Agustín Cárdenas

Agustín Cárdenas Alfonso (April 10 1927, Matanzas, Cuba – February 9 2001, Havana, Cuba) was a Cuban sculptor who was active in the Surrealist movement in Paris. His sculpture was influenced by Brancusi, Henry Moore, and Jean Arp. [cite news |title=THE ART OF CUBA: Look we must |author=Mary Ann Marger |publisher="St. Petersburg Times" |date=1998-09-28 |url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/34696609.html?dids=34696609:34696609&FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+28%2C+1998&author=MARY+ANN+MARGER&pub=St.+Petersburg+Times&edition=&startpage=1.D&desc=THE+ART+OF+CUBA%3A+Look+we+must&pf=1 |accessdate=2008-03-21] citation |contribution=Cárdenas, Agustín |author=Ricardo Pau-Llosa |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2008 |title=Grove Art Online |isbn= |url=] Poet André Breton said of his artistic hand that it was "efficient as a dragonfly."cite web |url= http://www.terra.com/arte/articulo/html/art7007.htm |title= Exponen por primera vez en Nueva York la obra del cubano Cardenas |work= terra.com |accessdate= 2008-02-03 es icon]

Biography

Cárdenas was a descendant of slaves from Senegal and the Congo, and was born in Matanzas, a major port in the sugar industry. In Cuba, Cárdenas studied under Juan José Sicre, and from 1943 to 1949 at Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes “San Alejandro” in Havana. He was member of "Asociación de Grabadores de Cuba" (AGC) from 1951 to 1955, and of the creative group "Los Once" from 1953 to 1955. Cárdenas' work was exhibited several times in 1952 "Pintura Ávila Escultura Cárdenas" at Palacio de los Trabajadores in Havana, and in 1955 he exhibited a selection of his pieces in "Agustín Cárdenas: 20 esculturas" at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana.

He settled in Paris in 1955 and in 1957 integrated himself in the Surrealist movement there. His work incorporated aspects of his African heritage and of Dogon totems.

In 1987, his work in was in the Corea Gallery, Seoul, South Korea. In 1993, his work was exhibited in "Agustín Cárdenas" in the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana and in 2002, Cárdenas work was presented in "Desires and Grace" at the Haim Chanin Fine Arts Gallery in New York City.

Cárdenas also took part in many collective exhibitions such as the "IV Exposición Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado" at the Centro Asturiano in Havana, Cuba in 1950. Ten years later in 1960 at the "Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme Eros" at the Galerie Daniel Cordier in Paris, France. He participated in the "II Bienal Internacional de la Pequeña Escultura" in 1973 in Budapest, Hungary and in 2000, of the exhibition of Abstract Art "Tono a Tono" in the Salón de la Solidaridadin the Hotel Habana Libre in Havana, Cuba.

Cárdenas has been awarded with several distinctions during his life, including "Segundo Premio VI Salón Nacional de Pintura y Escultura", Salones del Capitolio Nacional, Havana, by the Cuban government (1953) and the "Silver Medal XXXVII", Salón de Bellas Artes, Círculo de Bellas Artes, Havana (1955). In 1976, he was awarded with the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France and the Fujisankey Biennal Prize at the Hakone Open Air Museum, Fujisankey, Japan. Also in 1995 he received "Premio Nacional de Artes Plásticas" by the Cuban Ministry of Culture.

His works can be found in many permanent collections around the world, including the Centre National des Arts du Cirque, Fonds National d’Art Contemporain and Musée de la Sculpture en Plein Air in Paris; the Musée d’Art et d’Industrie at Saint Etienne, France; the Hakone Open Air Museum, Hakone, Japan; the Musée d’Art Contemporain, Argel, Algeria; Museo de Bellas Artes in Caracas, Venezuela, and in the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana in Havana, Cuba.

References

* El Nuevo Herald, TRES ARTISTAS, TRES MEDIOS; May 7, 2000 es icon
* El Nuevo Herald, DECESO; February 12, 2001 es icon
* El Nuevo Herald, UN ARTE CUBANO DE FRANCIA; February 27, 1985 es icon
* El Nuevo Herald, VENTAS MILLONARIAS EN SUBASTA; January 27, 2002 es icon

External links

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