Every three months, Marjorie Pravden goes on a shopping spree. Mind you, this is no ordinary shop-till-you-drop jaunt to the local mall. Pravden scouts for art in Cuba, an endeavor that requires both dogged determination and the flexibility to endure somewhat primitive conditions.

Because of the U.S. embargo on travel to Cuba, Pravden must jump through bureaucratic hoops - both here and in the Caribbean-island nation - for the paintings, drawings and photos she routinely purchases for Cuba! Gallery of Fine Art.

Pravden can bring the art back into the U.S. because it has recently been classifiedas "informational material."

"There is art everywhere in Cuba," says Pravden, who notes that the country is rich with art schools and artists. "There are 21 college-level art schools in Cuba, even in the hinterlands."

All of the works in Pravden's downtown Melbourne gallery were created by Cuban artists.

On her trips to the island, Pravden traverses the land searching for artists in their studios, buys the works she likes, removes them from their frames, rolls them up and carries them home to reframe.

Choosing what to bring back is easy, she says. "I bring the art I like because, typically, if I like it somebody else will buy it. And if they don't, then I get to keep it.

"It is important to buy what speaks to you."

Cuba! Gallery of Fine Art is housed in a handsome and painstakingly restored 1910 Cracker cottage. Awash with light reflecting off heart-of-pine floors, the colorful paintings, drawings, photos and lithographs shimmer.

Although she opened the gallery only a year ago, Pravden has been brokering Cuban art for eight years, exhibiting the works at venues such as the Henegar Center and the Brevard Art Museum.

Pravden's master's degree in art education, blended with a career in broadcasting and experience in gallery management, prepared her to be the voice for the Cuban artists she represents.

Pravden's love affair with Cuban art began in the 1990s.

"A friend with a gallery in Key West told me about Cuban art," she says. "It is such a civilized country. Cuban art is so exquisite."

Pravden is not alone in her passion.

After almost half a century of communist rule, the world remains mystified by Cuba, an achingly beautiful land of contradictions.

Cuban art, according to a recent Wall Street Journal story, is as sizzling as a night at the Copacabana.

The assessment seems correct, for prices for Cuban art are rapidly escalating. "Danza Afro-Cubana," a work by Mario Carreno, fetched $2.6 million at a Sotheby's auction last year.

Fortunately, Cuban art mostly remains affordable. At Pravden's gallery, pieces range from $150 to $4,200. "I try to have something for everyone," she says.

While only a handful of galleries specialize in Cuban art, that may soon change as Cuba's new regime promises more opportunities for cultural exchange.

"Cuba is about to break wide open," Pravden says. "Raul (Castro) has talked about opening the country to tourism."

It is amazing that Cuban art exists at all, since artists must contend with a government that was once openly antagonistic to the rebellious attitude that is the province of the creative mind.

The government relented after watching the exodus of the country's finest artists and craftsmen.

Now some artists are even allowed to travel abroad with their works.

Yet many artists continue to create under harsh circumstances. Because art supplies are difficult to find, artists have become masters of the make-do, as witnessed by the repainted canvases, bug holes and water stains Pravden finds in the works she brings home.

Despite primitive conditions, however, Cuban art is no mere folk art, but rather soulful and complex.

"It's so visceral, so organic," Pravden says. Styles range from dream-like landscapes to the dramatic surrealism of masters such as Alicia de la Campa Pak, who often depicts her own body morphing into other objects.

"No matter what the style or the medium, the works are well executed," Pravden says.

Cuba's legendary reputation in the 1950s as a party island, and its more recent authoritarian history, provide artists with infinite subject matter. This fascinates collectors such as Sharon and Ed Hulzing, who saw their first Cuban painting at the Melbourne Art Festival three years ago.

The couple spotted Felix Betancourt's portrayal of the female form in a coconut displayed in the window of a friend's jewelry store. They bought it on the spot.

"The detail in the piece is so amazing that it just drew us in," says Sharon Hulzing, adding that the store owner told her she could have sold the piece 10 times over.

"Coconut Lady," as the Hulzings fondly nicknamed the work, became the keystone of their Cuban art collection, which now includes six other pieces.

The Grant couple has works by Betancourt and Juan Garcia Garcia.

"Garcia's pieces are more spiritual, while Felix's are more whimsical or political," Hulzing explains.

Fred Williams also has fallen under the spell of Cuban art.

"I used to live in Miami and was intrigued by Cuba," says the Melbourne resident. "It's a fascinating island."

Williams owns eight works that range from African-inspired to photo realistic. "If I see something I like, I buy it, regardless of the particular style."

When Cuba finally reopens its doors to the world, its art may lose some of its forbidden-fruit appeal. But it is safe to bet that the exotic art of the island once known as the Pearl of the Caribbean will continue to intoxicate art lovers.