Ana Albertina Delgado uses her pictorial language to express the current social debates surrounding diversity, emphasizing the role of women in society. With her paintings, Delgado builds human scenarios as metanarratives that reflect upon the construction of quotidian life while visualizing the social and psychological links between members of society. She takes the temperature of her times, using her artistic tools to build a conversation surrounding social progression and change. Her characters are ambiguously connected to one another through their enigmatic abilities and capacity for seduction, often expressed through sexuality, as they explore the mystery of life. Like a skilled fiction writer, Ana Albertina Delgado isolates the distinguishing qualities of her subjects and then amplifies those qualities visually and thematically in a way that celebrates humanity’s potential. While indistinctly, she takes as references urban mythology, as well as traditional country stories and myths.
Her paintings reveal the oddness of everyday life and the rebellious spirit that lurks within us all. We find ourselves identifying with her subjects, no matter how extreme. Delgado’s bold use of color and accomplished pictorial technique grab our attention; the richness of her thematic exploration secures it. Each painting is a narrative, a novel on canvas, complete with lead players, supporting cast, and flowing alongside the remarkable technical currents a dynamic plot that entertains, enlightens, and enchants.
Curator and art critic Gerardo Mosquera comments: Seldom is the inner essence of feminine life so clearly expressed as in the work of this artist. Her painting derives completely from a woman’s vision and sensibility, even when the questions discussed do not especially pertain to women. Her fantasy about things comes from her true subjectivity that contains a great many childlike elements and produces a work that is enigmatic, made as though in a state of grace.
Todos (Every One), 2022
Acrylic on canvas | 44 x 68 Inches
Born in Havana, Cuba in 1963, Ana Albertina Delgado graduated in 1979 from San Alejandro National School of Fine Arts in Havana, Cuba's (oldest fine arts high school) and in 1983 from ISA Higher Institute of Arts in Havana, Cuba. Delgado was a prominent figure in the Generation of the Eighties in Cuba, participating in numerous group exhibitions across the globe, including Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, Finland, Germany, France, Spain, and the United States. In 1986, she co-founded the artistic group "Pure" alongside four colleagues: José Buergo, Ciro Quintana, Ermy Tano, and Lázaro Zaavedra. "Pure" made significant contributions to Cuban culture by introducing innovative aesthetic concepts, collaborative artwork creation, and social critique themes. Delgado's specific contribution was addressing women's issues in Cuban society, combining empathy, motherhood, and societal positivity. She incorporated elements from Afro-Cuban and countryside culture avoiding clichés and revitalizing the fantastic aspects of Latin and Caribbean cultures, with a close link with modern painting intertwined with mythos, creation and death.
Lunas encarnadas, 2023
Acrylic on Canvas | 42 x 38 Inches
A pivotal period in Delgado's artistic journey was her two-year stay in Mexico, which enriched her artistic perspectives by exposing her to different concepts and expressions, detached from her Cuban context. This experience reinforced her appreciation for an intimate, feminine world and the fantastical elements integral to Mexican culture. In the 1990s, Delgado's artistic life in the United States enabled her to gain insights into the art market and new media. Collaborations with galleries such as Genaro Ambrosino, Bernice Steinbaum, and Carol Jazzar opened opportunities to engage with a new cultural context. Her work seamlessly bridged seemingly innocent and childlike themes with social commentary, always reflecting the delicate and robust facets of the human condition, exploring both body and mind.
Delgado's work is held in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington D.C., the Snite Museum of Art at the University of Notre Dame, the Frost Art Museum in Florida, the Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami in Florida, the Museum of Art in Florida, the Museo de las Artes Universidad de Guadalajara in Mexico, the Museo de Arte de Ponce in Puerto Rico and the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Havana, Cuba.
She lives and works in Fort Myers, USA.
