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WORK PROCESS From an early age, light and its relationship with forms, colors and textures have captivated me. I discover the volume of space through the contrast of lights and shadows. The visual and sensory worlds provide constant stimulation for my development, especially when I’m in touch with nature. During my adolescence, photography and drawing were the means I used to share my vision with others; both remain the foundation of all my endeavors. 148

My training as an architect led me to develop a spatial capacity, which makes me feel very comfortable when working with different 3D materials and their possible combinations. As a mother, I can identify that creative projects trigger a process similar to that of giving birth: First, the stage of conception, that time to internalize; then gestation, to nurture and care; finally, the moment of delivery, when we share with others and allow everyone to interact with the work. When at work, I perceive getting closer to the purpose and essence of my own being. A state of alertness and relaxation exists where everything flows, from where challenges, conflicts and limitations can be addressed with faith, determination and enthusiasm. Lidia León [LiLeón] 149

We often ask ourselves what a work of art is, but overlook the equally inter- esting question of who an artist is. The close relationships between a piece, an artist and the context in which they work and live accentuates the impor- tance of an artist’s life story for the proper interpretation of their work. In the case of Lidia León Cabral, the fact that she was born in Santo Domingo in 1962 into one of the families that carries on the tradition of a sense of duty in the Dominican Repub- lic also explains the social side of her work. Lidia frequently holds workshops with students during her shows. One recent example, “Arte y Naturaleza”, took place last February at the Casa Arte in Sosúa, where she worked with a group of students between 11 and 18 years old. Her studies in photography as a teenager (in particular, black-and-white techniques in WHO IS LILEÓN? Massachusetts and color photography at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York) and her university degree from the Universidad Pedro Henríquez Ureña in Santo Domingo all speak to her solid background in the arts. Like many women artists, Lidia has a multifaceted personality that has allowed her to cultivate her many talents and passions while also playing a fundamental role in her family and being a mother to two children. Since 1996, she has collaborated actively with several of her family’s enterprises, including Editorial Padilla, Cervecería Nacional Dominicana and the Fundación Eduardo León Jimenes. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of HENLA and the Family Council. Her quiet and reflective nature betrays her natural inclination for music and poetry, which manifested itself for the first time with the 2004 release of renowned Dominican tenor Francisco Casanova’s album “Reflejos del Alma”, with music by Héctor Martínez Cabruja on texts by Lidia León herself. Produced and directed by Jochi Sánchez, their second al- bum collaboration, “Amor Encendido,” was released in 2007. 150

Since around 2010, Lidia has dedicated herself almost ex- clusively to the visual arts, using the artist name LiLeón with great success. In 2013 she won the Audience Award at the 27th National Biennial of Visual Arts in Santo Do- mingo with her installation ADN - Arte De Nacer. That same year, her 12-portrait composition Entre Miradas… Yo received an honorable mention at the First Drawing Biennial of Santo Domingo. LiLeón’s star rose rapidly through the art world, so much so that in 2015, she again received the Audience Award at the 28th Biennial of Visual Arts for the interactive instal- lation Jaula Brillante. In recent years, the artistic universe of LiLeón has been full of exhibitions and appearances throughout the entire country. In 2014, LiLeón presented the installation Latitudes y Longitudes at the Wynwood Warehouse Project in Miami, Florida. The following year she collaborated with the new CEDIMAT Cardiovascular Center on Árbol Corazón, a per- manent installation. The year 2016 saw the beginning of “Having the calling to be an artist but being born into a family that respects the status quo and traditional values can lead a person to struggle between their life’s purpose and sense of belonging. This is why, only after having concluded with my responsibilities towards the family business, did I find the courage to discover my completeness in art.” Lidia León [LiLeón] 151

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the Wabi Sabi art series during the Efímero Art project organized by the Centro Cultural Perelló, where she also held three public workshops: Duna de Sal, Zapatilla de Sal and Jarinita de Sal. In 2017, she presented the exhibit Memoria, including pieces from the Wabi Sabi art series, at the Galería Nacional de Bellas Artes in Santo Domingo and at the Quinta Dominica gallery in the capital city’s historic Ciudad Colonial district. In June of that same year she took part in the Open Art Ouvertes at the Montreal Art Center with her works Gold Green Mandala, Evolution and Unknown Beauty. That September, her three photographs Dreamers were included at the (RE)VOIR MTL (IN)SIGHT SALON. Finally, last year she brought her work back to the Dominican Republic, with exhibits at the prestigious Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña, the Museo Sacro de La Vega, the Instituto Superior de Estudios Educativos Pedro Poveda and the Casa de Arte Sosúa in Puerto Plata. The exhibition Te Veo, Me Veo at the Church of the Zitelle in Giudecca during the 58th Venice Biennale “May You Live in Interesting Times” and the inclusion of her work Síndone ¿Quién ha tocado mi manto? at the 12th Florence Biennale are LiLeón’s first appearances in Europe. The need as an artist to explore the world beyond the traditions of her homeland has led Lidia to Montreal, where she lives for much of the year. But as a woman, she feels that her heart remains in her native Dominican Republic, which continues to be an inexhaustible source of inspiration for her artistic work. 153

EXHIBI T IONS 2013 2014 august / november february / april 27th NATIONAL BIENNIAL ÁGORA ARTISTIC-CULTURAL FOR VISUAL ARTS PROGRAM Museum of Modern Art Ágora Mall Santo Domingo, D.R. Santo Domingo, D.R. ADN - ARTE DE NACER ADN - ARTE DE NACER november september FIRST DRAWING BIENNIAL OF SANTO DOMINGO PHOTOIMAGEN 2014 Galería Nacional de Bellas Artes International Photography Festival Santo Domingo, D.R. Autozama MIRA… ¿Quién Mira? Santo Domingo, D.R. LIBERTAD EN PROCESO ENTRE MIRADAS… YO LATITUDES Y LONGITUDES november MIAMIMIX Wynwood Warehouse Project Miami, Fl. LATITUDES Y LONGITUDES 4+5=9 Collective Exposition Laboratorio Evolutivo de Arte Contemporáneo Colonial City, Santo Domingo, D.R. PINTA CONMIGO OLA…LA, LA november 2014 / february 2015 ELIT-TILE 2014 5th. International Ceramic Tile Triennial Museum of Modern Art Santo Domingo, D.R. JUGANDO CONMIGO 154

2015 2016 2017 january april / october may EFÍMERO ART PROGRAM ALTA GRACIA Perelló Cultural Center Cultural Center Eduardo León Jimenes Collective Exhibition Baní, Barahona, D.R. Santiago, D.R. Laboratorio Evolutivo de Arte Contemporáneo Duna de sal JAULA BRILLANTE Colonial City, Santo Domingo, D.R. Zapatilla de sal JARINITA DE AMOR Jarinita de sal june ALCANZANDO LA GRACIA Galería Nacional de Bellas Artes august / november Santo Domingo, D.R. within the framework 28th NATIONAL BIENNIAL of Juan Cepeda’s photographic exhibition FOR VISUAL ARTS Ventanas al Mundo Museum of Modern Art MEMORIA Santo Domingo, D.R. Open Art Ouvertes JAULA BRILLANTE Collective Exhibition Montreal Art Center november Montreal, Canada Gold Green Mandala CEDIMAT Cardiovascular Center, Evolution Santo Domingo, D.R. Unknown Beauty ÁRBOL CORAZÓN (Lent indefinitely by the artist) july Quinta Dominica Colonial City, Santo Domingo, D.R. MEMORIA (Lent indefinitely by the artist) september / december (RE)VOIR MTL (IN)SIGHT Collective Photography Exhibition Salon 1861 Montreal, Canada Dreamers 155

2018 2019 april september 2018 / january 2019 Arte & Naturaleza Universidad Nacional Solo Exhibition Pedro Henríquez Ureña (UNPHU) Instituto Superior de Estudios Educativos Santo Domingo, D.R. Pedro Poveda (ISESP) JAULA BRILLANTE Santo Domingo, D.R. ENTRE MIRADAS… Yo may / july LIBERTAD EN PROCESO Hecho Aquí MIRA… ¿QUIÉN MIRA? Collective Exhibition HORIZONTE Museo Sacro UNIÓN La Vega, D.R. SÍNDONE Síndone ES MUSS SEIN Es Muss Sein SPLASH PASAR DEL TIEMPO ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS RiCACA Te veo, Me veo Luis José Viyella León Lidia Amalia Viyella León Carlos Lora Yunén Enzo Lora Viyella María Amalia León de Jorge Sarah Amalia Jorge León Marcos José Jorge León María Adelina Jorge León Petrica Cabral de León José León 156

january / march september UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS Arte & Naturaleza www.lileon.net Solo Exhibition Universidad Nacional Casa de Arte Pedro Henríquez Ureña (UNPHU) LiLeonnet Sosúa, Puerto Plata, D.R. Santo Domingo, D.R. LidiaLeonCabral ENTRE MIRADAS… Yo ADN - ARTE DE NACER 157 (Lent indefinitely by the artist) LIBERTAD EN PROCESO october MIRA… ¿QUIÉN MIRA? XII FLORENCE BIENNALE HORIZONTE Fortezza da Basso Florence, Italy UNIÓN SÍNDONE SÍNDONE ES MUSS SEIN SPLASH RELOJ DE ARENA may / july TE VEO, ME VEO Solo Exhibition Church of Santa Maria della Presentazione Venice, Italy HORIZONTE UNIÓN Te veo, Me Veo Tejiendo Recuerdos SÍNDONE

RO BE RTA SEMERARO Writer, art critic and independent curator, Semeraro is the president of the RO.SA.M. Cultural Association. She has collaborated with various institu- tions including the Ministry for Cultural Assets and Activities, for the promo- tion and appreciation of Italian artistic heritage. Active for many years, especially in Rome and Venice, in the organization and curation of art exhibitions, she is mainly dedicated to sustainability projects through contemporary artistic languages such as “Nove Artisti per la Ricostruzione” or Nine Artists for Reconstruction, devised by her for the city of L’Aquila immediately after the great earthquake of 2009. She has written books, texts for art ca- talogs and curated exhibitions for numerous Italian and foreign artists; newspapers and media have reviewed her activities. In 2018 with Progedit, she published her latest book “Ricostruire con l’arte” or Rebuilding through Art, which was presented at the Turin Inter- national Book Fair in 2019.l 158

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“My work reaffirms that I reflect a collective reality greater than my own. It reveals to me that we are interconnected, like drops of the same ocean. It stimulates me to discover what is beyond a simple glance.” Lidia León [LiLeón]