Cuba: A Study in Colour
A fine art photographic collection exploring colour, time, and quiet observation.
Limited edition works created to hold atmosphere within a space.
A Study in Colour, Time and Quiet
This series was created during a period of travel, guided by quiet observation of colour and form.
In the months leading up to this journey to Cuba, I became aware of how often the place was spoken about in fragments - in colour, in music, in stories that never quite settled into a single narrative. Cuba had always felt suspended in time, and I wanted to experience it slowly.
That slowness arrived immediately. Limited connectivity, unreliable infrastructure, and the absence of modern conveniences stripped travel back to its essentials. Without constant access to information or urgency, movement became deliberate and observation sharpened. Days unfolded at their own pace.
Each morning began early, before the city filled with sound and people. Streets were quiet, air still, light soft against weathered facades. It was in these hours, and in the pauses between, that the photographs in this collection were made.
This body of work is about colour held against time-worn architecture, light moving across textured surfaces, and moments of stillness found within everyday life. Rather than chasing spectacle, the work is about presence and staying curious for the city to reveal itself.
Each work in this collection is available as a limited edition fine art print, produced at architectural scale.
Collection:
Cuba, A Study in Colour
Captured in the early light of Havana, this work centres on rhythm, façade, and colour. A continuous row of arcaded buildings stretches across the frame, where softened blues, creams, and weathered surfaces meet the cool stillness of the morning sky.
The architecture carries both weight and air - deep shadow beneath the colonnade, open space above. A single blue car rests along the street, echoing the tones of the buildings behind it and anchoring the composition without disrupting its quiet.
Structure and atmosphere are held in quiet tension here. The horizontal street line stabilises the image, while the repetition of arches and open sky creates visual breathing room. Colour becomes architectural rather than decorative, absorbed into surface, shadow, and light.
At scale, this work is designed to hold presence without heaviness. It brings rhythm, restraint, and softened colour into an interior: a sense of calm shaped by architecture and time.
Blue Car, Morning Silence
Havana, Cuba, 2018
Limited Edition of 100
Archival pigment print on 310gsm museum-grade cotton
Available in three architectural scales. Larger sizes offer increased presence and are often chosen for primary living spaces and architectural interiors.
Even larger statement sizes can be arranged on request for collectors and interior projects. Please contact studio@nikkimalvar.com
Photographed from above, this work looks into the interior geometry of Havana’s historic Palacio de los Capitanes. Arched colonnades, balustrades, and layered terraces create a measured sequence of lines, guiding the eye through the space with order and restraint.
Tall palms rise through the centre of the courtyard, introducing movement and softness against the stone. Their vertical rhythm breaks the symmetry just enough, allowing air, light, and shadow to circulate through the composition.
Light shapes this space as much as architecture. Open sky and distant fortifications introduce depth, while the enclosed square below holds a quieter, contained atmosphere. Structure and openness exist in balance here: repetition creates calm, while the air between levels allows the image to breathe.
At scale, this work brings architectural clarity and composure into an interior. It offers a sense of history held lightly: ordered, spacious, and grounded.
Courtyard of Air and Arches
Havana, Cuba, 2018
Limited Edition of 100
Archival pigment print on 310gsm museum-grade cotton
Available in three architectural scales. Larger sizes emphasise structure, rhythm, and spatial depth within a room.
Even larger statement sizes can be arranged on request for collectors and interior projects. Please contact studio@nikkimalvar.com
This work studies repetition and light across a row of historic façades. Balconies, columns, and cornices move in sequence through the frame, creating a strong architectural rhythm that draws the eye along the street rather than into deep space.
Colour plays a structural role: terracotta, blue, cream, and soft yellow sit in gentle contrast, while daylight defines edges and casts subtle shadow beneath each balcony. The upward angle shifts the focus away from the street and toward the upper architecture, allowing the buildings themselves to become the subject.
The composition balances ornament with air. Open sky at the edge of the frame introduces breathing room, preventing the density of detail from feeling heavy.
Designed to hold space through line, proportion, and colour harmony, this piece brings warmth, vertical movement, and architectural cadence into an interior.
Havana Balconies in Light
Havana, Cuba, 2018
Limited Edition of 100
Archival pigment print on 310gsm museum-grade cotton
Available in three architectural scales. Larger sizes emphasise structure, rhythm, and spatial depth within a room.
Even larger statement sizes can be arranged on request for collectors and interior projects. Please contact studio@nikkimalvar.com
This work explores the meeting point between architecture and living colour. A timber balcony, worn by time, sits against a warm ochre wall while a cascade of bougainvillea enters from the edge of the frame, softening the geometry of the structure without overtaking it.
The composition balances solidity and movement. Vertical and horizontal lines from the balcony, railing, and doorway establish order, while the organic spill of flowers introduces rhythm and texture. Saturated pink blooms contrast against muted earth tones, creating depth through colour rather than ornament.
Light moves gently across surfaces, revealing texture in wood, plaster, and foliage. Structure holds and colour breathes.
At scale, this work brings warmth, softness, and architectural character into an interior. It offers colour with restraint: a study in how life inhabits built form.
Balcony in Bloom
Trinidad, Cuba, 2018
Limited Edition of 100
Archival pigment print on 310gsm museum-grade cotton
Available in three architectural scales. Larger sizes emphasise structure, rhythm, and spatial depth within a room.
Even larger statement sizes can be arranged on request for collectors and interior projects. Please contact studio@nikkimalvar.com
Captured in the brightness of midday, this work centres on a vintage teal Cadillac moving through Havana’s layered streetscape. Sunlight flattens shadows and sharpens colour, allowing the car’s polished surface to stand in contrast to the weathered façades and softened pastels of the surrounding architecture.
Behind it, balconies, cornices, signage, and stacked buildings form a dense architectural collage, a city shaped by accumulation rather than uniformity. The scene feels both cinematic and ordinary: a fleeting moment framed by structures that have held their ground for generations.
Open sky and roadway create breathing space within the composition, preventing detail from becoming heavy. The Cadillac acts as a momentary interruption, colour in motion, while the city remains steady, textured, and still.
At scale, this work brings colour, rhythm, and a sense of lived history into an interior. It balances vibrancy with structure, offering movement without noise.
Teal Cadillac, Midday Havana
Havana, Cuba, 2018
Limited Edition of 100
Archival pigment print on 310gsm museum-grade cotton
Available in three architectural scales. Larger sizes emphasise structure, rhythm, and spatial depth within a room.
Even larger statement sizes can be arranged on request for collectors and interior projects. Please contact studio@nikkimalvar.com
Set against the ornate façade of Havana’s Gran Teatro, this work captures a moment of movement within a city defined by history and form. Intricate arches, columns, and sculptural detailing stretch across the frame, luminous in soft morning light, while a vintage red car passes through the foreground; a brief pulse of colour against pale stone.
The composition balances monumentality with motion. The theatre’s grand scale and symmetry establish stillness and permanence, while the passing car introduces rhythm and life.
Open sky and wide roadway give the image space to breathe, allowing the architecture to hold presence. The red car becomes a single, intentional interruption.
At scale, this work anchors a room with clarity and elegance. It brings together history, light, and motion, offering architectural calm with a subtle sense of narrative.
Red Car Passing Gran Teatro
Havana, Cuba, 2018
Limited Edition of 100
Archival pigment print on 310gsm museum-grade cotton
Available in three architectural scales. Larger sizes emphasise structure, rhythm, and spatial depth within a room.
Even larger statement sizes can be arranged on request for collectors and interior projects. Please contact studio@nikkimalvar.com
Set within the open farmland of Viñales, this photograph centres on a solitary green wooden house resting quietly beneath a wide sky. The structure sits low and grounded, held between earth and air, with distant trees and drifting clouds framing the scene.
The composition is defined by simplicity and proportion. A clear horizontal line anchors the image, while the generous sky introduces lightness and breathing room. Earth, timber, foliage, and sky exist in quiet balance, allowing the scene to feel both settled and expansive.
Colour is restrained yet distinctive. The weathered green façade stands gently apart from the surrounding landscape, offering contrast without interruption. With no crowding of detail, the image holds a sense of pause and rural stillness.
At scale, this work brings calm, openness, and spatial clarity into an interior. It offers a grounded counterpoint to busy environments - a study in shelter, space, and the quiet presence of place.
Green House Under Open Sky
Havana, Cuba, 2018
Limited Edition of 100
Archival pigment print on 310gsm museum-grade cotton
Available in three architectural scales. Larger sizes emphasise structure, rhythm, and spatial depth within a room.
Even larger statement sizes can be arranged on request for collectors and interior projects. Please contact studio@nikkimalvar.com
Product Details
Edition
Strictly limited edition of 100.
Individually numbered and accompanied by a signed certificate of authenticity.
01
Materials
Giclée printed on 310gsm museum-grade cotton.
Archival pigment inks for exceptional depth, tonal range, and longevity.
02
Scale
Available in architectural sizes designed to hold visual weight within interiors.
Even the smallest editions are intentionally substantial.
03
Framing
Professionally framed in Australia using refined, gallery-style profiles.
Delivered ready to hang.