Ernesto Rancaño (Havana, 1968) is, without any doubt, one of the most important authors of current Cuban artistic scene. This creator graduated in 1991 from San Alejandro National Academy of Fine Arts, and he is currently a member of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC), as well as of the International Association of Visual Artists. His artworks show a plurality of expressive ways, from painting to sculpture, printmaking, photography… always making beauty their compelling and inspiring core. The universe of femininity, its complexities and mysteries, has been another fundamental point of his production throughout his career, linking women to the always intriguing space of nudity, sensuality and candor. His creations, where we find equally brushwork, the object or the concept, have made him receive countless and important laurels in the national artistic ambit and abroad. Besides, he has participated in several solo and group exhibitions and his name integrates some of the most respected collections of the creative field.
EDUCATION
- San Alejandro National Academy of Fine Arts, Havana
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2015
- La carta que nunca te escribí, Tomás y Valiente Art Center (CEART), Madrid
- Sombras del ayer, Collateral to the 12th Havana Biennial, Fortress San Carlos de la Cabaña, Havana
- Querido diario, Collateral to the 12th Havana Biennial, La Mano Ciega Gallery, Havana
- Parada de ómnibus en Romerillo, Kcho Studio, Havana
- La lluvia de tu ventana, Collage Habana Gallery, Havana
2014
- Bitácora inconclusa, Lloyd’s Register, Havana
- Pre-existencia, ARCO’14, Madrid
2013
- R-existir, Villa Manuela Gallery, Havana
2012
- La mitad de mi vida, Collateral to the 11th Havana Biennial, Fortress San Carlos de la Cabaña, Havana
2011
- La carta que nunca te escribí, 23 y 12 Art Center, Havana
- De tus ojos la sal (With Mabel Poblet), Nuno Sacramento Gallery, Aveiro, Portugal
2010
- Abrazos prohibidos, Espacio 304 Gallery, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2009
- Abrazos prohibidos, Galería Habana, Havana
2008
- Todo el tiempo de los cedros, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris
2006
- Toma-dos, Servando Gallery, Havana
- – Mal, buenos +, Villa Manuela Gallery, Havana
2004
- Tu nombre se escribe con agua, Galería Habana, Mexico D. F.
2001
- Como colgando de sí, Museum of the Americas, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1999
- Te he venido suponiendo, Center for Advance Studies of Puerto Rico and The Caribbean, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1998
- Rancaño, Museum of the Americas, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Dos amparados, Saint Francis of Assisi Convent, Havana
1997
- La mano ciega, Verde Fresco Gallery, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- En el pan de los hidalgos, Del Monte Gallery, Ambos Mundos Hotel, Havana
1996
- La mano ciega, Imago Gallery, Grand Theater of Havana, Havana
1995
- Dibujos y pasteles, Spanish Cultural Center, Cartagena, Spain
1994
- El jardín de Rancaño, Karl Marx Theater, Havana
- Introspecciones, La Acacia Gallery, Havana
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2015
- Made in Cuba! Recycling Memory and Culture, Center for Cuban Studies of Santa Monica, Santa Monica, Los Angeles
- Nuevos colores, Robert Miller Gallery, New York
- Lost and Found, Collateral to the 12th Havana Biennial, Fábrica de Arte Cubano (FAC), Havana
- HB, Collateral to the 12th Havana Biennial, Pabexpo, Havana
2014
- Elemental 2/4, Odalys Gallery, Madrid
- Summa, Matadero, Madrid
- ARTHOUSTON, Collage Habana Gallery, Reliant Center, Houston
- Crossroads of Cuban Art, Nina Torres Gallery, Miami
- 10 años de Villa Manuela, Villa Manuela Gallery, Havana
- Cachipún, piedra, papel, tijera, Fábrica de Arte Cubano (FAC), Havana
- Rodando se encuentran [National Council of Plastic Arts (CNAP) Collection], Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center, Shanghai
2013
- El peso de una idea, Collage Habana Gallery, Havana
- ARTCHANGSHA, Changsha, China
- ARTBEIJING, Beijing
- 20 artistas cubanos de hoy, José Martí Memorial, Havana
- A todo género, Spain Embassy, Havana
- After the Void, Ministry of Nomads, Edison House, London
2012
- 11 artistas de hoy, José Martí Memorial, Havana
- ArtBo, Villa Manuela Gallery, Bogotá
- ARTMOSCOW, Moscow
- Con todos los sentidos, José Martí Memorial, Havana
- ARTMONACO, La Acacia Gallery, Monaco
- JustMad3 Fair, Nuno Sacramento Gallery, Madrid
- Arte cubano, Brade Arts Oy Gallery, Helsinki
2011
- Remake, Servando Cabrera Moreno Library Museum, Havana
- 50 en los 50 [Tribute to the 50th anniversary of the foundation of The Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC)], La Acacia Gallery, Havana
- ARTLISBON, Nuno Sacramento Gallery, Lisbon
- ARTMOSCOW, Collage Habana Gallery, Moscow
- Arte cubano, Brade Arts Oy Gallery, Helsinki
- Living in Havana, Marlborough Gallery, Chelsea, New York
- Reflejos, Sri Lanka Embassy, Havana
- Recent Works, Center for Cuban Studies, New York
- Exhibition of Cuban Art, Daejeon Metropolitan City Branch, South Korea
- Confluences: Inside Cuban Contemporary Art, National Hispano American Cultural Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico
2010
- Sencillamente Korda, José Martí Memorial, Havana; Municipal Archive, Villa Real San Antonio, Portugal
- Cuba pinta a Guayasamín, Oswaldo Guayasamín House, Havana
- Monstruos devoradores de energía, San Francisco Square, Seville, Spain
2009
- Cuba pinta a Guayasamín, Chapel of Man, Quito
2008
- Esta noche baila aquí Alicia Alonso, National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana
2007
- Monstruos devoradores de energía, Casa de América, Madrid; Milan Triennial, Milan; Grand Palais, Paris
2006
- Manual de instrucciones, Collateral to the 9th Havana Biennial, Center of Conservation, Restoration and Museology (CENCREM), Havana
- Confluences: Inside Cuban Contemporary Art, Clavijero Palace, Morelia, Michoacán; José Luís Cuevas Museum, Mexico D. F.; Museum of Modern Art of Toluca, Toluca; Juárez Cultural Institute, Villahermosa; Zapopan Art Museum, Jalisco; State Art Center Exhibition Hall, Mexicali, Baja California; National Hispanic Cultural Center, New Mexico
2005
- ArtCuba, UN Headquarters, Geneva
2004
- Uno, dos, tres, que trazo más chévere, Servando Gallery, Havana
2002
- Tiempo de ver, Espacio 304 Gallery, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Suceden los espejos, City Museum, Mexico D. F.
2001
- Suceden los espejos, José Martí Memorial, Havana
2000
- Pintura cubana post-medieval, Collateral to the 7th Havana Biennial, Saint Francis of Assisi Convent, Havana
1999
- arteBA, Buenos Aires
1998
- Cubanías, Buenos Aires Fine Art Museum, La Plata, Argentina
- Imaginaciones cubanas, La Merce Cultural Center, Catalonia
1997
- Una obra para Pablo, Los Oficios Gallery, Havana
- Imaginaciones de otra isla, Museum of the Americas, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Jóvenes pintores cubanos, Museum of the Americas, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1995
- Doce cuentos peregrinos de García Márquez, doce pintores cubanos, Latin American Gallery, Casa de las Américas, Havana; Traveling Exhibition around Colombia and Panama
- Muestra de pintura cubana, National Bank of Panama, Panama City
- Homenaje de La Acacia a sus artistas plásticos, La Acacia Gallery, Havana
1994
- Pintura cubana, Margarita Nelken Cultural Center, Madrid
1993
- Desde el dibujo, La Acacia Gallery, Havana
- Exposición colectiva internacional, La Pampa Provincial Museum of Arts, Santa Rosa, Argentina
- Cuban Art Now, Chelsea Gallery, Kingston
1991
- Segunda exposición de profesores y alumnos, Leopoldo Romañach Gallery, San Alejandro National Academy of Fine Arts, Havana
1989
- 170 Aniversario de San Alejandro, San Alejandro National Academy of Fine Arts, Havana
MEMBERSHIPS
- Member of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC)
- Member of the International Association of Plastic Artists
AWARDS
2007
- Diploma for Artistic Merit, Superior Institute of Art (ISA), Havana
2001
- Djerassi Fellowship, San Francisco, California
COLLECTIONS
- Ministry of Culture, Havana
- National Museum of Fine Art, Havana
- National Council of Plastic Arts (CNAP), Havana
- Havana City Historian’s Office, Havana
- Avistamientos Collection, Havana
- Council of State, Havana
- National Library José Martí, La Habana
- Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC), Havana
- San Gerónimo University, Havana
- José Martí Memorial, Havana
- Alicia Alonso Collection, Havana
- Silvio Rodríguez Collection, Havana
- Pablo Milanés Collection, Havana
- Luciano Méndez Collection, Havana
- UN Headquarters, Geneva
- Djerassi Foundation, San Francisco, California
- Armando Amorim Soares, Portugal
- Lori Hall Collection, New York
- Liz von Habsburg Collection, New York
- Sting and Trudy Stayle Collection, London
- Miraflores Presidential Palace, Caracas
- Che Guevara Museum, Rosario, Argentina
- Marlborough, Chelsea, New York
- Cernuda Foundation, Miami
- PanAmerican ArtProjects, Miami
- Joaquin Sabina Collection, Madrid
- Sean Penn Collection, California
- Andrés Bello Project, Colombia
- Judith Swift Collection, Dallas
- Leslie and Russ Robinson Collection, Houston
- Carlos di Biagio Collection, Rome
- Carol Kimmel Collection, Shorts Hills, New Jersey
- CIFO Collection, Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation, USA