Waldo Balart y el arte concreto

Resumen

Concrete art, defined by Theo van Doesburg in his manifesto Art concret of 1930, is a European art, geometrically abstract and universal, unknown to the general public, despite being a century old. Its works are distinguished by being mechanically executed from sketches, with only visual elements of art (figures and colors), without obtaining any reference to reality or meaning other than themselves. Similarly, the purpose of its contemplation, which requires some effort of concentration, is to induce the viewer into a state of consciousness, by an internal search. Through the study of one of its artists, the Cuban painter Waldo Balart, based in Madrid, we approach this movement, reviewing its history, its current situation and the global mindset who share their artists. The objective of this work is to show that Waldo Balart is a representative artist of this current, a conclusion that has been made evident after ascertain that the most prestigious collections and museums dedicated to concrete art have his work among the privileged selection of artists. Another purpose is to make visible that he is an artist who has made a great contribution to the history of art, something that has been proved by examining the extensive artistic and theoretical work that he has contributed, the product of a lifetime of dedication. It has also been shown that through their friendship he has influenced the work of artists such as Andy Warhol. Furthermore, the purpose of the investigation is to prove that Waldo, whose full surname is Diaz-Balart, awakens a huge interest in being a notable sociocultural figure, a fact that involves belonging to a prominent political family and socially; first in his native country Cuba and then in the country of his exile, the USA. On the other hand, Waldo has lived in different parts of the world - Cuba, New York, Madrid, Paraguay, Brazil and Belgium - absorbing remarkable things about different cultures, at specific moments that concentrate enormous attention. Of these, a highlight is the cultural explosion that he lived in New York, during the reign of abstract expressionism, pop art and minimalism. Also, in each culture he has lived with personalities as important as his former brother in law Fidel Castro and even outside the artistic level, he played an important social value. All circumstances surrounding his engaging personality have somehow been absorbed and projected in his artistic work, in which he uses color as an expressive tool. With the goal of preventing its spread and therefore its loss, as well as assist in registering the history of contemporary art, this work brings together most of the material on a valuable artist who is so far little studied...