Yornel Martínez | The Apartment

Yornel Martinez

Manzanillo, Cuba, 1981

Yornel Martinez, who graduated from the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) in 2007, belongs to a generation of Cuban artists interested in gestural and conceptual methodology. His peculiar way of understanding the artistic fact, as well as the development of a very personal work, marked by lightness and poetry, position him as one of the most solid young creators in the map of Cuban art today. This has made possible the realization of numerous personal exhibitions (among them My right hand does not know what my left hand is writing, The star y The pure land) and its inclusion in a series of artistic projects of great interest inside and outside Cuba. These include, among others, the Havana Biennial and the Aichi Triennial, as well as the exhibitions organized by the "Artist by Artist" project, an initiative of the Carlos Garaicoa Studio, the "Transhumance" exhibition at the CAB Museum in Brussels and "Art is our last hope" at the Phoenix Art Museum in Arizona.

His work has also been exhibited in group shows at Galería Continua, Havana, Cuba and France; at the CAB ART Center, Brussels, Belgium; at the PAMM, Miami, USA; Museo de la Universidad de Antioquia and Sala S, Facultad de Arquitectura, Universidad Nacional de Medellín, Colombia; at the Instituto Cervantes, Rome, Italy; in The Hoffman GalleryPortland, USA; at the CDAV, Havana, Cuba; at the Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam, Havana, Cuba; at the Fundación Pons in Madrid, Spain; Galería Habana, Havana, Cuba; at the Centro Cultural de España in Havana, Cuba; among others.

He has also been invited to events such as the XXII Havana Biennial, Cuba, 2015; the Aichi Triennial, Nagoya, Japan, 2017; the ARCO Madrid Fair, Spain, 2016; Workshops with Gabriel Orozco, Jibacoa Beach, Havana, Cuba, 2013; Workshop with Luis Camnitzer, Casa de las Américas, as part of the XII Havana Biennial.

He has been awarded the Davidoff Fellowship for Caribbean artists in collaboration with the Atelier Mondial, Basel, Switzerland, 2017; The Rockefeller Brothers Foundation and the Cuban Art Fund residency, New York City, USA, 2017; The Royal Academy of Spain in Rome residency in collaboration with A x A, Rome, Italy, 2016; as well as the Antonia Eiriz Creation Grant awarded by the AHS to young Cuban artists, 2012. The Center for Arts, Design and Social Research grant.. Villa Pianciani, Spoleto, Italy 2018 y 2019. 2022-2023 Residency, Jan Van Eyck Academie, Mastrich, The Netherlands.

His work can be found in the following collections: Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana, Cuba; Jumex Collection, Mexico City, Mexico; Bronx Museum, New York, USA; Pérez Art Museum (PAMM), Miami, USA; Fine Art Center, Colorado, USA, Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar, The Netherlands and CIFO, Cisneros-Fontanals Art Foundation, USA.

Parallel to his personal projects, he is co-author and founder, together with the poet Omar Pérez, of the alternative publishing project P-350 and is founder of Asterisk Editionsa self-managed publishing house.

curriculum

Studies

2007
Faculty of Plastic Arts of the Higher Institute of Art ISA, Havana, Cuba.
2001
Graduated in painting and drawing at the Academy of Plastic Arts José J. Tejada. Santiago de Cuba, Cuba.

personal exhibitions

2019

Confess to meGallery 23 and 12. Havana, Cuba.

2018

On any given day in 2030Center for the Development of Visual Arts (CDAV). Havana, Cuba.

DisorientIntervention Project, Museum of Decorative Arts. Havana, Cuba.

April is the cruelest monthHispano-American Center of Culture. Havana, Cuba.

2017
Ibid, Servando Gallery. Havana, Cuba.
StatementEl Apartamento, contemporary art. Havana, Cuba.
2016
My right hand does not know what my left hand is writingJosé Martí National Library. Havana, Cuba.
2015
Intervention in the bookstoreFayad Jamís Bookstore. XII Havana Biennial. Havana, Cuba.
2014
The starServando Gallery. Havana, Cuba.
The pure landCenter for the Development of Visual Arts CDAV. Havana, Cuba.
2013
CalligramsVillena Gallery of the Office of the Historian of the City. Havana, Cuba.
2012
Sesame, Luz y Oficios Gallery, Provincial Center of Plastic Arts and Design. Havana, Cuba.
2009
Project Inventory, Foundation Ludwig of Cuba. Havana, Cuba.
2004
Kate Much's sad morningLezama Lima Foundation. Havana, Cuba.
1999
To the madman of the SunsGallery 1927, Ateneo Cultural. Santiago de Cuba, Cuba.

collective exhibitions

2020

Cartographies of the spirit. Collateral to the ARCO Madrid 2020 fair. Studio of the artist Carlos Garaicoa. Madrid, Spain.

ReadingsGallery 23 and 12. Havana, Cuba.

Inhabiting the gestureArtistic intervention project in the house of the Loynaz del Castillo family (Linea y 14). Havana, Cuba.

2019

Eek'o'ob constellationCAD+SR, Merida, Mexico.

International Contemporary Art Fair ARCO Madrid (With El Apartamento Gallery, Havana) IFEMA. Madrid, Spain.

The infinite possibility. Thinking the Nation. Collateral to the XIII Havana Biennial. National Museum of Fine Arts (MNBA). Havana, Cuba.

A Stones in a shoeD'Nasco Estudio. Havana, Cuba.

El circuito del arte cubanoEl Apartamento Gallery. Havana, Cuba.

Ilines Has ColorStudio 50-The Apartment. Havana, Cuba.

Satisfied drawingsVillena Gallery of the Office of the Historian. Havana, Cuba.

In troubled watersFondo y Forma Gallery. Santiago de Chile, Chile.

Delta. The Beginning and the EndGdanska Galeria. Poland.

DeltaUniversity Museum of Contemporary Art (MUAC). Mexico City, Mexico.

DriftHavana Art Weekend, Casa Museo Lezama Lima. Havana, Cuba.

LISTE Art Fair (With The Apartment, Havana). Basel, Switzerland.

Let's talk quietlyTeodoro Ramos Blanco Gallery. Havana, Cuba.

Killing a monkBARCU Contemporary Art Fair. Bogota, Colombia.

2018

DeltaStedelijk Museum. Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

DeltaPlace to Doubts. Cali, Colombia. DeltaFlora Ars Natura. Bogotá, Colombia.

RemanentsGreen Art Gallery. Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The end of the great storyCultural Projects Office. Jalisco, Mexico.

BoardArtist's Book Fair in Latin America. Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Ola CubaLille3000. Lille, France.
The longest tripArts Center, Xicheng District. Beijing, China.
2017
Watchtower, Taller Gorría-El Apartamento Gallery. Havana, Cuba.
ExhibitThe Christoph Merian Foundation in collaboration with Vitrine Gallery. Basel, Switzerland.
A collaborative trial. VII Contemporary Cuban Art Salon. Center for the Development of Visual Arts (CDAV). Havana, Cuba.
Cuba my loveContinua Gallery. France.
Quiet lifeCenter for the Development of Visual Arts (CDAV). Havana, Cuba.
The end of the great storyGorría Gallery. Havana, Cuba.
HerbariaCenter for the Development of Visual Arts (CDAV). Havana, Cuba.
Imaginaries of the book ArtMuseo casa del libro. San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Archive collectionNational Museum of Fine Arts (MNBA). Havana, Cuba.
International Contemporary Art Fair ARCO Madrid. Curated section. With El Apartamento Gallery (Havana). Madrid, Spain.
2016
The lost hours, Artist x Artist, Carlos Garaicoa Studio. Havana, Cuba.
Nest without tree, Galería Continua - College of architects UNAI. Havana, Cuba.
Today since the 1980s, house of Mexico. Havana, Cuba. Welcome, SOMETIMES art space. Havana, Cuba. Rainbow Caravan, Aichi Triennial. Nagoya, Japan.
Roots of influence, Perez Art Museum Miami PAMM. FL, USA.
Transhumance, Beyond Cuban HorizonsCAB Art Center. Brussels, Belgium.
I have seen in the dark night (A Cuban fight...), Studio of the artist Carlos Garaicoa, collateral exhibition at the ARCO fair. Madrid, Spain.
Nano, (Remake), Center for the Development of Visual Arts CDAV. Havana, Cuba.
Open bridgeEvolución Gallery. Lima, Peru.
Line upLa Acacia Gallery. Havana, Cuba.
Poetry to see. Cuban visual poetry expoCasa de la Poesía. Havana, Cuba.
Intersections, The Hoffman Gallery. Portland, USA.
Expanded paintCenter for the Development of Visual Arts CDAV. Havana, Cuba.
2015
KaraokeEl Apartamento Gallery. Havana, Cuba.
Ram, Rom, RumLoft Habana. Collateral to the XII Havana Biennial. Havana, Cuba.
NanoTeodoro Ramos Blanco Gallery. Collateral to the XII Havana Biennial. Havana, Cuba.
ARTIST X ARTISTCarlos Garaicoa Studio. Collateral to the XII Havana Biennial. Havana, Cuba.
No Occupation or BenefitLa Moderna Gallery. Collateral to the XII Havana Biennial. Havana, Cuba.
DE FACTOXOHO alternative space. Collateral to the XII Havana Biennial. Havana, Cuba.
The rabid toyFucina des artistas. Havana, Cuba.
Ethical and aesthetic: a look at young cuban artInternational Press Center. Havana, Cuba.
2014
Fresh PaintHabana Gallery. Havana, Cuba.
NUMBERING, NAMING, THINKING (The scientific method), Estudio Carlos Garaicoa, Madrid, Spain.
Salt WaterHispano-American Center of Culture. Havana, Cuba.
Ordered atCasa de la Cultura de Playa. Havana, Cuba.
This side of paradiseThe Kingdom of this World Gallery, National Library of Cuba. Havana, Cuba.
In this place, at this timeServando Gallery. Havana, Cuba.
x 'l 2. 6th Salon of Contemporary Cuban ArtCenter for the Development of Visual Arts CDAV. Havana, Cuba.
Art is our last hopePhoenix Art Museum, Arizona, USA.
Media manipulationCenter for the Development of Visual Arts CDAV. Havana, Cuba.
2013
OpenLuz y Oficios Gallery, Provincial Center of Plastic Arts and Design. Havana, Cuba.
Silly drawingsVillena Gallery of the Office of the Historian of the City. Havana, Cuba.
2012
Artya in sight, Cultural Center of Tres Cantos, Tres Cantos City Hall. Madrid, Spain.
Variable dimensionsCenter for the Development of Visual Arts CDAV. Havana Cuba.
I KNOW HOW TO READ,  Arteaméricas, Miami Beach Convention Center. Miami, FL, USA.
Escaping with the landscape, Luz y Oficios Gallery, Provincial Center of Plastic Arts and Design, Collateral to the XI Havana Biennial. Havana, Cuba.
An exhibition without spectatorsAlma Mater Library, Collateral to the XI Havana Biennial. Havana, Cuba.
2011
I know how to readWifredo Lam Contemporary Art Center. Havana, Cuba. Artya in sight, Pons Foundation of Madrid. Madrid, Spain.
2010
RechargeableTunnel of Carlos III, Vivarta Theater. Havana, Cuba.
PumpWifredo Lam Contemporary Art Center. Havana, Cuba.
A moment of springCovarrubias Hall of the National Theater of Cuba. Havana, Cuba.
4GATOFanguito Estudio. Havana, Cuba.
The Travelling ArtworkGalleria Lauriergralth 160. Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
The end of the bulletCuba Pavilion. Havana, Cuba.
2009
Western glamourCasa de México, Collateral to the X Havana Biennial. Havana, Cuba.
Western glamourCentre Culture Saint Jacquet, Martinique.
Temporary homeHabana Gallery. Havana, Cuba.
The confraternity of the image, Lezama Lima Foundation. Havana, Cuba.
Strong is the Morro, who I amEspacio Aglutinador. Havana, Cuba. 2008
Territorial referencesHavana Port Wharf. Havana, Cuba.
AlsoAlternative Space. Havana, Cuba.
2007
Status Built, Higher Institute of Art ISA. Havana, Cuba.
Rear doorHigher Institute of Art, Instituto Superior de Arte ISA. Havana, Cuba.
Plasticine, Cultural Center of Spain. Havana, Cuba.
2006
Neither this way nor that way, La Madriguera Gallery, Casa del Joven Creador of Havana City. Havana, Cuba.
Amauri's Gaban. Itinerant expo. Havana, Cuba.
2005
Four fingers of the Hand, Holguin Art Center. Holguin, Cuba.
Noise in the waterAlejandro de Humboldt House. Havana, Cuba.
2004
Meaking offCuba Pavilion. Havana, Cuba.
2003
It's raining on wet ground. Higher Institute of Art ISA, Collateral to the IX Havana Biennial. Havana, Cuba.
2002
The Five O' Clock teaJulio Girona Gallery, Art Academy. Manzanillo, Cuba. Building, Universal Art Gallery. Santiago de Cuba, Cuba.
2001
Second National Salon of Sacred PaintingClaretian Cultural Center. Santiago de Cuba, Cuba.
Lo que un hombre iba pensando mientras..., Asociación Hermanos Saínz (AHS), Collateral to the Caribbean Festival. Santiago de Cuba, Cuba.
1999
Caribbean Festival, Oriente Gallery. Santiago de Cuba, Cuba.
Small Format Salon, Art Center. Holguin, Cuba.
1998
City HallOriente Gallery. Santiago de Cuba, Cuba.
David SalonOriente Gallery. Santiago de Cuba, Cuba.