Around sixty Cuban artists make up the group exhibition State of the Spirit, open to the public until 10 January 2022, at the Pabellón Cuba, on the occasion of the 14th Havana Biennial, and as part of the activities for the 35th anniversary of the Asociación Hermanos Saíz (AHS). 

According to its curators Maybel Elena Martínez and Sarah Lis Muñiz, the exhibition "is based on the idea that youth goes beyond a stage of life, as it is understood as a state of the spirit itself, and, from there, we have moved through different generations, perspectives of vision of the arts, and we have invited the large number of young people who make up the proposal". 

According to the organizers, the exhibition involves different styles and languages from the most varied expressions of the visual arts such as architecture, photography, drawing, performance, painting, and installation. 

"What we are trying to do is to make a general overview of the pieces made during these two years of the pandemic, a period in which the artists have been in their studios creating, and one of the objectives of the exhibition is to show what has been done during this period, as it has been shown on social networks, but has not been seen in the physical spaces of the galleries," the specialists explained. 

The exhibition, they assured, aims to generate a micro-cartography that allows us to understand the transformations in the contemporary art scene, to reveal paths, and to dialogue in parallel. 

They specified that el Estado del espíritu is a proposal that took two months of curatorship and selection, and many of the members belong to the AHS and have been invited from different provinces of the country such as Guantánamo, Sancti Spíritus, Camagüey, Havana, among others. 

They also pointed out that the project, exhibited in the Cuba Pavilion, changes the sense of the space, as one enters the place through Calle 21, working the central courtyard, the tunnel, and the gallery that has been rescued after a long time without use. 

"We wanted to highlight the Pavilion's elements and interweave the pieces, giving importance to those patrimonial values that usually go unnoticed, but that through art and curatorship take on more meaning", they stressed. 

"Estado del espíritu" is part of the program of the Havana Biennial and kicks off Experience 2 of the largest visual arts event in Cuba, which in this second stage will focus its attention on contemporary Cuban art.