Join us for a lecture and reading by Wifredo Lam’s great nephew, Juan Castillo Vázquez, in conjunction with the exhibition The Drawings of Wifredo Lam: 1940-1955.  The lecture will take place at 4:10PM in Baker Hall, Zoellner Arts Center.  This is a Spanish language talk with English transcription provided, including excerpts from Wifredo Lam’s poetry.  Reception to follow.  All LUAG events are free and open to the public.

LUAG Director/Chief Curator Ricardo Viera reflects on the Castillo Vázquez collection:

I originally saw these drawings in 1997, on my first trip back to my home country in thirty-five years.  I was there as a consultant, part of a team working on the “Cuba Project”, an initiative of the Brandywine Workshop, Philadelphia. Juan Castillo Vázquez, proprietor of the collection, invited us to his home to survey the works left to the family by his great uncle, the artist himself, Wifredo Lam. I was overwhelmed by their power. There is nothing more telling, direct, and inspiring than the eloquence of a drawing. Immediately, I dreamed of bringing a selection of these works to the United States. It was not difficult to choose from among the drawings; they were all transcendent. We planned to present an exhibition at the Brandywine Workshop, and later, on several occasions at LUAG, but permission was denied. I remained
hopeful over the years that we could eventually bring this collection to Lehigh. It took twenty years. Now, for the first time since 1959, twenty-one drawings from a private  collection have come to the United States.

Professor Ricardo Viera
LUAG Director / Chief Curator