Three Private Collections

A look at some favorite canvasses of three Gables art collectors

By J.P Faber / Photos by Rodolfo Benitez

Coral Gables has always been home to those who appreciate art. It was once the ar gallery capital of Florida, and remains the home of numerous private collections, many of them world-class. While the scores of galleries once located here have melted away under high rental costs, there remain a handful of stalwarts. Chief among them is Cernuda Arte, which specializes in Cuban art, and the Americas Collection, which casts a wider net into Central and South American countries for the artists they represent. Every so often Coral Gables Magazine takes a look at some of the private collections in the city. Because Coral Gables is home to so many Cuban Americans, the collections here tend to skew toward Cuban art. There are exceptions, but this year’s look into the private homes of citizen art lovers uncovered three collections that were predominantly comprised of Cuban art. Fortunately, there is no lack of talent among these prolific painters.

The Cuban Masters

The Collector: Dr. De La Vega and fiancée Josie Tezanos

Dr. Luis de la Vega’s predilection for Cuban art stems, in part, from his heritage. He is a direct descendant of one of the leaders of the successful rebellion against the British occupation of Cuba in 1762. Today, de la Vega is a retired linguist (he holds a PhD in linguistics) who started collecting in earnest about 15 years ago. Since then, he has collected some of the great Cuban masters, including Wifredo Lam, Carlos Enríquez, Victor Manuel, Amelia Peláez, René Portocarrero, and more. His paintings adorn the walls of his historic 1924 home on the Granada Golf Course. He arrived from Cuba in 1960, fleeing the revolution, but has been back to Cuba since then to research his family lineage. His favorite painting in the collection is a 1941 canvas by Amelia Peláez entitled “Naturaleza Muerta con Frutas” – or “Still Life with Fruits.” “It has his all the features of the Cuban home,” says de la Vega, “the ironwork, the arches, the columns, the fruits, the light, the sky – it has everything.”

Left: “Pájaros” by Mariano Rodríguez, 1958
Right: “Pelea de Gallos” by Carlos Enríquez, 1947

From left to right:
“Retrato de Flora” by René Portocarrero, 1964
“Naturaleza Muerta con Frutas” by Amelia Peláez, 1941
“Femme Cheval” by Wifredo Lam, 1957
“Morena con Pájaro” by Cundo Bermúdez, 1954

Every Picture Tells a Story

The collectors: Sergio & Maria Gonzalez-Arias

Dr. Sergio and Maria Gonzalez-Arias live in a 1925 house in the historic Italian Village. Even with high ceilings, the couple has managed to fill almost every surface with scores of paintings. “The vast majority of all our pieces are local artists in Miami, and mostly Cuban Americans,” says Dr. Gonzalez-Arias, a retired brain surgeon. “We are not strategic collectors in terms of investment. We’re not collectors for any future [sale]. We buy what we like and that is what we have done for some 30-odd years.” For the couple, knowing the artists mean there are stories behind most of the paintings, like Arturo Rodriguez’s depiction of fleeing Cuba by boat, or the orphaned childhood of Demi, entitled “The Last Supper.” One of the few paintings by a non-Cuban artist in their collection is “Duendes y Espantapájaros” (“Goblins and Scarecrows”) by Guatemalan Elmar Rojas. The images are taken from Guatemalan mythology, where fire-spewing horses called Toro Fuegos protected drunkards.

Left: “Untitled” by Humberto Calzada, Cuban-American
Right: “Her Footprint on My Heart” by Paul Sierra, Cuban, 1991

Left to Right:
“Duendes y Espantapájaros” by Elmar Rojas, Guatemalan
“Madhouse” by Arturo Rodriguez, Cuban, 1980
“The Last Supper” by Demi, Cuban, 1992
“Untitled” by Arturo Rodriguez, Cuban, 1995

Tere’s Take

The collector: Tere Shelton Bernace

For Tere Shelton Bernace, real estate broker and owner of Shelton and Stewart Realtors LLC, collecting art has always been a matter of connecting to her heart – and where she happens to be travelling. Most of the paintings in her family home on Alhambra Circle are by Cubans, but she also has works by other Latin American artists. One of her first acquisitions was in the mid 1990s: the “Tree of Life” by Chilean artist Carlos Catasse, which she bought in Ecuador while travelling there as a banker. She buys a given work, she says, because, “it just speaks to me.” One artist that did was Ruben Torres Llorca, a Cuban-American who lives in Coral Gables. Having collected one of the earlier styles he’s known for (2009’s “Too Much Information”), she also bought a more recent depiction of a floral arrangement. “I like this one because it’s kind of his take on a Dutch still life,” she says. Talk about connecting – Shelton Bernace majored in the history of art in college, where she wrote her senior paper comparing traditional Dutch vanitas to Photorealism.

Left: “Lobo, Yo a Ti Te Recuerdo” by Carlos Quintana, Cuban, 2008
Right: “El Malecón” by Luis Enrique Camejo, Cuban, 2009

Left to Right:
“Study,” mixed media collage on cold pressed paper by Victor Alejandro Fernandez, Cuban-American, 2005
“En Silencio Estoy Aquí” by Miguel Florido, Cuban, 1999
“Too Much Information” by Rubén Torres Llorca, Cuban-American, 2009
“Esta es tu Obra” by Rubén Torres Llorca, Cuban-American, 2016