About Lino Vizcaíno there is extensive writing, on the subject of Cuban Santería and its Orishas, although always couched in closed monologues which avoid the aesthetics and technique of his images. His gorgeous work, however, deserves more open and reflective commentary.

The work of Lino Vizcaíno is unique in content, ethic, aesthetics, and originality.

One of the great exponents of Afro-Cuban themes, of self-evident African roots,

Lino’s work highlights an intricate web of monochromatic tracings in pure black ink.

A two-dimensional goddess emerges evoking African sculpture as much as the wall paintings of Altamira. Blending the simplicity of the pen, the intensity of the drawing, the force of the ink and the visual impact, the artist eloquently manages to integrate us into his world, to the sound of invisible drums which evoke vibrations and thunder. A majestic work, replete with sound and mystery. Thus, through a technique as original as it is unique, the artist brings us to the vision of a reality located beyond the here and now, to the timeless universality of cultures and, therefore, of art itself.

Lino’s works are neither religious nor agnostic in spirit, but condense the language of the natural world through the presence of gods and goddesses, elements and owners of Mother Nature, coexisting with them respectfully in our daily existence. The artist’s proposal is not a plastic reinterpretation of their language, but rather a tribute to the continuity of daily experience seen from the point of view of a communion with ancestral memory. All this, with the objective of preserving an identity as archaic as it is forgotten in its origins, which reaffirms beyond its now obscure roots the reality of today, yesterday and tomorrow. Symbol of the eternal and the sacred, this lasting continuity preserves the inheritance of its identity, its dignity and its pride.

From the artist, about his Work:

The magic-religious character of my work – the occult, the codified and the anecdotal – is meant to connect the viewer with a reality closely tied to Nature, together with the ancestral, mystic, superstitious credo and their relation with whom professes this religion, nowadays deeply rooted in Cuba´s popular culture.

The black and white chromatic leads us towards an open dialogue that consecrates the ceremonial and sacred inheritance of those who are no longer.   The syntax of elements that appears in my work remits us to the tools of power used to call the Spirits and the Orichas (Saints) and create intercommunication between profane and sacred worlds.

My work integrates me fully in Cuba´s popular culture, respectfully attentive to all African references I bring in and, more than often, I focus my interest into elements (daily ones usually) that connect with religious rituals.

The Yoruba Pantheon consists of an intricate web of entities I incorporate in various ways in my work, creating a wide and varied lexis. A large number of our Orichas are still missing a pictorial representation which, in turn, offers to artists unlimited option to create a Universe sui generis, using and interpreting the elements that draw us closer to this mysterious and fascinating world.

My approach takes in perspective the variety of interpretations available and I depict my view through visual images, rich of symbols and rites, of magic and mystic-religious contents closely related to human nature, daily life and Ancestors (Spirits), who keep strong ties with Earth and natural forces, such as plants, believed to be animated by these very Spirits and to whom they offer shelter. Hence, plants have a strong presence and are a leitmotif in my work. The bodies appear stamped with strong visual textures, as if iron tattooed, while they highlight hierarchy and direct our focus on the very figures whose skin calls for a more intimate contact, although seductive but deceitful, mutant but never to be ours.                                                                                                                                         Through my work, I express the perennial association I have established with the religious and family environment in which I grew. And through my work, I also reiterate, with due respect to the Ancestors, my duty to honour them and pass on the inheritance they left us through the African Diaspora.