Loló Soldevilla

Private Collection, Havana (acquired directly from the artist)
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Cuba, Museo de Arte de Pinar del Río, Obras Inéditas: Amelia Peláez de Casal, Sandú Darié Laver, Dolores Soldevilla Nieto (Loló), December 2015 - January 2016

The panel is in good condition considering its age. It displays an aged hand painted surface that is tightly bound with no significant paint losses. The matte black paint presents minor scuffing and minor spots of discoloration. Hairline fissures in the wood are evident below the paint layer on the central panel. These fissures are stable and are a result of dimensional changes in the wood. The panel is slightly warped and does not sit flush in its frame. The frame has significant surface soiling and the edges and corners show signs of wear. The seams on the frame have opened slightly and are visible. (This condition report has been prepared courtesy of Wilson Conservation, LLC)
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Recognized as one of the key voices of the geometric abstract movement in Latin America, Loló Soldevilla served as a guiding force in assimilating the art of her native Cuba into the greater international dialogue of the Post-War period. Part of the new generation of artists who were fatigued by the traditional, painterly academic curriculum of the time, Soldevilla moved to Paris in 1949 where her artistic studies dramatically expanded. Embarking on a feverish scholastic-like survey of media studies, she eventually concentrated on sculpture at the revered Atelier d’Art Abstrait—founded by sculptor Edgard Pillet and abstract painter Jean Dewasne—while also simultaneously taking on print-making under the guidance of famed Abstract Expressionist Stanley William Hayter. Loló’s firm integration within this artistic community prompted her to organize the pivotal 1956 exhibition “Pintura de hoy. Vanguardia de la Escuela de París,” in which works by peers Jean Arp, Victor Vasarely, and her own would be shown side-by-side.

While the interchange and collaboration with the Parisian avant-garde certainly stimulated the evolution of her artistic development, it was Soldevilla’s homecoming to Cuba that same year that provoked the pivotal turning point of her unique aesthetic language. Mario Carreño, the leading artist and intellectual of the Cuban Vanguardia group, noted in the catalogue of Soldevilla’s debut solo show organized by Havana-based Lyceum Gallery in 1957: “Many who will stand in front of [her] work will find themselves equally in surprise as in wonder. With this new plastic concept, [Loló Soldevilla] creates a complete break-point from the traditional imitation of natural reality, successfully inventing a pictorial universe previously unknown”  (Beatrice Gago, “El espacio cualificado. Mapa para una isla concreta,” Beatrice Gago, Más que concretos, Madrid 2015, p. 59). Executed during this watershed year of production, Sin título (1956) is a key example of Soldevilla’s artistic awakening. Using a deliberately restrained color palette—in this example, black and white –and ready-made materials such as wood panel and carved three-dimensional geometric shapes, Loló builds a seemingly simplistic relief-like construction where she employs the use of the circular and block-like shapes to successfully create new dimensions. Punctuated with the illusion of movement, she “expresses the mysteries of light and space” as an architect of a new cosmos (ibid, p. 169).