Sous Les Etoiles Gallery is pleased to announce the first survey exhibition of photographer Alberto Korda’s 1959 and 1960 visits to the US with Fidel Castro. The exhibition, titled “Korda in America,” is comprised of over 60 black & white images courtesy of the Alberto Korda Estate, almost all of which have never before been seen or exhibited let alone offered for purchase.
“Korda in America,” shot during Fidel Castro’s historic first visits to America in April of 1959—at the invitation of the American Society of Newspaper Editors—and September of 1960, is a testament to both Cuba’s and Korda’s enduring significance, and is aslo a strange piece of history with regard to the more than overdue reconciliation of the two countries differences, captured in a time long passed in which politicians still deccided alone what was they had to know and do. Viva la Digital Revolution!
Korda, as part of the staff of the newly created Cuban newspaper Revolución, documented Castro, both the man and political figure, as no other photographer was able. In the span of approximately fourteen days between Washington, New York and Boston in April of 1959, Korda documents a whirlwind of activity, capturing not only the savviness of the 33-year-old Prime Minister of Cuba, but also the relaxed, intimate, and even humorous moments throughout the visit.
It's a historical trip through time on American soil in a day and age full of mistrust, tension, formalisms and all with great statesmen, glamorous bland First Lady tag-alongs in couture, at a safe distance or even banned to the photographic basement. What a contrasting picture it is to the political climate in 2016 with German Chancelor Angela Merkel as the world's Person of the Year and US President Barack Obama as a peacemaker between USA and the only 90-mile-close Cuba. We say: Viva the global & peaceful cultural revolution!
Alberto Korda (1928–2001), best known for his image of Che Guevera, was the accompanying photographer to Fidel Castro for ten years, the auteur of several of the most iconic images of the Cuban Revolution, and the most versatile Cuban photographer of his generation. Born the son of a railway worker and a housewife in Havana, Cuba, Alberto Korda went on to photograph such important historical figures and luminaries as Nikita Khrushchev, Simone de Beauvoir, and Jean-Paul Sartre, and was awarded the Cuban ”Palma de Plata” in 1959 and the National Culture Distinction, Ministry of Culture, Cuba in 1994. His work may be found in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX; Center for Cuban Studies, New York, NY; Maison de la Culture de la Seine Saint-Denis, Paris, France; and Mexican Council of Photography, Mexico, among several others.
Exhibition Details: An opening reception will be held on Thursday, December 17, 6-8pm, and a talk with Diana Diaz, daughter of Korda, is scheduled for Monday, December 21, at 7pm. RSVP: OPENING RECEPTION Thursday, December 17, 6-8pm
Alberto Korda in America . Sous Les Etoiles Gallery . 560 Broadway #603 New York City, NY . souslesetoilesgallery.net