Consuelo Castañeda (born 1958, Havana, Cuba) is a Cuban artist, professor, and art critic whose work includes painting, installations, photography, graphic art, architecture, and print. She was a major part of a movement of the relationship between art and politics in the 1980s
avant-garde
In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
scene and revolutionized how women were treated in the art world. Castañeda is also credited with helping to catapult the cultural production of the Cuban avant-garde onto the international stage and shifting the popular understanding of the relationship between art and politics in Cuba, as well as in broader Latin America. Castañeda was living in Miami, Florida until 2016, and then moved back to
Havana, Cuba
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.San Alejandro Academy of Fine Arts in Havana, Cuba. She then attended the Advanced Institute of Fine Arts in Havana, Cuba in 1982 where she would then teach and add contemporary discourse to the curriculum.
As a professor at the
Instituto Superior de Arte The University of Arts of Cuba / Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) was established on 1 September 1976, by the Cuban government as a school for the arts. Its original structure had three schools: Music, Visual Arts, and Performing Arts.
History
T ...
in Havana, Castañeda was a champion for performance art in the academic setting. She was a pivotal figure in Cuba until her emigration to Mexico, and then Miami in the 1990s. Her work as a painter, photographer and multimedia installation artist, has recently shifted to social media and digital format. Her focus is on creating interactive works that anyone with a modem and a computer can readily access.
In the 1980s, she was a member of the artist collective Equipo Hexágono ( or ''Hexágono Equipo de Creación Colectiva)'' alongside artists Humberto Castro, Sebastián Elizondo, Antonio Eligio Fernández (TONEL), Abigail García and María Elena Morera. Equipo Hexágono was active in Havana between 1982 and 1985 and later in the United States, as their work was exhibited as late as 2022 in Miami.
After relocating to the United States, and following her interest in
internet art
upright=1.3, "Simple Net Art Diagram", a 1997 work by Michael Sarff and Tim Whidden
Internet art (also known as net art or web art) is a form of new media art distributed via the Internet. This form of art circumvents the traditional dominance o ...
, she presented the installation ''Cybernetic Information Center'' at the Miami Art Museum, which is now known at
Pérez Art Museum Miami
Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM)—officially known as the Jorge M. Pérez Art Museum of Miami-Dade County—is a contemporary art museum that relocated in 2013 to the Maurice A. Ferré Park in Downtown Miami, Florida. Founded in 1984 as the Cent ...
.
Collections
Her workis housed in public and private collections such as the
Pérez Art Museum Miami
Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM)—officially known as the Jorge M. Pérez Art Museum of Miami-Dade County—is a contemporary art museum that relocated in 2013 to the Maurice A. Ferré Park in Downtown Miami, Florida. Founded in 1984 as the Cent ...
, Florida, the
Allen Memorial Art Museum
The Allen Memorial Art Museum (AMAM) is an art museum located in Oberlin, Ohio, and it is run by Oberlin College. Founded in 1917, the collection contains over 15,000 works of art.
Overview
The AMAM is primarily a teaching museum and is aimed at ...
at
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...
, Ohio, Lowe Art Museum at University of Miami, the Museum of Art and Design (MoAD), at
Miami Dade College
Miami Dade College (MDC) is a public university, public college located in Miami, Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1959, MDC operates eight campuses and numerous outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade Count ...
, and is featured in the Rodriguez Collection housed at the
Kendall Art Center
The Kendall Art Center is an arts center in Kendall, Miami-Dade County, Florida in the United States. It houses the Rodriguez Collection, owned by the Cuban-born American businessman Leonardo Rodríguez and his family.
History
The center was ...
, Miami.
Awards
She was awarded with the
Cintas Fellowship
Oscar Benjamin Cintas y Rodriguez, (31 Mar 1887 in Sagua la Grande, Cuba – 11 May 1957 in New York City, N.Y.) was a prominent sugar and railroad magnate who served as Cuba's ambassador to the United States from 1932 until 1934.
Career
He wa ...
as an installation and multidisciplinary artist in 1997–1998.
Exhibitions
The artist participated in the three following editions of the
Havana Biennial
The Bienal de La Habana was a traditional Latin, Caribbean event, originated in Havana, Havana, Cuba, that aims to raise awareness to promote contemporary art and giving priority to Latin Americans, Latin-American and Caribbean artists.
The eve ...
, Cuba, 1984, 1986, and 1991, and the Miami Biennale.
Her work was included in the group exhibition ''Killing Time: An exhibition of Cuban artists from the 1980s to the present'' curated by Glexis Novoa, Elvis Fuentes, and Yuneikys Villalonga in New York City in 2007.
The solo show and mid-career retrospective ''For Rent: Consuelo Castañeda,'' curated by Gabriela Rangel, and presented at the
Americas Society
The Americas Society is an organization dedicated to education, debate, and dialogue on the Americas. It is located at Percy R. Pyne House, 680 Park Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and was established by David Rockefeller in 1965.
...
, New York, in 2011. The exhibition alluded to the work of
Venezuelan
Venezuelans (Spanish language, Spanish: ''venezolanos'') are the Citizenship, citizens identified with the country of Venezuela. This connection may be through citizenship, descent or cultural. For most Venezuelans, many or all of these connect ...
artist
Gego
Gertrud Louise Goldschmidt (1 August 1912 – 17 September 1994), known as Gego, was a modern German-Venezuelan visual artist. Gego is perhaps best known for her geometric and kinetic sculptures made in the 1960s and 1970s, which she described ...
and provided social commentary on
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...
's political regime in her native Cuba.
In 2016, the artist returned to Cuba to present her first solo exhibition and career retrospective after 30 years without showing new work in her home country. The exhibition was held at Gran Teatro, Havana.
In 2020, Castañeda's work was included in ''Isolation'', a virtual show reflecting on social distancing pushed by the
covid-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
global pandemic, organized by an art venue in Miami. In 2022, Consuelo Castañeda's work was featured in the group exhibition and publication ''Exercises to be Happy: Ephemeral Practices in 1980s Cuba'' curated by Glexis Novoa in Miami.
Solo exhibitions
* 1987''¿Quien la presta los brazos a la Venus de Milo?'', Teatro Nacional de Cuba, Havana
* 1989 ''La Historia reconstruye la Imagen'',
Castillo de la Real Fuerza
The Castillo de la Real Fuerza (Castle of the Royal Force) is a bastion fort on the western side of the harbour in Havana, Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), ...
, Havana
* 1992 ''Consuelo Castañeda'', Centro de Cultura, Mexico City
* 1995 ''To Be Bilingual'' at the Fredric Snitzer Gallery,
Coral Gables
Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida and is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248.
Cora ...
, Florida
* 1996 ''Consuelo Castañeda'' and
Quisqueya Henríquez
Quisqueya Henríquez (1966 – 30 March 2024) was a Cuban-born Dominican multidisciplinary contemporary artist. She worked in the mediums of sculpture, photography, sound art, installation art, video art, and collage. Henríquez's work has been ...
Collaboration, Morris-Healy Gallery, New York
* 2001 New Work Miami at the Museo de Arte Moderno (MAM), Miami, Florida.
* 2008 ''Finding the Self'', Art@Work, Miami, Florida
* 2011 ''For Rent: Consuelo Castañeda'', Americas Society, New York
* 2015 ''Walls on Walls'', Faena Art, Miami
* 2016 ''CCC 2016'', Gran Teatro Alicia Alonso, Havana
* 2018 ''Consuelo Castañeda: Instants'', Dot Fiftyone Gallery, Miami
Group exhibitions
Consuelo Castaneda's work was and continues to be included in numerous group exhibitions across Latin America, the United States in countries like Cuba, Mexico, and Australia.