• Submitted by: lena campos
• Arts and Culture
• 09 / 19 / 2012

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Yo Soy Cuba, “I am Cuba”, opened recently at the Art Way Gallery, in Plainsboro, NJ. Photographer Ilya Genin, of Yardley, Pa., has taken several trips to Cuba in the last few years, capturing a stunning collection of black-and-white photographs, of which 60 are on display.

Santeria: Capturing this “syncretic” religion’s fusion of Roman Catholic symbols and rituals with Yoruba, an indigenous West African religion brought by slaves.
   
Yo Soy Cuba (I am Cuba): Each piece combines 6 to 12 images, giving powerful impressions of Cuban culture. All the pieces are large and monochromatic. Some add spot color and most are unframed. Genin uses warm black tones, almost sepia, that greatly enhance the skin tones and the feeling of age. Many of the pieces are masterful composites: more than montages, they superimpose elements of different images in subtle ways to make strong statements. When the exhibit leaves Art Way Gallery on Oct. 8, Genin is immediately taking it to Cuba to show it there.
   
Ilya Genin grew up in the Soviet Union, often hearing about the Cuban revolutionaries from that point of view. He now lives in Yardley, Pa. He is involved with the Princeton Photography Club, where he moderates the “$5 Critique: U Get What U Pay 4”.

    Art Way Gallery is an independent, non-profit gallery serving the central New Jersey arts community. It has presented more than 40 exhibits by area artists, photography clubs, and students, since 2005. The gallery is located within Princeton Alliance Church, Schalks Crossing Road at Wyndhurst Drive, Plainsboro, NJ. The gallery is open whenever the church is open, which is 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Friday, and 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday. For Saturday hours, which vary, call the church office Monday-Thursday, at (609) 799-9000.

Source: Trentonian.com