ODYSSEY
Curated by Raisa Clavijo

'Odyssey’ brings together a selection of works from the artist's three most recent series: 'The Voice of the Earth,' 'Sublime
Landscapes,' and 'Inner Space,' created between 2012 and 2016.

The Odyssey of Pedro Ávila Gendis
Roxana M. Bermejo

I have always considered interpreting abstract painting through figurative tools to be a futile activity. It is a vain exercise in which the viewer tends to equate the unknown with the known. The idea of finding an algorithm to decipher forms is as misguided as the intention to analyze the person behind the brush outside their horizon of circumstances. The artist, I dare say, is always a continuous sum of tiny personal stories, intertexts, and secrets, whether shared or kept silent.

It is precisely under the title Shared Secrets (Kendall Art Center, September 23–October 21, 2016) that we encounter the most recent exhibition of visual artist Pedro Ávila Gendis, born in Camagüey in 1959. A Cuban artist, one of those who carry the island in their suitcase, Ávila Gendis inevitably evokes aquatic themes in his works. Nature—wounded, weathered, alive—rises on the quadrangular surface of his abstractions, with a harmonious and vibrant rhythm of reds, whites, grays, and yellows. The sea, though absent of aqueous tones, flows along the walls of the Kendall Art Center, flooding everything—a tangible sea that I find undeniable, even though, until now, I had defended the harmlessness of non-figurative language.

Pedro Ávila Gendis is not, however, an artist who suggests through his forms; he is a gestural, expressionist artist—abstract in a way few can achieve. What happens here, perhaps, is a matter of empathy, of the cursed circumstance that both the artist and the viewer share the same island within their innermost being. And the sea—oh, the sea!—is always a recurring motif for Cubans. Thus, in my personal interpretation, I conceive it as impetuous, bathing each of the series in this exhibition (The Voice of the Earth, Sublime Landscapes, and Inner Space).

Ultimately, I do not doubt that this peculiar sensation of nature in suspension, of maritime depth, may be nothing more than my own projection—a need, as I previously suggested, to return to origins along a familiar path. Yet I am well aware that I am not the only one in Florida yearning for the Cuban sea. For this reason, I wholeheartedly recommend experiencing firsthand the palpable sense of humidity that emanates from the painter’s work as one steps into the gallery. This sea—or non-sea—of Pedro Ávila Gendis persistently reminds me of that immortal poem by Miguel Ángel Asturias:

"Intimate friend of dreams, Ulysses
returned to his misty destiny,
a kind of return from other lands
to his homeland. For being of marine salt."

Pedro Ávila Gendis (b. Camagüey, Cuba, 1959) began his studies in visual arts in 1975 at the Ignacio Agramonte Cultural Center in Camagüey. Over the years, he has participated in numerous creative courses and workshops, both nationally and internationally. Ávila Gendis has exhibited his work in approximately 200 shows across cities worldwide, including Miami, Los Angeles, Vienna, Madrid, Lisbon, San Salvador, and Buenos Aires, among others. His participation extends to biennials, art fairs, and international salons across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

His public art projects are featured in prominent locations, such as the University of Havana, the city of Faro (Portugal), the Marina Hemingway (Havana), and various hotels in Varadero, including Oasis, Turquesa, and Villa Cuba. His work is part of the Oceania Cruises collection and numerous private collections in the United States, Cuba, Argentina, Spain, Germany, Portugal, France, China, and Austria, among other countries.

Throughout his career, Ávila Gendis has garnered numerous accolades, including the Targa d’Oro Città di Gubbio 2010 award during the 5th International Painting Exhibition held in this Italian city. He has also been recognized by the Union City Art and Book Expo Fair (New Jersey, 2009), the National Drawing Salon (Havana, Cuba, 1992), and the Provincial Drawing Salon (Camagüey, Cuba, 1991).

To date, he has published three books documenting various stages of his artistic journey: Alma, Luz y Color (2005), Imaginarios (2012), and Shared Secrets (2016).

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