WHAT:  A solo exhibition:  NEEDLEMANIA by Alejandrina Cué - Vedado, Havana

WHO:  Presented by Cuba! Gallery of Fine Art

DESCRIPTION:  Thirty-three textile collages and tapestries by Alejandrina Cué.
If you missed the stunning recent exhibition, "Interwoven" at Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts will have another chance to see Alejandrina's art ... plus 21 more unseen works she has just brought in from Cuba.  (See "More about Alejandrina" at the bottom of this notice)

Twelve of the works will begin their Provenance with museum exposure, and all 33 will be available for purchase.  Bring friends (don't forget to RSVP) and join us for a glass of wine or a mojito.

WHEN:   Opening Reception
Saturday, January 7, 2012   5:00 - 8:00 PM
Alejandrina will be in attendance.
RSVP: with name and number in your party.  cubagallery@gmail.com or 321-729-8800.

THE EXHIBITION CONTINUES TO JANUARY 27, 2012.  10AM - 5PM, Mon-Fri.  Other days and times by appointment

WHERE:
Cuba! Gallery of Fine Art
1900 S. Harbor City Blvd.  Suite 124-A
The large coral Spanish style building at corner US 1 and New Haven.  Enter West door.  Historic Downtown Melbourne FL 32901

ATTIRE:  Caribbean Festive.

ADDITIONAL:
Cuba! Gallery of Fine Art holds license from the U.S. Department of the Treasury for Cuban travel and art procurement.

CONTACT:  Marjorie Pravden (321) 729-8800 or cubagallery@gmail.com

MORE ABOUT ALEJANDRINA:  (In her own words, translated.)

I grew up surrounded by threads, fabrics and tubes of paint of all the women in my family who sewed wonderfully.  I was fascinated by the colors and textures ... fabrics are like feelings:  transparent, rustic, subtle, soft, happy, sad.

My work is characterized by the introduction of different techniques, procedures and materials.  In the same work, I mix painting and collage; the sum of elements and textures gives me a particular language.  I seek originality and life, expressing joys and anguishes.  I look for fabric we use each day to make our existence, and the things that I make arise from the void, sometimes with a desperate message; others, happy.  Everything that happens to me on an emotional level fills me and I transmit it to my work.

When I began doing this kind of work in 1983, I believe I was the first in Cuba.  The textile tradition is not present here.  I took some things from the patchwork technique of the Seminole Indian, but kept my own language as I worked in figuration.  Figuration is closely related to naive art, possessing a magical charm when it is authentic.  Ingenuity is a wonderful quality that is inherent in children.  Is there anyone more sincere than a child?  In the genre of naive, you can be honest:  cry with joy and laugh with sadness.

I am constantly thankful for my work as an artist.  I believe it is very important to enjoy what one does, no matter what it is.

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Alejandrina graduated from the Mantanzas School of Art and the National School of Art in Havana, studied at the Bauhaus School of Industrial Design in Dessao, Germany and at the Science Center for Design at Miasen, Germany.