In a new show on view at Galería Habana, Jorge Otero Escobar resurrects the image of the rural peasant, or guajiro, a constant theme in Cuban art and literature in the 20th century. But with a twist.

Instead of depicting him toiling under the clear sky and hot sun of last century’s norms, the laborer he forms is one with “silky hands,” naked and eroticized. In other instances, Otero subverts photographic legacies of Cuba by cutting up the image, and literally re-weaving the strands together—what Rigoberto Otaño describes in the catalog essay as “a masterful fusion between artisan tradition and the most refined design.”

The blending of craft and formal materials is part of Otero’s work revisiting the past, and reframing it for a contemporary audience. As Otaño writes, “He [Otero] is obsessed with synthesis.” Indeed, within each individual work, the artist seems content only when there is a visible meeting of textures.

Installation view, “Paradigma” at Galeria Habana. Courtesy of Galeria Habana.

There is one notable digression in the new exhibition: the artist’s inclusion of a female subject. As part of his investigation of masculinity, Otero has focused solely on depictions of men and the hierarchies of power they are embedded in, through work, education, or simply by their physical stature. Here, in two works, both untitled, Otero presents a male and female figure standing contrapossto in a dark field. The figures, classically posed, are clear allusions to Adam and Eve, but situated in a very different kind of garden.

In his 2013 piece Pensamiento histórico (Historic Thought), these ideas, of synthesizing history and present, and weaving together materials, come together in the photograph of a peasant. Throughout his career, Otero has returned often to the idealized male body, harkening back to the chiseled bodies of ancient Greek and Roman sculptures.

In Historic Thought, a male representing the peasant is photographed facing the viewer, his body cropped just above his knees. The man is wearing a straw hat and holds a machete with both hands covering his groin. The photograph is printed on vinyl and woven together, much the same way the straw hat would have been crafted.

Jorge Otero Escobar, Relicario (Hacha); Relicario (Guante); and Relicario (Brocha), (2020). Courtesy of Galería Habana.

The works on view in “Paradigm” develop many of the same themes: the gallery has a church-like aura, with spotlights illuminating works in a hushed, reverential atmosphere. One wall in the space, painted a deep blue, serves as the backdrop for a series of mounted sculptures, part of the “Reliquary” series.

On the wall, tools including saws, hammers, a machete, a paint brush, and a work glove are encased in gold frames that echo the tools’ form, like a religious icon. These tools, often associated with peasants and the working class, are given pride of place as holy relics. As the curator Chrislie Pérez writes, “through work man can be defined as such, he can become a subject that is capable of modifying his environment and at the same time, be an expression of his worldview.”

A forthcoming catalog of the artist’s work featuring photography, installation, and sculpture, will be published by Galería Habana in December 2020.

Installation view, “Paradigma” at Galeria Habana. Courtesy of Galeria Habana.

Jorge Otero Escobar, Untitled (2020). Courtesy of Galería Habana.

Jorge Otero Escobar, Untitled (2020). Courtesy of Galería Habana.

Installation view, “Paradigma” at Galeria Habana. Courtesy of Galeria Habana.

Installation view, “Paradigma” at Galeria Habana. Courtesy of Galeria Habana.

“Jorge Otero Escobar: Paradigma” is on view at Galería Habana through January 15, 2021.