TAMPA, FL — March 10, 2026 — The Tampa Museum of Art (TMA) and the Baruj Salinas Legacy Estate (BSLE) are proud to announce the donation and formal acceptance of Penca, a significant original work by the late Baruj Salinas (1935–2024), into the Museum’s permanent collection. Drawn from the artist’s personal collection, the 30 x 46-inch acrylic on canvas work was executed just a year after Salinas returned to the United States from Europe, and captures several profound themes, with poignant symbolism through color and form. The donation marks a pivotal addition to TMA’s holdings and a defining moment in the continued stewardship of Salinas’ international legacy.
Widely regarded as one of the most significant Cuban and Latin American artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, Salinas achieved international prominence for his singular approach to abstraction, pioneered with his Language of the Clouds series, and would transcend geographic and cultural boundaries. A renowned and award-winning contemporary artist, Salinas held more than 100 solo exhibitions across over 20 countries during a career spanning more than six decades. He decisively contributed to Miami’s rise as an international art hub and influenced multiple generations of artists.
The acceptance of Penca is especially notable as it marks Salinas’ first entry into a museum’s permanent collection since his passing in 2024. This milestone signals a new chapter in the flourishing of his legacy.
Joanna Robotham, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Tampa Museum of Art, notes that Salinas’ painting reflects the institution’s growing collection of art from the Caribbean, particularly Cuba. “Penca reflects the emotional depth and poetic symbolism that define his work, while also speaking to larger themes of migration, memory, and identity that resonate across cultures. Adding this work to the Tampa Museum of Art’s permanent collection strengthens our ability to share the story of the Cuban diaspora and the global impact of artists who have shaped the visual language of contemporary art.”
A Pivotal Work from a Defining Series
Penca belongs to Salinas’ celebrated Penca de Palma Triste (Leaf of a Sad Palm) series, one of the most notable bodies of work exhibited and published in his oeuvre. Initiated in the late 1980s, during the final years of Salinas’ Barcelona period, the series explores exile, diaspora, and memory. It reflects both a political lament for Cuba and a deeply personal meditation on displacement and longing.
Salinas described the series as “a way for me to remember and express my feelings about what has been happening in Cuba,” noting that it symbolized “the tragedy and suffering of Cuba.” By isolating the branch of the palm—the penca—rather than depicting the entire tree, he invoked one of Cuba’s most archetypal symbols, while rendering it fragmented, echoing the ruptures of exile.
“In Miami,” Salinas once recalled, “I experienced a deeper sense of nostalgia.” In this transitional body of work, he shifted from the grays and atmospheric mists of his Barcelona period toward a renewed embrace of saturated, emotive color upon his return to the United States in 1992. The palm leaf becomes both image and metaphor—at once discernible and abstracted, suggestive of waterfalls, exotic plumage, or pure gesture. As Salinas observed, “The interpretation falls in the hands of the observer.”
The theme of diaspora carried layered meaning for Salinas, as both a Cuban exile and a member of the Jewish faith. His family’s migration—from Turkey to Marseilles, and eventually to Cuba—placed them within a longer history of Jewish displacement. “Being a Cuban Jew only emphasized my feeling of displacement,” he reflected, underscoring the series’ universal resonance to all diasporic communities.
Works from Penca de Palma Triste have been sold at Christie’s New York and acquired by major institutions, most notably the Art Institute of Chicago, which holds an early work from the series dating to 1988 in its permanent collection. The series has also been exhibited internationally, including at the Musée d’art contemporain de Baie-Saint-Paul in Quebec, as well as referenced by Salinas in interviews, and analyzed in several books, including Identity, Memory, and Diaspora (2008), Cuban-American Literature and Art (2009), and Cuban Artists Across the Diaspora (2011).
A Singular Institution, A Touchstone Collection
The Tampa Museum of Art represented a compelling and formidable opportunity to serve as the Estate’s first museum recipient.
Established in 1920, TMA stands among the foremost cultural institutions in Florida, serving the rapidly expanding Tampa Bay economic and arts corridor. Guided by its Centennial Campaign for Renovation and Expansion, the Museum plans to more than double its building and expand galleries and learning spaces. This growth makes it a fitting steward for the work.
In recent years, TMA has strengthened its holdings of contemporary Cuban art, including the acquisition of Josignacio’s The Pact, 2015, commemorating the historic “Cuban Thaw” between the United States and Cuba—an acquisition that also acknowledges Tampa’s deep links to Cuban heritage, particularly in nearby Ybor City, which had been visited by Cuban national hero José Martí during the lead-up to Cuban independence from Spain.
With the addition of Penca, Salinas now joins a distinguished roster of artists represented in the Tampa Museum of Art’s Latin American collection, including Diego Rivera, Fernando Botero, Josignacio, José Bedia, AGalban, and contemporary American art giants such as Andy Warhol, James Rosenquist, Robert Rauschenberg, Cindy Sherman, as well as Salinas’ contemporaries and close acquaintances Alexander Calder and Rufino Tamayo.
“We’re honored to welcome Penca into the permanent collection. Baruj Salinas’ work represents an important chapter in the story of modern and contemporary art in the Americas, and this generous gift allows us to preserve and share that legacy with our community,” said Dr. Michael Tomor, the Penny and Jeff Vinik Executive Director of the Tampa Museum of Art. “As I prepare to conclude my tenure at the Museum, I am especially proud to see our collection continue to grow in ways that reflect both the richness of our region’s cultural heritage and the global conversations that shape the future of art.”
Salinas Enduring Global Legacy
Salinas’ work is held in the permanent collections of leading cultural institutions, including the Art Institute of Chicago; the Art Museum of the Americas in Washington, D.C.; El Museo del Barrio in New York City; and the Joan Miró Foundation Centre in Barcelona.
As the co-founder of the Grupo GALA—the first documented association of Latin American artists in Florida—and a contributor to the earliest Cuban art galleries in the United States, including the Permuy Gallery and Bacardi Gallery, Salinas was a key figure in the establishment of the now-renowned Miami art scene. He was also closely affiliated with major figures of international Modernism, including Joan Miró, Marc Chagall, Alexander Calder, Rufino Tamayo, and Wifredo Lam.
In 2017, he reached a historic milestone when he was commissioned to create original works for The Torah Project book, later presented ceremonially to heads of state, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, and the monarchs of Spain and Sweden. On February 23, 2017, the first copy of the book was presented to Pope Francis at the Vatican. In an unprecedented moment, Francis undertook the first-ever blessing of a Jewish text by a Pope, and accepted five original works by Salinas into the Vatican’s permanent collection, with Salinas in attendance during the ceremony.
Since his passing, his legacy has continued to grow with major recognitions. The City of Coral Gables declared “Baruj Salinas Day” during its centennial year in 2025, honoring him as one of its greatest cultural treasures and citing his enduring global impact. His work was also recently added to the permanent collection of the Nova Southeastern University Alvin Sherman Library, one of the largest libraries in the state of Florida, whose collection includes original works by Salvador Dalí, Peter Max, and Dale Chihuly.
“Penca exemplifies Baruj Salinas’ distinctive approach to abstraction — defined by nuance, subtlety, ambiguity, and a refined, atmospheric use of color. As such, the work moves fluidly between figuration and abstraction, using shifting focus and graduated clarity to invite sustained viewing. While the palm leaf is discernible, its rendering remains open enough to allow for interpretation — a hallmark of Salinas’ work, where image and atmosphere coexist in elegant yet dynamic tension.
“This piece also marks a pivotal moment in his life and career: his return to Miami, a homecoming layered with personal and cultural resonance. From that point forward, he would continue shaping and transforming the artistic landscape around him and achieve new heights with his work. So it’s only fitting that this piece would go on to mark a new era for his legacy as well. We are thrilled at the BSLE to see it join the Tampa Museum of Art’s prestigious collection, and recognize that the donation clearly affirms Salinas’ longevity as an impactful force in the arts even in death.”
— Antonio Permuy, Curator, Baruj Salinas Legacy Estate (BSLE)
With the donation of Penca, the Tampa Museum of Art expands its permanent collection with a seminal work by a defining artist of the Cuban diaspora, reinforces its position as one of Florida’s leading art institutions, and reaffirms its commitment to acquiring works of enduring historical, aesthetic, and cultural significance.
Artwork Image and Credit Line:
Baruj Salinas (1935–2024), Penca, 1993. Acrylic on canvas, 30 x 46 inches. Tampa Museum of Art. Gift of the Baruj Salinas Legacy Estate, in commemoration of the artistic contributions of Baruj Salinas.
View the press release on the Baruj Salinas Legacy Estate website.