Contained Tension Abstraction (or Contained Abstraction)

This painting is pushing me into the realm of abstraction. I've been wanting for years to do abstract painting but I just didn't have an authentic motive to go after it. Now I have one and perhaps two motives. The first one is Cuban painter Juan Martinez Pedro's Aguas Territoriales, which is an abstract work from the 1960's. In it Martinez Pedro conveys through geometric abstraction the dangers of nuclear war, missile crisis and the American embargo to Cuba: the conflict between the countries of Cuba and the U.S. separated by the waters of the Gulf stream -thus its title. With that in mind I set up to create a dramatic background, but without using the stronger combination of black and primary color characteristic of Pedro, since I preferred to stay in the red and green palette more proper of the Cuban posters of the same period.

The second motive comes in opposition to the first one since is totally American. I'm embracing it as a sign of my bi-cultural artist which I'm becoming. It has to do with an American sensibility, taste, way of life or whatever you want to call it. It dawned on me after a conversation in my studio with an American collector who wanted to have this piece it just like it is in this picture, unfinished. he told me that he liked the simplicity and the serenity --the key word I realized afterwards-- that the abstract composition and flat colors conveyed. 

I remembered that I heard somewhere that Americans love comfort. It is understood that American people work very hard and that when they go back home from work they like to go driving a spacious and comfortable car to an air conditioned, domestic appliances filled, comfortable home, and that they want to relax and forget about the problems of the day until next. It dawned on me that what the collector wanted to have was a "take me away from my problems" space, composition and color kind of abstract work.

My dillema is how I'm going to deal with both the Cuban conflicted heritage and the American way of life sensibility. As I said before, I'm now a bi-cultural artist and as such I need to resolve both tendencies or brought the two conflicted sides into a contained tension. And that is the key word for the next body of work that should come after this: Contained tension abstraction where peace, serenity and contemplation coexist with hidden tension and conflict. I can't wait to see what is coming next :)