Jose Emilio Fuentes Fonseca (JEFF) is an artist who was born in
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
in 1974. He came to live in
Havana
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.
Life and career
JEFF’s work has been influenced by his own experience, as he was brought up by his grandparents, and spent his childhood separated from his parents in
Oriente Province
Oriente (, "East") was the easternmost province of Cuba until 1976. The term "Oriente" is still used to refer to the eastern part of the country, which currently is divided into five different provinces.
The origins of Oriente lie in the 1607 di ...
. When he was 9 years old, his brother found a stick of dynamite and brought it home, JEFF’s curiosity made him lose 3 fingers. From that moment, his work has always aimed at denouncing this world of omnipresent danger. He manipulates the children’s language to create a surprising impression of simplicity. Sailboats made of jagged, rusty metal, or wooden trains transporting severed limbs are some of the toys he created.
JEFF began studying art at age 13. When he was age 21, got a grant from the Ludwig Foundation of Cuba (LFC) to produce his ''Landscape at 21'' installations. In 1994, his first solo exhibition at Havana’s Museo Municipal de Alquízar Álvaro Reinoso Valdez with ''El Rostro Innocente'' (in English: ''The Innocent Face'') he received his first recognition as a significant artist. ''El Rostro Innocente'' installation featured a classroom full of broken chairs in which on the back of each chair was a pair of lead wings and paintings of fetuses with congenital birth defects covered the classroom walls.
JEFF was a guest artist 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 ...
from March 27 to April 30, 2009. He created a herd of 12 metal elephants, which he moved from place to place throughout the city during the night.