Kadir López Nieves
KADIR LÓPEZ (b. 1972, Las Tunas, Cuba) came to artistic maturity at a time when the image and illusion of the Cuban Revolution were greatly diminished. That’s probably the reason why he sealed his fate in tribute to what is pictorial, on one side, and urbane in the other. Skilled in watercolor and acrylics, Kadir is also known for the creativity and individuality of his installations, as well as for the use of non-traditional artistic medias.
Much of his work is inspired by a meditation on time: blurring past, present, and future, he critiques the effects of progress, or lack thereof, and its spiritual, economic, and political effects on society. In mining Cuba’s rich and complicated history as well as personal events, he creates a multilayered reality that combines space and time into a unified visual universe. His exploration on the theme of continuity has led him to traverse the finite limitations of both his own geographical surroundings and the pictorial plane. Kadir embraces the idea of a present whereby differing histories coexist and inform each other. The amalgamation of ready-made materials and intervention allows him to be observer and participant, author and audience. As a result, the world he creates is at once complex and beautiful, ambiguous and revealing, critical and hopeful.
He has exhibited his work consistently since 1990 in over 90 solo and group shows in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean. He has participated in several of the art world’s d prominent international art fairs including the Havana Biennale, the Toronto International Art Fair (TIAF), ArtMadrid, Miami International Art Fair, Art Palm Beach, Pinta New York, Houston Fine Arte Fair, Hamptons Art Fair and many others. Among his many outstanding solo exhibitions, Signs series, brought him critical attention and he was named one of the top ten artists to watch in 2011 by The Huffington Post.
In addition to creating art, Kadir has lectured at conferences at universities and museums worldwide, and has served as a juror at a number of national art contests in his country. His work can be found in several major museums collections, as well as a large number of private collections all over the world.
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