José Manuel Mesías


Havana, Cuba, 1990
The work of José Manuel Mesías deliberately renounces the notions of sacredness and premeditation that usually accompany creative artifice. His searches emerge, on the contrary, from the fragmented and casual, from the residue as an alternative memory, as the primary habitat of all possible truths. Mesías, who once stumbled upon a random object and recognized himself in it, understands the world as a watering hole of the inconsequential and minimal, of the random. That is what it is all about, he thinks, and then paints the landscape of solitude and rain with unlikely greens on the edge of a stone.
His work, which already has more than a decade of experience, has been shown in personal projects such as Verses and Theorems (The apartment at Lubov Gallery, Condo Complex, New York, USA, 2019); Time room, from Index of Images (XIII Havana Biennial, Centro de Desarrollo de Las Artes Visuales, Havana, Cuba, 2019); The straight line is not the shortest (Azkuna Zentroa, Bilbao, 2018), Index of images (Factoría Habana, Havana, Havana, 2017) and About absolute truth (Mindy Solomon Gallery, Miami, 2016). He has also participated in group exhibitions of tremendous relevance, among the most prominent are: La Breche (Galleria Continua, Paris, France, 2021); Circular Viewpoint (Galleria Continua, Havana, Cuba, 2020); Going Away Closer: Japan-Cuba Contemporary Art Exhibition (Spiral Cultural Center, Tokyo, 2018), Cuba my love (Galleria Continua, Les Moulins, 2017), The usefulness of history (Factoría Habana, Havana, 2014) and Cuban Video (The Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA), Los Angeles, 2014).
He has been awarded Residents Art Dubai, United Arab Emirates in 2019; Akita Art Institute, Japan in 2018 and Anphytrion Residency Program (Azkuna ZentroaArtista X Artista) Bilbao, Spain in 2017, among others.

curriculum
studies
2009
San Alejandro" National Academy of Fine Arts. Havana, Cuba.
personal exhibitions
2018
The straight line is not the shortestAzkuna Zentroa. Bilbao, Spain.
2017
Index of imagesFactoría Habana. Havana, Cuba
2016
About absolute truthMindy Solomon Gallery. Miami, United States.
Uncertainty principleEspacio Abierto Gallery, Revolution and Culture Magazine. Havana, Cuba.
2015
The Binary ShowMindy Solomon Gallery. Miami, United States.
2012
The origin of symmetryProvincial Center of Plastic Arts and Design "Luz y Oficios". Havana, Cuba.
2009
Five. Collateral to the X Havana Biennial. San Alejandro" National Academy of Fine Arts. Havana, Cuba.
Days of demonsCascarilla Gallery, National Academy of Fine Arts "San Alejandro". Havana, Cuba.
The three pendulumsSpecial school for autistic children "Dora Alonso". Havana, Cuba.
works
Shoe Alphabet, 2018-2022
Fragments of footwear on asphalt blanket
90 x 65 cm
The parts of the dove, 2019-2022
Pigeon fragments, pigeon egg
30 x 90 cm
Soccer ball patches, 2019-2022
25 x 25 x 25 cm
Fractals, 2014-2022
Glass bottle fragments
100 x 60 cm
Guayos, coladores y tragantes, 2016-2021
44 x 63 x 25 cm
Halves, 2014-2020
Fragments: spool, stove burner, balls, umbrella and record player handles, grinding machine blade
Variable dimensions