About the artist:

Cundo Bermúdez (September 3, 1914 – October 30, 2008), born Secundino (Cundo) Bermúdez y Delgado, was a Cuban painter. Born in Havana, Cuba, he died of a heart attack in his Westchester home on October 30, 2008. In 1926, Bermudez was admitted at the Institute of Havana, and in 1930 enrolled at the renowned Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes “San Alejandro”, where he studied painting for two years. In 1934, he entered the University of Havana to study law and social sciences. He graduated in 1941. Later, he traveled to Mexico and studied at the Academy of San Carlos. In 1949 he was founding of the Asociación de Pintores y Escultores de Cuba (APEC). Individual Exhibitions 1942 - "Cundo Bermúdez. Gouaches y Acuarelas", Lyceum, Havana, Cuba. 1946 - Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico 1946 - Palacio de Bellas Artes de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 1957 - "Exposición de Cundo Bermúdez", Instituto de Arte Contemporáneo, Lima, Perú. 1974 - "Cundo Bermúdez Painting/Alfredo Lozano Sculptures", Bacardí Art Gallery, Miami, Florida. 1979 - Museum of Modern Art of Latin America, Washington D.C.. Group Exhibitions He was part of many collectives exhibitions such as: 1938 - "National Exhibition of Paintings and Sculptures" at the Castillo de la Fuerza, Old Havana, Cuba. 1940 - "Three hundred Years of Art in Cuba", University of Havana, Havana, Cuba. 1941 - "Cuban Contemporary Art Exhibition", Lyceum, Havana, Cuba. 1942 - "Some Contemporary Painters", Lyceum, Havana, Cuba. 1943 - "An Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture Modern Cuban", Jose Gomez Sicre Institution, Havana. 1944 - Cuban Painting Exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), New York City. 1950 - "Pinturas". Cundo Bermúdez, Amelia Peláez and Martínez Pedro. Lyceum, Havana, Cuba. 1951 - "I São Paulo Art Biennial", Sao Paulo, Brazil. 1952 - "XXVI Biennale di Venezia", Venice, Italy. 1953 - "II Bienal de San Juan del Grabado Latinoamericano", Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico. 1994 - "Cuban Artists: Expressions in Graphics", Jadite Galleries, New York City. Awards He has been awarded and honored with: Prize of Acquisition of the Gulf Caribbean Art Exhibition, Museum of Fine Arts of Houston, Houston, Texas. 1972 - Hororable Mention, "Segunda Bienal de San Juan del Grabado Latinoamericano", Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico. 1973 - “Homenaje a Picasso”, Organización de Estados Americanos (OEA), Washington, D.C.. 1973 - Cintas Foundation Fellowship, New York City. Collections Bermúdez' work is in the permanent collections of: Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida Metropolitan Museum and Art Center, Miami, Florida. Miami-Dade County Art in Public Places, Miami, Florida. Museum of Modern Art, New York City. Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana, Havana, Cuba. Hotel Riviera, Havana, Cuba. "When I was young I wanted to be a writer; although I studied at San Alejandro, I never intended to take art seriously. The thirties was a decade of labor strikes and university closings; the economic situation was terrible by the time I went to Mexico in 1938. I was never awarded a scholarship in Cuba ; I have never had material ambitions, and have been very independent. When the news come of Batista's coup d'etat in 1952, I was vacationing in Europe . I returned home, and dedicated myself full time to painting. It has been like that ever since. I have fun at what I do; the pleasure I get from painting is vital for me. I enjoy art like Mozart enjoyed his music. Some people are concerned over philosophic postulates, over universal chaos, over the atomic bomb; for me, painting is a celebration of form and color, and nothing more. I left Cuba absolutely disillusioned, perhaps because I had believed totally in the revolution. Between 1962 and 1967, the government obliterated me; I was neither harassed nor persecuted, simply ignored. Exile has affected the individual, not the artist; when I arrived in Puerto Rico , I felt as if I had reached a region of Cuba I had not known previously. In a way, I still feel uprooted, for I do not feel at home anywhere." - Artist's Statement