THE NEW YORK TIMES
Show Us Your Walls
By Roslyn Sulcas
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| Chris von Christierson, with “Tu Lugar” (“Your Place”), by Juan Roberto Diago Durruthy, part of the large collection of Afro-Cuban art he has on display in his London home. Credit Tom Jamieson for The New York Times |
LONDON, UK---In November 2007, Chris von Christierson’s wife, Marina, decided to take him to Cuba for his 60th birthday. Lucha and Orlando Hernández were coming to fetch them. He explained to his guests that he was particularly interested in the protest art of Cuba in the 1990s, when the government relaxed some control over artists. “For the first time, they were able to express religious feeling, which had been banned in an atheist system,” Mr. von Christierson said. They shook hands on a deal: Mr. Hernández would source the work, and Mr. von Christierson would pay for it. Today, the collection, which includes drawings, paintings, photography, sculpture, video and textiles, consists of around 450 works by 41 artists. [
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