De la Serie Cartas Celestes 1956

Curator: Immediately, I get this overwhelming sense of calm. It’s all these pastel colours on a teal background with simple shapes. Is it some sort of diagram? Editor: You know, that's a beautiful way to put it. We're looking at “De la Serie Cartas Celestes,” or "From the Celestial Letters Series," created by Lolo Soldevilla in 1956. Soldevilla was a pivotal figure in the Cuban concrete art movement, a group that shifted away from traditional representation to pure abstraction. Curator: Oh, concrete art, like those Bauhaus experiments? That makes sense! The shapes aren’t random then; they're deliberately basic, almost like minimalist building blocks. It still feels whimsical to me. Like staring at a blueprint of a playground dream. Editor: Precisely! Her work from this period reflected Cuba’s post-revolutionary moment of searching for new, utopian forms of social organization and expression. The lines connecting each shape almost read as constellations plotted onto a serene cosmic chart using watercolour on canvas. Curator: Celestial letters indeed! The lines shooting out of those circular orbs…it feels so connected, like everything is influencing everything else. Are the colours supposed to represent something, too? Or am I looking for meaning where there is none? Editor: While there isn't a codified color key, the use of simple geometric forms invites the viewer to consider the emotional and symbolic weight they carry within a socio-political context. How did geometric abstraction embody Cuba’s collective vision during that time? The answer to that isn't always apparent in this piece of art. Curator: Fascinating. To think these shapes contain all this hidden history… and the whole composition comes across like a secret language about freedom. Editor: Well said. Lolo's art during the Cuban Revolution demonstrates an act of visualizing freedom through non-objective imagery, thus leaving room for all sorts of conversations. Curator: Thank you for helping decode that with me, very illuminating! Editor: Always a pleasure to bring a broader understanding to the artistic practices behind art.