It could be argued that all art is an experiment in transcultural understanding. Every work of art is connected in multiple and complex ways to the cultures informing the artist who creates it, and to look deeply into ways of making meaning can reveal many hidden facets of any particular work. In the work of Pepe Orbein , these connections are very explicit, because identity is at the core of his vastly complicated works.
It is certainly worth the time to plan a trip and book nights at a Miami hotel in order to get a first-hand look at his work, along with the work of other local artists who create works along similar themes. Cuban-born, Orbein’s work has a particular weight in the Miami community, where art is still one of the only arenas for the flows of information to pass back and forth.
Orbein’s shows in the past few years have been instrumental in making connections between contemporary art and the Abakua society in Cuba. This society is a very misunderstood and mystified organization. The secrets are stolidly protected, and this has lead to a wealth of misinterpretations. Using visual art to start conversations about the people in the society is one way toward the possibility of cultural understanding, and for all intents and purposes, this experiment of Orbein’s is continually unfolding in remarkably beautiful ways.
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