PHILADELPHIA -- Works by the late Cuban artist Belkis Ayn will be on display at the Arthur Ross Gallery at the University of Pennsylvania Oct. 10 through Jan. 4.  Other of her works will be shown concurrently at Philadelphia's Brandywine Workshop.  

The Arthur Ross Gallery exhibition,  "Resurrection: Belkis Ayn (1967-1999), Collographs from Cuba," will feature large-scale prints from the artist estate and the Alex Rosenberg Gallery in New York.  The galleries at Brandywine will display works completed by this master printmaker/teacher while she was a visiting artist at the Brandywine Workshop.  Her death at 32 occurred shortly before her planned return in the summer of 1999.

One of Cuba leading contemporary artists, Ayn was a senior instructor at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana and was internationally recognized for her mural-sized collographs.  The work, preserved by her family and given patrimony status by the Cuban government, serves as a living memorial to her short but highly accomplished life and attests to the growing importance of young Cuban artists in the Post Modern era.  Her art continues to influence the practice of collograph printmaking in Cuba.

With figures approaching life-size, haunting blacks and provocative whites, Ayn powerful images in "Resurrection" command the physical space.

Through these two free exhibitions, the Arthur Ross Gallery and Brandywine Workshop aim to raise awareness of the central role of Cuban art and its cultural institutions in the Third World art community and to create opportunities to connect diverse cultures through scholarly examination and dialogue.

The exhibition at Penn is co-sponsored by the Office of the Provost, the Department of Romance Languages, the programs in Women Studies and Latin American Cultures and the African Studies Center, with support from Religious Studies, Fine Arts and African Studies; the African American Resource Center; and Casa Latina.

The Arthur Ross Gallery is at 220 S. 34th St. on the Penn campus.  Hours of operation are Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Saturday-Sunday, noon-5 p.m.  Additional information is available at 215-898-2083 or www.upenn.edu/ARG.

The Brandywine Workshop Gallery is at 730 S. Broad St.  Hours of operation are Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and weekends by appointment.  Additional information is available at 215-546-3675.