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For Ivan Abreu dark tones and colors do not represent dark and depressive moods but a path to the exploration of the unknown. So much so that he does not like his work lit the conventional way but in a low light. Even then the surface tension of his paintings are intense. Through the use of pigment he not only achieves the multiple and subtle layers of imagery, but also a texture which makes these "dreamscapes" come alive. The roots of his figurative abstract style can be traced to the third generation Cuban modernists. Ivan was born in Manhattan, NY (1950), but went to Cuba at the age of seven where he spent the next twenty two years of his life. This experience not only shaped his identity but also his art. As a child he used to draw or build castles out of cardboard. He was so good at it that he caught the attention of everyone he came in contact with. By the age of eighteen he had worked his way to the "Escuela Nacional de Arte" in Cubanacan. It was there that like many other young people he found the chance to take advantage of the free instruction system. He explored the "Circles of Interest", and studied under the direction of masters such as Lolo Soldevilla and Julio Matilla. By 1980 Ivan decided it was time to leave Cuba to explore other environments. He moved to San Francisco, California where he lived, worked and started exhibiting his work for the next eight years. 1988 was a very important year for Ivan. He moved back to his birthplace and started working for "Crozier Fine Arts" doing installation work for various museums. As a result, he came in contact with great many masterworks of art from the classics to contemporaries. This first hand experience lasted some three years and the works of artists like Jasper Johns, Jim Dine and Robert Rauschenberg greatly influenced his art. In 1991 after spending a few months in Spain and other parts of Europe, he came back to the US and moved to Santa Ana, California where he now lives and works and is active in the local art scene. |
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