By Janet Batet, Arts Journalist

The Farside Gallery, a quiet blue house located in the suburban Westchester area, far away from trendy art districts, offers the propitious environment for the intriguing artworks of the Cuban-born Miami-based artist Ana Albertina Delgado. The show is a survey on Ana’s drawings production from 1997 to 2011 and a very special opportunity to enjoy the wonderful universe of this fascinating creator.

Former member of Puré, an art collective that shook the Cuban cultural scene of the second half of the eighties through public interventions that questioned everyday life in Cuba, Ana Albertina’s oeuvre is always a very personal interpretation of our quotidianity, desires, fears, and prejudices.

Ana’s peculiar world is populated with dissimilar influences ranging from Cuban popular culture to feminist concerns. Intertwined in her works, are elements from Afro-Cuban imaginary, Cuban-peasant mythology, Mexican folklore, among others, that engender a sui generis fabulation. Her proposal -easily linked to the unconscious- hides a very analytic reflexion on ontological issues where femininity becomes the main path to discourse on memory, legacy and prejudices.

The works now presented at Farside Gallery are delicate and powerful, mystical and poignant. Most of the drawings are monochromatic, guiding our journey through the artworks the impeccable line that -like embroidery- builds up the story. Whenever used, the color is restricted to a unique palette that echoes the general atmosphere of the fabulated-like narration where fantasy, ambiguity and sensuality are key elements.

In these “colored” pieces the notion of sequence plays a crucial role. The surface usually subdivided in three identical areas embodies the idea of cycle so dare to Ana Albertina’s world where past, present and future are symbols of memory, survival, and imagination.

Ana Albertino Delgado at the Farside Gallery: Through Aug 28, 1305 SW 87 Ave, Miami; 305-264-3355