Jose Bedia
Bio
Jose Bedia (b.1959, Havana, Cuba) attended the School of Art of San Alejandro and the Superior Institute of Art, both in Havana. He was part of the ground breaking group Volumen I, which shook the foundations of Contemporary Cuban art and was very influential on following generations of Cuban artists. Bedia is one of the most important contemporary Cuban artists, and his work has been part of countless important group shows in prestigious institutions worldwide. His work can be found in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C; Guggenheim Museum, New York; Contemporary Art Museum, San Diego, California; Perez Art Museum Miami, Florida; Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Monterrey, Mexico; Museo de Bellas Artes, Havana, Cuba; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, Arizona, and Pori Art Museum, Finland.
Statement
A very well known drawing performed in my early years, somehow defined me: an academic portrait portraying an Amerindian of the primitive tribes of the United States. In the portrait, the protagonist, an Indian figure riding a horse while shooting a gun is aiming backwards, as if turning his back towards the viewer (us). When the art teacher asked me why I drew the Indian in such a manner, I answered: “Because I’m on his side, the enemy is on the other side, so you can totally trust me.”
2.5 x 4m / 98.4 x 157 in
