250px, ''Untitled'' (1961), sculpture by Auguste Cardenas in the area above the Roman quarry in Sankt_Margarethen_im_Burgenland_near_Lake_Neusiedl..html" ;"title="Lake_Neusiedl.html" ;"title="Sankt Margarethen im Burgenland near Lake Neusiedl">Sankt Margarethen im Burgenland near Lake Neusiedl.">Lake_Neusiedl.html" ;"title="Sankt Margarethen im Burgenland near Lake Neusiedl">Sankt Margarethen im Burgenland near Lake Neusiedl. Agustín Cárdenas Alfonso (April 10, 1927, Matanzas, Cuba – February 9, 2001, Havana, Cuba) was a Cuban sculptor who was active in the

Surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

movement in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. His sculpture was influenced by Brâncuși, Henry Moore, and Jean Arp. Poet André Breton said of his artistic hand that it was "efficient as a dragonfly."

Biography

Cárdenas was a descendant of slaves from

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

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 The National Museum of Fine Arts of Havana (Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana) in Havana, Cuba is a museum of fine arts that exhibits Cuban art collections from the colonial times up to contemporary generations. History It was founded ...

. He settled in

in 1955 and in 1957 joined the

movement there. His work incorporated aspects of his African heritage and of

Dogon Dogon may refer to: *Dogon people, an ethnic group living in the central plateau region of Mali, in West Africa *Dogon languages, a small, close-knit language family spoken by the Dogon people of Mali *'' Dogon A.D.'', an album by saxophonist Juliu ...

totems A totem (from oj, ᑑᑌᒼ, italics=no or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system. While ''the wo ...

. In 1987, his work was in the Corea Gallery,

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

. In 1993, his work was exhibited in ''"Agustín Cárdenas"'' in the

and in 2002, Cárdenas's work was presented in "Desires and Grace" at the Haim Chanin Fine Arts Gallery in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Cárdenas also took part in many group exhibitions such as the ''IV Exposición Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado'' at the

Centro Asturiano The Centro Asturiano is a historic site in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida. It is located at 1913 Nebraska Avenue. On July 24, 1974, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It was designed by Tampa architect M. Leo Elliott. Hi ...

in Havana in 1950 and the ''"Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme Eros"'' at the Galerie Daniel Cordier in

in 1960. He participated in the ''II Bienal Internacional de la Pequeña Escultura'' in 1973 in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

and the exhibition of Abstract Art ''"Tono a Tono"'' in the Salón de la Solidaridadin the

Hotel Habana Libre Hotel Tryp Habana Libre is one of the larger hotels in Cuba, situated in Vedado, Havana. The hotel has 572 rooms in a 25-floor tower at Calle 23 ("La Rampa") and Calle L. Opened in 1958 as the Habana Hilton, the hotel famously served as the resid ...

in Havana in 2000. 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 Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricit ...

, Fonds National d’Art Contemporain and

Musée de la Sculpture en Plein Air The Musée de la Sculpture en Plein Air is a collection of outdoor sculpture located on the banks of the Seine in the 5th arrondissement, Paris, France. The museum opens free of charge. The museum was created in 1980 in the Jardin Tino Rossi to ...

; the Musée d’Art et d’Industrie at Saint-Étienne,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

; the Hakone Open-Air Museum,

Hakone is a List of towns in Japan, town in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the town had a population of 11,293 and a population density of 122 persons per km². The total area of the town is . The town is a popular tourist destination due to its many o ...

, Japan; the Musée d’Art Contemporain, Argel,

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; Museo de Bellas Artes in Caracas,

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, Kendall Art Center, Miami, Florida, and in the

in Havana, Cuba.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cardenas, Agustin 1927 births 2001 deaths Cuban artists Cuban sculptors 20th-century Cuban sculptors 20th-century Cuban male artists Cuban contemporary artists Modern sculptors

Biography

References

Further reading

External links