Cuban painter Humberto Calzada, master of perspective and color, died in Miami
On Sunday morning Humberto Calzada, considered one of the most prominent figures in Cuban art in exile, passed away.
Born in Havana on May 25, 1944, he moved to Miami at the age of 16 with his parents. During his school years at Saint George's school in Havana, he showed a passion for painting.
In the United States, he pursued a career in industrial engineering, graduating at 22 and later obtaining a master's degree in finance. He secured a job at IBM, but his true passion was painting, and in 1970 he decided to dedicate himself exclusively to art.
In the late ‘70s, he became part of a group of Cuban visual artists who came of age in exile. This group was labeled The Miami Generation by art historian, critic, and curator Giulio V. Blanc. Born in Cuba and formed in Miami, they were among the first Latino artists to break into Anglo-American institutional circuits in South Florida.
Calzada's work went through several stages. Initially, he clung to realism, reproducing the architecture of mansions or creole estates, transforming them into evocative images. He later shifted to surrealist architectural recreations, blending lyricism and dreamlike qualities, ultimately experimenting with more universal themes or mixing paint with other media, such as photography, in his well-known reconstructions of Havana's ruins.
Calzada's work is distinguished by its vibrant colors and the mystique of his surprising, disconcerting perspectives. His narrative subliminally reflects the sense of loss and uprooting experienced by Cubans for more than six decades.
His work has been featured in countless exhibitions in galleries and museums as well as significant personal and institutional collections, including Fort Lauderdale Art Museum, Florida International University's Frost Museum, Museo de las Américas (OAS), Lowe Museum at the University of Miami, Denver Art Museum in Colorado, and museums in Chile, Puerto Rico, Panama, among others.
The painter passed away peacefully surrounded by his family. He is survived by his children, Carolina and Nicolás, and four grandchildren.
