Pedroso, Misleidys Francisca Castillo
Cuba, 1985
The family is unsure of the exact date, but a few years ago, Misleidys Francisca Castillo Pedroso began painting muscular male figures, in various states of undress, on construction paper. After cutting the figures out, she would in- stall them methodically all over the apartment, using precisely cut pieces of packing tape, spaced evenly around the figures’ edge. Some of the men were a few inches tall while others ap- proached eight feet, stretching from floor to ceiling. Then came the body parts—severed hands, feet, and heads floating free. One day, she started painting faces and bodies with cut-away views that revealed brightly colored abstract tissue and organs. Recently, she began painting female figures with bikini outfits, and groupings of heads that are joined together depicting generations, twins, families, or some other relationship. Her work is constantly evolving.
