Gilberto Frómeta

Gilberto Frómeta

Havana, Cuba (*1946)
About Artist

Gilberto Frómeta Fernández (Havana, Cuba, 1946), is part of the first generation of post-revolutionary Cuban artists. He was initially known in the Caribbean island state, and later internationally, for his images of horses painted in black on a white background. However, today the focus of the artist’s work is on abstract painting that has appeared in his work since 2001.

The artist offers the following explanation of why and how he evolved from the initially monochromatic
realistic themes to the strongly colored abstraction: “I reached abstraction because I wanted to include
color in my works. My previous work had been monochromatic for many years. Until then I had feared that colours would make my paintings frivolous. That is how I arrived at abstract expressionism without having a specific artist as ideal. At the same time I observed children scribbling when they learn to hold a pencil as well as the airbrush painting technique. Overall, the road to abstraction was a culinary act that lasted several years.“1 The liberation from realistic painting to abstraction is an evident step, and said development may be retraced in his work.