Victor Gomez

The SIBI Generation, 1985

Victor Gomez. Five years have passed since Victor Gomez arrived in Florida on one of the boats making up the ramshackle flotilla that set sail from Mariel. If some of the refugees were socially undesirable, others were individuals of substance-professionals desirous of the opportunity to make something of themselves in an environment favorable to selfdevelopment. For them, Mariel provided that opportunity, and they soon gave evidence that it was being put to good use. Among the achi evers was the painter Victor Gomez.

Settling in Miami, he was quickly recognized for his creative talent and mastery of technique, brilliantly displayed in his feeling for, and handling of, color. In his skillfully structured compositions resplendent form s are disposed in perfect equilibrium against a fathomless background, constituting as it were a starry constellation of the artist's invention. In all his canvases Gomez shows an inclination to geometric outlines, some clear and sharp, others worn in app earance, like carvings on medieval cathedrals long eroded by wind and by rain. At times forms swell as if trying to escape from the flat surface on which they are painted, Gomez having softened outlines to create an effect suggestive of a third dimension. His experiments, particularly in the color area-arguably his strong point-make a strongly sensual appeal to the viewer Victor Gomez was born in Havana May 27, 1941.

Upon completing hi public education he entered the San Alejandro Academy attending clas ses regularly from 1963 until his graduation in 1967. He had already won certain reputation for himself through participation in a large number o group shows. The revolutionary regime which had been instituted in Cuba was by no means opposed to abstract ion. It was anxious that the country make .. good showing in the art world, and it was well aware that the poster art generally favored by Marxist governments for political reasons had met with overall rejection abroad. It therefore encouraged artists who might win for Cuba a reputation for aesthetic advance not usually associated with communist lands. Gomez was therefore able to exhibit not only at home but overseas: the two Germanys, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Canada, Spain, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, and Mexico were hosts to group shows in which Gomez's work figured prominently. All told, he made about fourscore appearances before the public. Nonetheless, Gomez felt the lack of liberty which would permit him to develop both as an artist an d as a human being, and with the opening provided by Mariel he took flight from home. He soon began to make a way for himself in Miami: the works he presented at group shows quickly won him a name in art circles. Today his paintings are sought out by co llectors, and his skill at layout and illustration have given his graphics workshop a solid commercial reputation.