About the artworkWifredo Lam grew up in a multicultural environment in the Cuban countryside. He gave up his law studies in Havana for art and began painting plants in the city’s botanical gardens. His studies took him to Paris and the circle of surrealist artists. During the Second World War, Lam returned to Cuba where he portrayed the island’s landscapes, history and culture. “Tropical Vegetation” is a lush rendering of sugarcane, fruits and leaves, with totem-like figures emerging from the verdure. Lam’s paintings are also influenced by his contacts with Santería, a local religion that combines West African and Spanish Catholic traditions. The paintings evoke myth and ritual, paradise and hell. The scenes may at first seem exotic, but the stories they tell are universal. Selected exhibition history Wifredo Lam. Hjärtats snår, vapen, frukter (1967) Moderna Museet, Stockholm Samlingsutställning 2019-2022 (den 1 februari 2019 - den 27 augusti 2023) Moderna Museet, Stockholm Moderna Museets samling i ny presentation (1998-2000) Moderna Museet, Stockholm Supersurrealismen (den 29 september 2012 - den 27 januari 2013) Moderna Museet Malmö Ny presentation av samlingen (2000-2002) Moderna Museet, Stockholm Samlingsutställning 2004 - 2011 - I vår tid (2004 - 2011) Moderna Museet, Stockholm Den underjordiska himlen. Surrealism i Moderna Museets samling (den 26 oktober 2024 - den 17 januari 2027) Moderna Museet, Stockholm Internationell Surrealism (1998) Moderna Museet, Stockholm Moderna Museet c/o Bildmuseet - Dada och surrealism (2003) Bildmuseet, Umeå The Moderna Museet exhibition catalogues Wilfredo Lam : hjärtats snår, vapen, frukter : Moderna Museet, Stockholm 1967

Works by the artist