Overview
Mirada de Cuero, 1997
Eduardo Ponjuán González (b. 1956, Pinar del Río, Cuba) is a celebrated Cuban contemporary artist known for his conceptual paintings, installations, drawings, and mixed-media works.
Emerging as part of Cuba’s influential “Generation of the 1980s,” his practice explores memory, politics, irony, and the psychological tensions of everyday life through layered symbolism and experimentation.
From 1986 to 1996, he collaborated closely with fellow artist René Francisco Rodríguez, producing some of the most significant conceptual works in contemporary Cuban art.
His work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Venice Biennale and the Havana Biennial, and is held in major collections such as the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Havana, the Blanton Museum of Art, and the Daros Latinamerica Collection. In 2013, he received Cuba’s National Prize for Visual Arts in recognition of his lifetime contribution to contemporary art.
Works
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Eduardo Ponjuan GonzalezLa Reforma, 1997Crayon, ink & book on canvas78.50 x 47 in
199.39 x 119.38 cmView more details -
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Eduardo Ponjuan GonzalezSecreta Pasion, 1997Mixed media on book13 1/2 x 9 x 6 in
34.3 x 22.9 x 15.2 cmView more details -
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Eduardo Ponjuan GonzalezUntitled, 1997Mixed media on book12 1/2 x 9 1/2 x 5 in
31.8 x 24.1 x 12.7 cmView more details -
Eduardo Ponjuan GonzalezIconoclasta en Abisinia, 1995-2000mm (metal, plastic, glass) with booksView more details
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Eduardo Ponjuan GonzalezVoyeur, 1995Mixed media on book17 x 8 1/2 x 3 in
43.2 x 21.6 x 7.6 cmView more details -
Eduardo Ponjuan GonzalezThe Exhibition of Perfectmm on book12 x 9 in
30.48 x 22.86 cmView more details -
Biography
Mirada de Cuero, 1997
Ponjuán studied at the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) in Havana and later became an influential professor there, shaping new generations of Cuban artists.
Eduardo Ponjuán graduated from the Provincial School of Art in Pinar del Rio in 1974, the National School of Art in 1978, and the Superior Institute of Art in Havana, in 1983. From 1986 to 1996, Ponjuan collaborated with contemporary Cuban artist René Francisco Rodríguez. As a collective, some of their most acclaimed shows were Call Malevich (Kunsthalle Düsseldorf and Kunstverein Lingen, Germany, 1996), Art and Comfort (Nina Menocal Gallery, Mexico DF, Mexico, 1993), Come and Give Me a Hand (23 and 12 Art Center, Havana, Cuba, 1992), and Melodramatic Artist (Castillo de la Real Fuerza Project, Havana, Cuba, 1989). He won the First Prize in Drawing at the Provincial Salon of Visual Arts (Pinar del Rio, Cuba, 1982 and 1985); the Drawing Prize at the City Salon (Provincial Center of Visual Arts and Design, Havana, Cuba, 1986); the First Prize at the Winners Salon (National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba, 1987); and the First Prize in Collage at Malta Biennial (1999), among other important awards. Some of his most outstanding solo exhibitions are Salt (Villa Manuela Gallery, Havana, Cuba, 2007); Limbo (Habana Gallery, Havana, Cuba, 2003); I Have It on the Tongue's Tip (National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba, 2003); Sense (National Council of Visual Arts, Havana, Cuba, 2001), and For Various Concepts (Habana Gallery, Havana, Cuba, 1999). His works are included in the collections of many important institutions, such as the National Museum of Fine Arts and the Wifredo Lam Center of Contemporary Art in Havana, Cuba; the Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst in Aachen, Germany; as well as various private collections. In 2007, Ponjuan received the National Curatorship Award granted by the National Council of Visual Arts for the exhibition Opera Rex (La Casona Gallery, Havana, 2006), and in 2013 he received the National Visual Arts Award granted by the Cuban Ministry of Culture for his lifetime achievements.
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