Carlos Rodriguez Cardenas
Encyclopedia
Carlos Rodríguez Cárdenas is a Cuba
n painter and one of the most relevant Cuban painters of the 1980s.
, and completed his arts studies in 1983 in Havana
’s Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA).
He formed part of the René Portocarrero
workshop, where he began to make a name for himself in serigraphy, drawing and painting. He became a key figure in the resurgence of criticism and of the arts movement at the time. His participation played a decisive role in the birth of the provisional group. From among the imagery created in the late 1980s, which questioned and made ironic the “revolutionary” state slogans, some of Rodríguez Cárdenas's proposals became iconic representations of his generation such as his self-portrait featuring him bare-chested, the skin painted like a brick wall, on which the words ”I am my home” are written; from his neck hangs a skeleton with a comic blurb that reads “I do not exist, only my intention”.
In Rodríguez Cárdenas’s work, parody
, humor and caricature tend away from coarseness, although they may confront the audience with what is vulgar in a society in crisis. His work invites the spectator to question reality, to see beyond the world of the official word imposed by a system that had become senseless. More than anyone, he suffered censorship
. In his case, it was not a conjured-up badge of honor that he pinned on himself to face banishment from his country.
From the time after he went into exile in Mexico in the early 1990s until he finally settled in New York, he focused his art, without renouncing his previous commitments, on the artistic quality of his subjects, of this designs. His art imparted his compositions with even more of their own particular, distinctive character than before.
During the next few years, Rodríguez Cárdenas held solo exhibits at Obra Reciente, Galeria Nina Menocal, Mexico; D.F., Carlos Cardenas, Galeria Ramis F. Barquet in Monterrey, Mexico; and, in 1993, About the Blue Wall, Fredric Snitzer Gallery, Coral Gables, Florida
; and ARCO 93 International Art Fair, Madrid
, Spain
; and Pinturas, Fredric Snitzer Gallery, Coral Gables.
Today his works are included in such major collections as the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York; the Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; the Peter Ludwig Museum in Cologne, Germany; the Museo Provincial de Santa Clara in Villa Clara; and
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Havana.
Rodríguez Cárdenas lives and works in the New York area.
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n painter and one of the most relevant Cuban painters of the 1980s.
Biography
Rodríguez Cárdenas was born in 1962 in Sancti Spiritus, Villa ClaraVilla Clara
Villa Clara may refer to:*Villa Clara Province, Cuba*Villa Clara, Entre Ríos, Argentina...
, and completed his arts studies in 1983 in Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
’s Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA).
He formed part of the René Portocarrero
René Portocarrero
René Portocarrero was a Cuban artist recognised internationally for his achievements.-History:...
workshop, where he began to make a name for himself in serigraphy, drawing and painting. He became a key figure in the resurgence of criticism and of the arts movement at the time. His participation played a decisive role in the birth of the provisional group. From among the imagery created in the late 1980s, which questioned and made ironic the “revolutionary” state slogans, some of Rodríguez Cárdenas's proposals became iconic representations of his generation such as his self-portrait featuring him bare-chested, the skin painted like a brick wall, on which the words ”I am my home” are written; from his neck hangs a skeleton with a comic blurb that reads “I do not exist, only my intention”.
In Rodríguez Cárdenas’s work, parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
, humor and caricature tend away from coarseness, although they may confront the audience with what is vulgar in a society in crisis. His work invites the spectator to question reality, to see beyond the world of the official word imposed by a system that had become senseless. More than anyone, he suffered censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
. In his case, it was not a conjured-up badge of honor that he pinned on himself to face banishment from his country.
From the time after he went into exile in Mexico in the early 1990s until he finally settled in New York, he focused his art, without renouncing his previous commitments, on the artistic quality of his subjects, of this designs. His art imparted his compositions with even more of their own particular, distinctive character than before.
During the next few years, Rodríguez Cárdenas held solo exhibits at Obra Reciente, Galeria Nina Menocal, Mexico; D.F., Carlos Cardenas, Galeria Ramis F. Barquet in Monterrey, Mexico; and, in 1993, About the Blue Wall, Fredric Snitzer Gallery, Coral Gables, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
; and ARCO 93 International Art Fair, Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
; and Pinturas, Fredric Snitzer Gallery, Coral Gables.
Today his works are included in such major collections as the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York; the Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; the Peter Ludwig Museum in Cologne, Germany; the Museo Provincial de Santa Clara in Villa Clara; and
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Havana.
Rodríguez Cárdenas lives and works in the New York area.