How Avant-Garde!

By Leslie Sternlieb

Ballet, the physical poetry that no still image can truly render, is what art collector Howard Farber and his wife, Patricia, had in mind when they traveled to Cuba back in 2001. Mr. Farber had already established himself in New York as a prominent collector of contemporary Chinese art, and, before that, American modernist works. He even told Pat, “Whatever happens, I am not buying any art here. I’m here to have a good time.” He kept his word, mostly — while managing to sneak in a few visits to some artists’ studios and peruse Cuban art in books.

Soon after the trip, Mr. Farber, who divides his time between New York and Miami Beach, received an e-mail from a curator from the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana (National Museum of Fine Arts of Havana) requesting a catalogue of his Chinese art. There’s no catalogue, just a collection, he explained, and soon he and Abelardo Mena developed a friendship online (they finally met in person last year), leading to Mr. Farber’s deep appreciation — and, yes, acquisition — of the island’s contemporary art.

His passion became so ardent that by 2007 Mr. Farber sold three-quarters of his Chinese collection to re-direct his focus toward Cuban art. He was simply having more fun. He began with drawings (“that lasted about a month”). “Then I said, all right, let’s go — and I haven’t stopped buying.”

Selections from that extensive collection — 50 large-scale paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs and mixed-media works — comprise Cuba Avant-Garde: Contemporary Cuban Art from the Farber Collection, now on view at the University of Miami Lowe Art Museum through April 4.

The artwork, by 40 Cuban-born artists, represents a diverse range of styles, beginning with the resurgent period of “New Cuban Art” from the early 1980s and continuing through the beginning of this century. The exhibition was first presented by the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida.

Although not intended to be encyclopedic, and certainly shaped by personal taste, the Farber Collection includes all the most important artists of at least the past two decades: Belkis Ayón, José Bedia, Tania Bruguera, Los Carpinteros, José Manuel Fors, Flavio Garciandía, Kcho, Manuel Mendive and Tonel, among others.

“He has put together a very solid collection representative of this whole period, ” notes Darrell Couturier, whose eponymous Los Angeles gallery has specialized in Cuban art since 1997 and sold work to Mr. Farber.

Unlike the classic American cars that still ply Cuba’s calles and are emblematic of the island, contemporary Cuban art is not a throwback, and is as sophisticated and eclectic as the rest of the world’s art, characterized by social critique, romance and fantasy, and plenty of humor.

“There a lot of angst in the work,” notes Lowe director and chief curator Brian Dursum. “Artists react to their environment. When you have a lousy environment perhaps you react in a more spirited and fervent way than if you had a more peaceful one.”

Before Fidel Castro, the dictator, there was Wifredo Lam, the 20th-century painter, along with others who exemplified the island’s strong artistic presence. “A lot of the Cubans went to France to study and came back with lots of ideas, and it shows in their work,” says Mr. Dursum. Those influences meld in a quintessentially Cuban expression, however.

“Cuba has a whole tradition, in its own art and culture, in its education and its own vision,” adds Mr. Couturier.

One thing that particularly resonated with Mr. Farber was how Cuban artists, like many contemporary Chinese artists of the 80s and 90s, responded to the political, social and cultural upheavals of their respective nations. During the “Special Period,” when Cuba struggled economically after the Soviet Union’s withdrawal of support, many artists prominent in Cuba set out for Mexico, the United States, Canada and Europe. Still others remained on the island and continued to produce well-regarded work, despite shortages of artists’ materials.

Remaining in their native land forged in those artists a kinship, Mr. Farber notes, like nothing else he has ever experienced in 40 years of collecting. “They all attend one another’s gallery openings and even help hang the show,” he says. “It’s like they were in a war together.” And they are comrades, if you will, who pull no punches: because much of the content is wrapped in metaphor, social criticism may be coded — a conspiracy of visual mischief. “The government is not censoring them, as long as they don’t go beyond the limits,” Mr. Farber observes.

Mr. Farber’s wide-ranging collection is also a vehicle to preserve Cuba’s rich cultural heritage. “One of the artists here in Florida [Carlos Estévez, who left during the ‘Special Period’] never thought he would see one of his works [A través del universo (Across the Universe)], again,” he recalls. “When he finally saw it, he started to cry. It had been in his aunt’s basement for years.”

Howard Farber’s collecting journey began by happenstance around 1971, when he was walking on Madison Avenue and saw a sign that said “Auction Today.” He entered Sotheby’s, registered and bought a catalogue. “I was just playing,” he remembers. He returned for the second day of the two-day event and got himself a John Marin crayon drawing of Saint Paul and a Georgia O’Keeffe, in all, four works. “I had no other hobbies,” he says with a smile, but his “gut reaction” earned him a slap on the back from a dealer sitting nearby: “Hey, kid. You made a day’s pay today.” Perhaps not as a dealer, but he did begin a collection, of American modernist works spanning the period 1910–1935.

Since then, Mr. Farber has learned there are no deals in the art world, just a bit of negotiating, “and then you buy it.” Some of his “happiest moments,” he says, are spent sitting on the floor with a gallery owner, discussing the various artworks.

The real estate investor and video store entrepreneur educated himself by reading art books, studying old auction catalogues and spending time with dealers. “I developed my eye,” he says. “I was able to go into a room of say 30 paintings and be like a Scud missile” and pick out the best. He spent the next decade building a collection for his small New York apartment. In time, some works jumped in value ten-fold or even a hundred-fold. Selling one O’Keeffe enabled him to buy his apartment in his co-op.

Farber prides himself on not following art world trends. For a few years he tried his hand at ancient idols. He liked the “verboten” objects, but his wife didn’t. Then he tried his hand at photography, collecting vintage prints (“because I’m a snob”) by Weegee, Brassai, Walker Evans, Bill Brandt. Those values jumped, too.

His advice to collectors: “Find something you feel is interesting and don’t be afraid if nobody’s been there.”

“I am trying to create as much awareness as I can for contemporary Cuban art,” he explains, even though he realizes such exposure will drive up prices in a market that is now considered to be under-valued, making future acquisitions more expensive. “Cuban contemporary art is the best-kept secret for the art market. I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t think I was on the right track.

“I haven’t finished. Why would I stop? I’m still having fun.”

Cuba Avant-Garde: Contemporary Cuban Art from the Farber Collection on view at the University of Miami Lowe Art Museum, 1301 Stanford Dr., Coral Gables, through April 4, 2010

Saturday March 6, 1:30 pm at Storer Auditorium, UM School of Business
Artist Symposium: Cuba Avant-Garde,
$10 Admission; Free for Lowe Members
Featuring artists from the exhibition Cuba Avant-Garde, including Gustavo Acosta, Carlos Estevez, Rueben Torres Llorca, and Glexis Novoa. Moderated by Helen Ferre of WPBT Channel 2 and El Diario. Will be followed by a reception and exhibition viewing at the Lowe Art Museum. Sponsored by HSBC Private Bank

Sunday, March 28, 2 pm at the Lowe Art Museum
Curator Lecture: Cuba Avant-Garde
Presented by Kerry Oliver-Smith, Curator of Contemporary Art, Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida
Lowe members free; non-members $10