statement
My paintings and videos are intended to embody general ideas through fragments and details that allude to a chain of actions that are maintained only on a speculative and interpretive level. For me, nothing happens except what an observer can infer. Using the human figure removed from any individual reference helps me focus on personality archetypes. I use each figure as a kind human being type. I want to achieve the effect I achieve in my painting in the medium of cinema and paradoxically create what I have captured in film within my paintings.
Bio
Darwin Estacio Martinez was born in 1982, in Manzanillo, Cuba; he graduated from the Professional Academy of Fine Arts "El Alba" in Holguin City and the Higher Institute of Arts in Havana. He is a professor at the National Fine Arts Academy (San Alejandro). He has had an extensive artistic career having participated in exhibitions across Cuba and other countries worldwide. Images of his works have been included in several publications and many of his artworks belong to private collections in and outside of the Island.
CV
Education
2011- Postgraduate in "Microsociology" at the University of Arts (ISA). Havana /Studies in "Symbolic Production" at the University of Arts. Havana. Cuba
2007- Graduate from the University of Arts (ISA). Havana.
2001- Graduate from The Professional Arts Academy ̈El Alba ̈, Holguín City.
Lectures and Teaching
2007- 2023 Professor at the National Fine Arts Academy, San Alejandro, Havana
2014- 2023 Professor at the University of Arts (ISA) Methodology of the Investigation in the Artistic Process Lectures
2019- Action and Reflection: Dialogues in Practices in Fine Arts Education, University of Arts (ISA), Events on Theory, 13th Habana, Havana, Cuba
2018- Inventory. (Alibi) Ludwig Foundation of Cuba, Havana
Archives and individual imagery. Hitting the Target, III Symposiums on Art Theory and Critical Analysis. Cultural Art Center, Holguín, Cuba.
2012- A warm investigation. University of Arts (ISA) during Havana 11th Biennale
2009- Theoretical workshop at University of Arts (ISA) during Havana 10th Biennale
Inventory. Ludwig Foundation of Cuba, Havana
Solo Shows
2018- Alibi. Cultural Art Center, Holguín, Cuba.
Inventory. (Alibi) Ludwig Foundation of Cuba, Havana
2017- Shortcuts. Fucina Des Artistas, Havana
2015- Paintings of their Kind. Lois Lambert Gallery, Santa Monica,
2009- Inventory. Ludwig Foundation of Cuba, Havana
2007- Nothing less than Painting. Carmelo González Gallery at House of Culture in Plaza municipality, Havana.
2001- Liberations. Art Center, Holguín City. Cuba
Selected Group Shows
2024- Primarily in the Right Hemisphere ART: Art & Science Collide / DNA Festival Celebrating 30 Years of Bergamot Station. Santa Monica, California.
2023-Personal Spaces: Three Views of the World Around Us”, Oak Ridge Art Center, TN
Summertime, International Gallery of Contemporary Art, Anchorage Alaska
Time Stands Still, Galeria Cubana, Provincetown, MA
Tout le Poids d’unm île. Collectionner l’art Cubain. Museé des Beaux-arts de Rennes, Rennes, France
Credible Thread”, Artspace Warehouse, Los Angeles, CA
2022-A priori, Galeria La Acacia, Havana, Cuba
Celebrating Contemporary Latinx Artists, Artspace Warehouse, Los Angeles, CA
Athens Open Art, Art Number 23, Athens, Greece
Camino Sinuoso (Winding path), Galeria Cubana, Provincetown, MA
Saturated Euphoria, Artspace Warehouse, Los Angeles, CA
2021- Of Another Era, Galleria Cubana, Provincetown, MA
2020- Circle, Czong Institute for Contemporary Art (CICA Museum) South Korea.
Video Art Today, Shoebox Projects, Los Angeles, California
Color, Line & Figure II, Galería Cubana, Boston, Provincetown
2019- Color, Line and Figure, Galeria Cubana, Provincetown, Massachusetts
The Cloud, San Alejandro National Fine Arts School, 13th Biennale de Havana, Havana, Cuba
Salty Water, The Sanctuary, 13th Biennale de Havana, Havana, Cuba
2018- The Pearly Gates Collection, Yucca Valley Art ́s Center, California, USA
Smell of rain, Center of Development or Visual Arts (CDAV). Havana
Contemporary Art Peru, (PArC.2018) Art Fair. Peru
2017- I come from everywhere and everywhere I go, (Standard Time LA) at Lois Lambert Gallery, Santa Monica, USA
Si Cuba! Avery Galleries, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, USA
Topus Uranus, Altamira Space, Havana.
2016- Present! GX Gallery. London
The old guard. International Festival of Arts, “Romerías de Mayo”. Holguin City. Cuba
2015- Present continuous. Servando Gallery. Havana
Fresh painting II. Havana Gallery, Havana.
The silence before the storm II. (Zona Franca Project) Morro Cabaña, during Havana 12th Biennale.
ZIP, Artist 718 Gallery. Havana.
To border the myth. Ruben Martínez Villena Gallery, (UNEAC) during 24th International Books Fairs, Havana.
2014- The silence before the storm. Benito Juárez Museum. Havana. Salty Water. Hispano-American Art Center, Havana.
2013- Post-it. 1st Edition. at Galiano Gallery. Havana
Habited Zone, Open House in streets 24 / 23 and 25. Vedado. Havana
The young ones. Galería Cubana, Boston & Provincetown. Massachusetts, USA Open. Luz y Oficios Art Center, Havana.
Publications
2022- TOUT LE POIDS D'UNE îLE. COLLECTIONNER L'ART CUBAIN. Editor, B CHAUVEAU, 2022. Catalog
2020- Bluebee Magazine. Issue No 3 Spring
2019- Cutting Edge Art: 100 Cuban Artists
2015- Zona Franca, Contemporary Cuban Art, 12th Havana Biennale. Cuban Art Editions. Catalog
ArtScene, Vol.34, No.9, May, page 11 (by: Kathy Zimmerer) (The Monthly Digest to Art in Southern California)
2014- New vigor in the young Cuban Painting. News of Cuban Art, No.12, (by Shirley Moreira)
The silence before the storm. Catalog
Art On Cuba. The Cuban Arts Magazine. March-May.
Post–it. Collage Editions. Catalog
2013- Abstract Painting in Cuba, Boloña Editions
2012- CdeCuba. Cuban Art Magazine. No.10. Spain. CdeCuba. Cuban Art Magazine. No.11. Spain.
Elastik. News of Cuban Art, No. 2, (by Frency Fernández)
2011- Junge Szene Kuba. Pasinger Fabrik. Munich. Germany, Catalogue.
2010- The bullet extreme. (A Decade of Cuban Art). Catalogue.