Glenda León

Glenda Leon (1976) is an internationally acclaimed visual artist from Havana, Cuba and one on the most original voices in contemporary Cuban art. Her work is featured in prominent collections around the world and she has been the recipient of several important prizes, including The Pollock-Krasner Foundation Award. Her piece Music of the Spheres was part of the Cuban Pavillion at the  55th Venice Biennialin 2013. Whatever the medium she chooses, her art captivates with simplicity and lightness. Even when her work is profoundly political it never loses the candor and the directness with which it speaks. 

We talked to Glenda about her approach to work, her inspiration, influences and how she feels contemporary art should best be understood; spoiler alert - her approach is equally "no nonsense" and direct. The more you look at art, the more you will feel it, and the more you feel it, you will finally understand it.

You define yourself as a visual artist and in your work, you use different mediums, from photography to installations and drawing. What come first in your process - the medium or the idea?

The idea comes first, but sometimes it already comes together with its image. Therefore, sometimes I don’t have to wonder which medium is the most appropriate one, but at other times it takes a whole research process to investigate which is the appropriate medium and the materialization of the idea. 

Awareness (2012)

To careless viewers, some of your work seems rather simple on the surface. The work that comes to mind is Awareness (2012). Ostensibly, merely glasses. But on further inspection, you infuse those glasses with so much meaning that they almost seem transcendental. Whether it's glasses or a tea bag, or soaps, brushes, typewriters or old records - what do you see in banal everyday objects? 

I use these seemingly banal, everyday objects to remind us that everything is important, and to give hope to those who think they have nothing. You can build a whole world out of very little; you can start a journey. At the same time, they are all gestures of synthesizing which is also closely related to the ego. The more you synthesize there is less space for the ego, which you must leave behind. 

There have been quite a few influential Cuban artists in the past century, whether we are talking about painters like Wilfredo Lam, musicians like Ruben Gonzales or Omara Portuondo, poets like Dulce Maria Loynaz, or more contemporary performance artists like Tania Bruguera. Your work is both different and similar at the same time, perhaps in your sense of humor or ability to find beauty in the most unusual places. How has this rich artistic heritage influenced your approach to art?

The rhythm that you can feel in Cuba can be considered the point of departure for my videos and for all my sound pieces. The sense of humor is something also very common in Cuba.

However, at the time when I started to show my work professionally, to find beauty in the most unusual places and to do it in such a minimal way, was completely new.

What do you think foreigners should know about art in Cuba today, outside of the few streets of Havana Vieja that tourists usually visit?  

I would encourage foreigners to visit Havana to try and discover those lesser known artists from different generations. And to do this, they should go to different places and consult different sources.

Ways to Save the World (2012)

Your series of drawings Ways to Save the World from 2012 is overtly political, but also humorous and oddly prophetic, considering the weird political circumstances in the world today. Contemporary art is political but often difficult to understand for common people. Artists seem to choose complex references and almost obscure theoretical ideas. Your approach seems to be completely different and that's quite refreshing! How did you decide to create a series of drawings that are so direct and yet also playful? 

It comes from personal experiences, and these experiences make you realize how unnecessary national symbols are, as well as religious symbols, etc. With the effect of the substances I mentioned in this series people could understand their place in this world and therefore most of the world’s problems could be avoided. They are parts of origins of wars and excesses of this world. They come from frustrated people, people who don’t know who they really are. It’s by connecting with others that we learn the value of not harming.

Música Concreta

Whether it's parts of pianos, disassembled music boxes, microphones in the staircases or old music sheet paper - there are a lot of references to music and sound in the most general sense. What is the role of music and sound in your work? And in addition - what is the role of silence? 

The tension between sound and silence is what interests me the most. My interest in sound comes directly from my relationship with music, which I think is a superior form of art. I was a dancer once. 

Silence is symbolic, it’s a reference to that rare inner silence that is needed to be able to listen to ourselves, to others, to nature. Silence is also necessary so that we can meditate and arrive to higher ways of being. 

La Santa Biblia (Edición de bolsillo) [detail]

In 2016, you published the pocket version of the Bible which really consists of 50 $1 bills. Were you intending this as a criticism of religion or capitalism, or their mutual cooperation?

This piece is all of that at the same time -  a criticism of religion, of capitalism as well as their mutual cooperation as you well say. It’s a way to show how sacred money has become to people. It’s also about how people allowed money to have this sacred place.

With our journal, we try to present contemporary female artists to audiences that wouldn't necessarily visit galleries and that often times don't follow or understand contemporary art. What would you say is the key to understand the artistically very diverse and irreverent world of Glenda Leon? 

Listen to the images, look at the sounds! 

www.glendaleon.com