Enyenison Enkama; Abakua inspired paintings.

Jose Orbein is a Cuban painter residing in Miami florida. His series entitled Enyenison Enkama was inspired by the landmark recording of the seminal New York Abakuá group of the same name, representing the ten songs that comprise the release entitled Ecobio Enyenison. The debut was celebrated with Abakuá music and dance, including masquerade, at the Walter Gallery of Miami on December 29th. Jose Orbein has traced his ancestral lineage back to Calabar, Nigeria. When interviewed for Wynwood Art Magazine in 2008 he had this to say about his work:

"Orbeín began painting intuitively. This aptitude was encouraged by his maternal grandmother, who lacking the resources to provide him with materials, gave him cardboard and craft paper, so that he could paint on them with charcoal or anything else he might find; elements that the author has taken up again in many of his recent works. Orbeín confesses that it was painting that saved him from a difficult childhood and an adolescence marked by delinquency and marginality. He did not study arts formally; instead, he had possibly the best of all masters, the Cuban painter, Humberto Peña. Friendship with this creator provided him with theoretical training and a solid upbringing."