Salvador Gonzáles Escalona

Salvador at work in "Callejón de Hamel" with his painting "Makuto" (2008).

Salvador Gonzáles Escalona, born October 21, 1948 in Camagüey, Cuba, is a Cuban painter, muralist and sculptor. His artist name is Salvador.

His work is known as an "afro-cuban" style. He describes his work as a mix of surrealism, cubism and abstract art.

Salvador has no formal artist education, but as early as in 1968 he had his first art exhibition "Arte Popular Cubano" in "Museo de Artes Decorativas", Havana.

In the 1980s he had a series of art exhibitions at Cuba. In 1986 he had an exhibition at Seychelles and in 1987 an exhibition in Rome, Italy.

Callejón de Hamel

Detail from Callejón de Hamel. 23°8′19.792″N 82°22′30.328″W

April 21, 1990 he started with murals and sculptures in the street Callejón de Hamel, near University of Havana. For sculptures he used scrap objects like bathtubs, hand pumps, pin wheels etc., and for the murals he used different kind of available paint, including car enamel.

Even though the first four years became difficult, he was inspired by local inhabitants and visitors to continue his work, and little by little, the street was transformed from a slum area to an enthusiastic Afro-Cuban centre.

Today there is workshops for young Cuban children to learn painting. Every Sunday there is Rumba-music, and every Friday Cuban music in the street.

This is still Salvador's artistic headquarter.

Later exhibitions

From 1990 he is represented at various exhibitions at Cuba. From 1992 he had several exhibitions abroad:

Norway

• 1992 - Stavanger + Bergen (University of Bergen) + Florø.

Denmark

• 1992 - Århus + Copenhagen.
• 1994 - Randers.
• 1996 - Vejle.

Mexico

• 1994 -

Puerto Rico

• 1997 - San Juan.

USA

• 1998 - New York (The Metropolitan Pavilion Gallery) + University of California, Los Angeles.
• 1999 - New York (Manhattan)
• 2000 - New York (The Metropolitan Pavilion Gallery) + Tiberino + Philadelphia.

Spain

• 2005 - Madrid.

Murals

Besides several murals at Cuba, he has done murals abroad:

Venezuela

• 1991 - "El Hijo del Sol", 350m² - Hotel Caracas Hilton.

Norway

• 1992 - Florø.

Mexico

• 1993 - "Ancestros" - Centro Multicultural, Xochimilco. Invited by Dr. Fèlix Zurita Ochoa.
• 1994 - "Sol de America" - Museo Antropologico de Querétaro, Institudo Indigenista Otomi, Universidad Autonomica.

Denmark

• 1995 - "Madre Agua", "Solidaritetshuset", Copenhagen.
• 1996 - "Deidales del Mar" - Vejle.

USA

• 1995 - "La Roca del Amor" - The Johnson State College, Vermont + a mural in Arizona.
• 1996 - "El muerto pare el Santo" + "Iku Lobi Osha" - California + "La creacion de Obbatala ante el dios del Camino" - New Jersey (Roosevelt elementary school) + "El dios del Camino" - New York (Washington Square Preschool).
• 1998 - "El framboyan" - New York (El Museo del Barrio).
• 2000 - "Mariposas del Caribe" - Philadelphia.
• 2001 - "Una Flor para Africa" - Philadelphia.

St. Martin

• 1996 - Hospitality center, Alburquerque.

Puerto Rico

• 1998 - "Orilla frente al Mar" + "Rumba" + "Rumba en la Rumba" + "De un solo pajaro las dos alas"

Italy

• 2007 - Torino.

Sculptures

Besides several sculptures at Cuba:

Denmark

• 1994 - "La ganga y la Llave" - Randers.
• 1996 - "Yemaya Olokun" - Vejle.

Movies

Several video-interviews is prodused by Cuban TV and by others. 2002 the 79 minutes ducumentary "A Cuban Legend: The Story of Salvador González" was produced by Bette Wanderman.

Presentations

• The New York Times - Presentation of the movie «A Cuban Legend».

Videos

• Havana-Cultura Presentation og interview
• Callejon de Hamel (Cuba): Afro Cuban Traditions - Indianapolis Museum of Art (YOU-TUBE)
• Interview with Artist Salvador Gonzalez Escalona on Location in Cuba - Indianapolis Museum of Art (YOU-TUBE)
• Every sunday: Afro-music i «Callejón de Hamel» (YOU-TUBE)