My Background
Page 2 of 5
Mural of Che in Guantanamo, Cuba
Mural of Che in Guantanamo, Cuba
In 1975 I went to the Institute Martires de Artemisa in Havana where I met my first teacher Alberto Castro who became my mentor and friend. Here too I participated in student festivals and was drawn into rapidly broadening horizons. Between then and 1980 I also studied and painted with both Rene Portocarrero and Raul Martines in their studios in Havana .

In the eleven years from 1975 I had twelve solo exhibitions of my paintings in Havana and the provinces of Guantanamo and Holguin .

Castro’s Cuba provided me with a wide education and in return I (as also were other artists) was expected to take my skills out to the people in the countryside so that art could reach even those in the furthest corners of Cuba . We would travel as a group and visit outlying farms painting murals and being a resource for the people.

I taught art at schools too but this was interrupted in 1980 when I went to do my military service. Whilst my military training was the same as other young men of my age I found a niche there painting murals and making maps.

 

 

 

 

Screen Print Studio in Havana
Screen Print Studio in Havana
I joined the 10 th October Group - the Association of Young Artists in Cuba . Whilst a member of this I became a founder member of Rene Portocarrero Serigrafia (silk screen) Workshop sponsored by the Fondo Cubano de Bienes Culturales. Over the next four years in this part of my work I collaborated with people like Mimo Rotella, Rafael Canogar, Julio de Parc, Rob ert Rauchenberg (American Pop Artist) and Jospeh Kosuth. I also participated in the Second Biennial of Art in Havana and for two years was Director of the State Art Gallery in Santa Cruz del Nortes outside Havana .
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