; the School of Arts and Crafts in Gloucestershire, England, and the Art Department of the Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona.

Public displays: Akron Art Museum in Akron, Ohio; the San Francisco Art Institute in San Francisco, California; Art in General in New York, NY; the Arizona State University Art Museum in Tempe, Arizona; the Grafikmuseum Stiftung Schreiner Schreiner in Bad Steben, Germany; and the Holter Museum of Art in Helena, Montana.

“Power rules. We are born and are powerful because in our relationships and connections, communication and contacts, we exercise that special force/energy (power) with which all of us without exception come into this world. Force is a physical, power is intellectual.

By making art and putting together this book we have chosen our way to relate to power. All prints include and illustrate different aspects of the relationships of power in its various dimensions: the power of the mind, will power, financial, military, economic power, the power of authority, social power, physical or mythical… after all, power is a natural condition.”

Yamilys Brito Jorge