Exhibition Para ver, cierro los ojos

A two-person exhibition by Odey Curbelo and Kmilo Morales

Curators: Claudia Pérez & Daniela Fernández

El Arco Azul, Madrid

September, 2025

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In recent years, contemporary Cuban art has gained increasing visibility in the diaspora, driven by the migration of artists and curators seeking new platforms and audiences beyond the island. This displacement has not only expanded the reach of Cuban art but has also reshaped its content, reflecting experiences of exile and alternative ways of thinking about artistic practice that often move beyond purely contextual narratives. Europe has emerged as a key hub for this development, offering space for Cuban artists and curators to continue their work and engage with new cultural frameworks.

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Para ver, cierro los ojos is a two-person exhibition conceived as a bridge between Berlin and Madrid, bringing into dialogue the practices of artists Kmilo Morales (Madrid) and Odey Curbelo (Berlin). The project also reflects the curatorial perspectives of Daniela Fernández and Claudia Pérez, whose collaboration underscores ongoing debates around contemporary art practices within the Cuban diaspora.

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Structured as an open studio, the exhibition emphasizes process over fixed outcomes. Painting and watercolor become spaces of improvisation, immediacy, and automatism, foregrounding the act of painting itself rather than narrative or conceptual excess. Despite their differing visual languages—Morales’s restrained, near-monochrome inks and Curbelo’s expressive, color-driven abstractions—the exhibition highlights shared interests in chance, contemplation, and collaboration, affirming painting as a vital and forward-looking contemporary medium.