“We had been searching to find a national style of the visual arts. When I had the elements in my hands I had an epiphany and became radicalized. I began to work, at the first level of importance, on Cuban plant life, and on the second level, on myths— plants, myth, our history, and an atmosphere totally our own. ”
Pablo Toscano Mora, 1975
“I am Antillean, not because I am from this region, but because I am identified with the culture of the Antilles, a culture that is not valued at all. It is minimized, giving more importance to the habits, customs, and art of the metropole.”
Pablo Toscano Mora, 1978
Pablo Toscano Mora (Caibarién, 1940-Havana, 2003), a drafts- man, painter, and illustrator, began to study art in Santa Clara and continued his artistic training at the San Alejandro Academy in Havana. In 1974 he joined Grupo Origen together with painters Mariano Súarez del Villar and Miguel Ocejo. He later joined the group of artists who formed Grupo Antillano.
With eyes of the heart and a flower-colored palette, Pablo Toscano’s work speaks to us of our Caribbean, singular and diverse. The painter delves into the fabulous world of magical realism and with suggestive images recreates myths and legends that let us get close to the güije, the chichiriku, the Yoruba pantheon, but also to the lush tropical plant life, the mountain songbirds that brighten the hours, the glittering fish bitten by the moon.
María del Carmen Mestas, 1993
Pablo is an authentic Caribbean artist.
Margarita Salina, 1993
