“Dios lo Bendiga, Mickey” (2016) by Carlos Garcia Huergo.

Outsider Art Out of Cuba

Edith Newhall - The Philadelphia Inquirer Nov. 25, 2018

“Dios lo Bendiga, Mickey” (2016) by Carlos Garcia Huergo.

Indigo Arts, Philadelphia’s longtime destination for folk art, is exhibiting a carefully curated show of works by five self-taught Cuban artists.

Two standouts are Carlos Garcia Huergo’s painted and drawn works of cartoon characters on corrugated cardboard and Damian Valdes Dilla’s obsessive drawings of futuristic cities. Both artists have been hospitalized with episodes of paranoid schizophrenia, and their work reflects those acute mental states.

Another highlight is history teacher Leandro Gomez Quintero’s meticulous facsimiles of the battered vehicles populating Cuba. The painters Wayacon (aka Julian Espinosa Rebollido) and Mario Mesa are the other two artists in the show.

Through Dec. 29 at Indigo Arts, 1400 N. American St., 1 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays. 215-765-1041 or indigoarts.com.