On hearing that an exhibition in tribute to Bonachea by Diego Gejo is to take place, you may be somewhat surprised. Those closest to the Cuban visual arts scene consider Vicente Rodríguez Bonachea, who died prematurely in 2012 at the age of 55, one of the most outstanding contemporary painters, while Diego is a boy of just nine years of age.
The exhibition, which will be open until October 16 on the first floor of the Casa Oswaldo Guayasamín, located in the historic center of Havana, comprises 21 captivating drawings, full of imagination and clean strokes from beginning to end.
Although coming as a surprise, the exhibition is not completely unexpected if one considers the story that links Bonachea with Diego. In 2010, the two first began drawing together and those around them agree that they achieved a strong level of communication in the process.
In this regard we reproduce some words from the exhibition catalog by critic Alex Fleites: “When Bonachea and Diego Gejo drew together, there was no teacher or student. Despite the age difference, despite what each had lived, there was no subordination (logical, or otherwise), but an intense communion. Two celebrants in the magical act of creation.
wo colleagues who shared techniques and dreams. And if Diego ever attempted to approach the highly personal figuration of Bona, there were more than a few occasions when the artist proposed, with luck, to penetrate the world as imagined by the child. I believe that, through symbiosis, both emerged enriched by the happy moment of combination: the artist as a child, the child as an artist. Or is it not that artist and child are two words that, at heart, express the same thing?”
The outstretched hand of maestro Bonachea provokes admiration, but is not unheard of in his prolific career in which his work as an illustrator of children’s books stands out.
Bonachea, who graduated from the San Alejandro Fine Arts Academy, appealed due to his original pictorial language, with over one hundred solo and group exhibitions across Spain, the U.S., France, Mexico, Costa Rica and Switzerland.
In exhibitions such as Abrir y cerrar los ojos; Muros; Mirarse por dentro; Instrucciones para soñar; or El jardín de las delicias, his prodigious imagination, original and astounding wildlife, his refined pictorial skill and the balance of his palette, can be appreciated.
Those closest to the artist confirmed that just before his death, he had among his most advanced projects an exhibition of his drawings and several pieces made with Diego, then six years old.
Diego, three years later, is dedicating these 21 drawings to Bonachea, in which he already demonstrates an imaginative inner world, accompanied by early training which will surely continue until the Academy itself.
