Goodbye My Love

Esterio Segura is a pioneer of Cuban contemporary art. His installation Goodbye My Love was a hanging outdoor installation of twelve planes made of heart-shaped bodies which referenced the love found in contemporary relationships that often requires people to be separated from each other.

Sherry Dobbin, Director of Public Art at Times Square Alliance, commented, “Esterio’s work first engages the audience’s sense of joy of watching a flight path through midtown, but then strikes a bittersweet chord of emotion as we equate our personal experiences to saying Goodbye.”

As a Cuban artist, Segura’s piece also resonated with those who must be separated from their families when leaving their countries. As a public artwork, it engaged the audience to re-visit the work repeatedly from a place of celebration or remembrance. This project was part of an ongoing commitment to assist the under-served Cuban-American artist community and, working with the Cuban Artists Fund, to further raise awareness of this community. This work was part of the Havana Biennial in 2012. Its presence in Times Square gave visibility to an important emerging artist from an economically and politically challenged country.

Artist Esterio Segura had this to say about his New York project: “Up until now the manifestations of this subject have been sad ones, even pessimistic, though artful, emphasizing the social and political repercussions of migration, banishment and separation among others. In this case, Goodbye My Love uses these issues as well as memories to offer an optimist’s view pointing to the importance of good communication and the interaction of the cultures that have caused these circumstances. New York offers the added value of the enrichment of universal culture, or the globalization of cultures which has resulted from the intersection of civilizations."

For the duration of the installation, Aureole, the restaurant located next to Anita’s Way at 135 West 42nd Street, offered a specialty cocktail inspired by Goodbye My Love and created by Wine Director Justin Lorenz, featuring sparkling wine, Figenza Fig Vodka, Raspberry Purée, Pimms and lemon juice.

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This project is presented in collaboration with the Cuban Artists Fund.