Gravure, Uno 1967

Curator: Wifredo Lam created this pen and ink drawing, "Gravure, Uno," in 1967. It’s an intriguing example of his surrealist figuration. What's your immediate take on it? Editor: Wildly imaginative! It’s got this unsettling calmness about it. The delicate lines belie the monstrous, dreamlike creatures he’s conjured up. The composition makes you think there's an ecosystem here—predators, prey, everything in co-existence somehow. Curator: Precisely. Consider the post-war context. Lam was deeply engaged with both European modernism and Afro-Cuban culture. He was adamant about portraying the plight and resilience of marginalized people using the visual language of Surrealism, thus commenting on the means by which those in power oppress others. Editor: The way those bodies just sort of dangle, almost carelessly, feels pointed. Is it about forced labor or a disruption in global economies? There’s an implied vulnerability beneath the fantastical, almost as though Lam wants to take the pulse of society here, by letting it hang precariously. Curator: Exactly. This work merges the automatist approach of Surrealism with imagery rooted in Caribbean Santería traditions. These forms, while strange, also subtly reflect industrial elements like the cogs of machines or structural beams which are critical to how economies expand. Editor: You can sense his sharp socio-political mind in his process! I love that about this drawing—it demands you question who, or what, benefits. It’s also strangely humorous though; almost child-like in places despite it. Is that deliberate, to soften the blow? Curator: Perhaps. What I find compelling is Lam's consistent challenge to artistic categorization; drawing, printmaking, painting... it all became intertwined. For him, material constraints were opportunities for invention. Editor: You’ve totally recalibrated the work. What struck me first was a feeling, now there are so many potential ideas at play. This ecosystem contains within it so much that's political. Thanks for that context! Curator: My pleasure. Lam always pushed boundaries; “Gravure, Uno” captures both the formal sophistication and cultural complexities he was so deeply engaged with.