Thursday, May 5, 2011

The Baron Paints a Life Remembered




Baron Corso de Palenzuela was only 8 years old when his titled family fled Cuba to avoid Batista's corruption. The trauma of this sudden and unexpected move from their beloved homeland has remained with de Palenzuela and is clearly evident in his art. His memory paintings, depicting the family's luxurious life in Cuba, illustrate both love and loss for Corso the child, and haunting fragments of memory still carried by Corso the adult.

In his paintings, the main figures are always large and in the foreground, flat in perspective, often flanked by both armed soldiers and the lush vegetation of this tropical paradise. White deer, called Dama Dama, almost forced into extinction because of their prized flesh, white peacocks whose feathers are decorated with gold coins from the family's fortune, white dogs both prized for their hunting skills and their devotion as family pets, enormous fields filled with sunflowers, cocoa and tobacco, and mother tending to her gardens, fill de Palenzuela's colorful canvases.

There is a strong folk aesthetic to this unschooled work which has been shown at the American Visionary Art Museum, The Miami Fine Art Museum, The Jewish Museum in NY, The Havana Municipal Museum, and Vassar College. The artist's spiritual side, reflecting his Sephardic heritage, is depicted in powerful biblical paintings with illustrative text. Corso de Palenzuela says, “I’m religious, but I don’t believe in institutional religion. I’m more of a mystic.” These wonderful paintings are mystical indeed! Most of the work is painted in oil on random shaped boards, often surrounded with framing constructed to protect these vivid and cherished memories. There are fascinating stories told in each work and a goodly amount of the vintage pieces are still in the artist's personal collection.

Edward Gomez wrote of de Palenzuela in Raw Vision magazine, these paintings go “…far beyond the Cuban-American dominated zones of Miami and South Florida reflecting both increasing and broader popular interest in Latin-American culture in general, and the ever-widening scope of the Outsider Art world, where interest in styles, techniques or themes associated with particular peoples or places has significantly enriched appreciation of the genre.” De Palenzuela's work has also received glowing write-ups in the New York Times on four occasions.

Vintage and current works by Corso de Palenzuela are now available at the Beverly Kaye Gallery in Woodbridge, CT tel: 203 387 5700

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love Baron Corso's art so much. I own a piece and I love him even more as a bon vivant. I would like to see more of his work on your website!

Patricia

Beverly Kaye said...

Patricia: I am very excited to have this work available at the Woodbridge gallery. You can visit here to see it in person, or visit my Beverly Kaye Gallery page on FaceBook. Feel free to friend me on Beverly Farber Kaye on FB as well. New works are also posted there.

Anonymous said...

as i understand..Only an 8 year old boy who done this art?

Beverly Kaye said...

The Baron left Cuba with his parents when he was 8 years old. As an adult he is revisiting this childhood and painting his memories.

Crystal Cook said...

Beverly, I love this blog and your interest in the story behind the art. Thanks for letting me follow your blog. I look forward to reading more of your thoughts.

Beverly Kaye said...

Crystal:
Thank you for your comments. Your own work is really inspirational!

Anonymous said...

Dear Beverly

I know Baron Corso very well. I'm a art curator and I fell in love with him and his art.A very handsome aristocrat who paints beautifully his personal life. He is full of life and full of joy and his many artistic creation of his outsider world attest to that inner love he has for his country of Cuba and humankind. I own three of his works and think of him all the time, I'd like to see more of his work on your web site or even an exhibition of his work in your gallery. Id like to purchase another vintage piece. Great artist, great work.
Linda von Koppelburg

Beverly Kaye said...

Linda;
Thank you so much for your lovely comments about Corso and his remarkable paintings. There is a current show of his vintage works called "A Cuban Childhood Interupted" at the gallery in Woodbridge, CT right now.
When I do the web update, Corso de Palenzuela's paintings will definitely be included. The website is only updated once a year, as most of my clients are connected to the gallery through FaceBook.
Feel free to join me at
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Beverly-Kaye-Gallery/32983732876
or my personal page, which is also filled with art.
https://www.facebook.com/Beverly.Farber.Kaye
Thank you again for you interest in this most deserving artist. I agree, he's quite a guy!
Beverly

Beverly Kaye said...

June 11th and 12th, during the Sculpture in The Garden Show, the inside gallery will be closed. Please feel free to call and make an appointment to see the paintings inside at any other time.

Anonymous said...

Dear Beverly: Baron Corso's art is as exciting as the man. I own a small vintage painting of his.I'd like to see larger pieces on your web site with dimensions. His art reflects a beautiful life he leads since I was a part of it at one time. Happy to see he has been resurrected on your site. As an art collector I would like to see more recent works of his.
Yours truly. Laura Trotter M.D

Beverly Kaye said...

Laura:
Thank you for your comment. The larger works are posted on my Facebook pages under Beverly Kaye Gallery and Beverly Farber Kaye. Please feel free to contact me about any works that interest you and I will supply dimensions and pricing. The next show of Corso's work will be June 10th at the gallery in Connecticut.
203 387 58700
Beverly

Anonymous said...

Dear Beverly:

Wow! Cannot believe Baron Corso's work up. and such beautiful pieces on your web. I love his work. I was at my saddest period of my life when he brought joy to me with his gift to me at Hannukah of the Miracle of the Red Heifer,and his telling me the story with it. a painting I cherish and love. Baron Corso was my miracle at my lowest point. I loved him so much. He vanished right about the Holidays. Never understood it, because he also loved me deeply. I'll always love him trully like my guardian angel for all he did for me.It's wonderful to see his art is alive just like him. I like to see an exhibit of his soon
Anna Jerusalem-Rosenblatt

Beverly Kaye said...

Anna, as advertised this week, Baron Corso's works are on exhibition right now at the gallery in Woodbridge, CT. You are most welcome to visit! Call for an appointment at 203 3875700 to make sure we are here. It's a very busy season.

KeRobinson said...

I like the way he organizes his compositions, very earthy ;) Thanks for showing them!

Anonymous said...

I know the artist Baron Corso von Habsburg very well. His art needs to be exhibited. He has a tremendous creative power that touches deeply-- that is as personal as it is global. I own two of his paintings he bestowed to me when we were lovers. I love Corso and his work. He lives in the same village of Rhinebeck. I see him often and think how much I would love to be with him again. He is utterly mesmerizing/ As well as his art. Beverly please give him an exhibition and I'll be there for him to aquire another great work of his art. His jewish art themes shines so bright because of the real mystic that he is. I'll call him to catch up with what exhibition he is planning.

Truly yours, Monika Pollock M.D


Sincerely yours