Esterio Segura

Esterio Segura was born in Santiago de Cuba in 1970. He attended the Elementary School of Plastic Arts in Camagüey (1982-1985) in which he then taught, then the Provincial School of Plastic Arts and Ballet in the same city. . Finally, in 1989, he began a course at the ISA (Instituto Superior de Arte) in Havana, which he completed in 1994.

A leading figure in the Cuban contemporary art scene, Esterio Segura is known for his works combining poetry and imaginative power, and considered one of the most controversial artists of his generation.

In his paintings, sculptures, and installations, he uses humorous imagery to address a Cuban history steeped in social and political concerns. His work is rich in inspirations such as mythological and popular imagery, religious art, Spanish Baroque and paintings by Caravaggio. Eroticism, religious rituals and the use of symbols are also recurring themes in his work. Lately, Segura has incorporated elements of text into his works. He expresses his claims and ideals through works such as "Goodbye My Love", a sculpture combining the wings of an airplane with the simplified and popular representation of a heart. Here, the artist leaves us the choice of interpretation ranging from the most old-fashioned and sentimental to the most controversial from a social and political point of view. For the artist, “Goodbye My Love” refers to the experience of uprooting, of nostalgia, of memory , of the loss, ultimately of how we experience the decomposition, the destruction of everything we love.

Esterio Segura's work “Hybrid of Chrysler” made an impression at the 57th Venice Biennale. “Hybrid of Chrysler” has been described as a work expressing “the beauty of resistance” and “excessive creativity”, exploiting imaginatively the minimal resources available on an island whose streets are crisscrossed by almendrones - vintage American automobiles serving as taxis. The artist himself calls this work "a provocation to steal, an invitation (for Cubans) to the magic of going beyond the limit of the waters of the island, to realize their own dreams with a symbol of success: the American limousine as an object of worship and idolatry, a sex symbol, a symbol of power. "

In 1988 he won the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) award. Between 1995 and 1996 he was artist in residence at Gaswork Studio, London. In 1997, he was artist in residence at the Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Aachen, Germany. We can no longer count the number of his personal and collective exhibitions around the world. He participated in the Havana Biennials in 1991, 1994, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2015, in the Cuenca Biennale in 1998, in the Caribbean and Central America Biennale - Dominican Republic, in 2013, in Sao Paul in 2004, Venice in 2017 and will be at the Dakar Biennale in December 2019.

Since 1997 he has been present in the most important international contemporary art fairs (ARCO- Art Chicago - ARTE-BA in Buenos-Aire - Berlin - Art Paris - Art Basel Miami - Pulse, New York - Arte America, Miami ...

His works are found in the collections of the largest museums: Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, La Habana. Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), Nueva York. Bronx Museum, Nueva York. Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, California, EUA. Museum of Latin American Art of the University of Essex, England. Museum of Arizona University, Estados Unidos. Museum of the University of South Florida, Tampa. Pérez Art Museum of Miami (PAMM), Miami, Florida, and in major private collections around the world.