Emilio Falero (born 1947 in

Sagua la Grande Sagua la Grande (nicknamed ''La Villa del Undoso'', sometimes shortened in Sagua) is a municipality located on the north coast of the province of Villa Clara in central Cuba, on the Sagua la Grande River. The city is close to Mogotes de Juma ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

) is a

Cuban Cuban may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban citizen, a perso ...

Fine Arts In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

painter residing in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Career

Emilio Falero was born in Sagua La Grande, Cuba in 1947. Falero began studying art under painters Juan Llera and Juan Luis Ruyan; their teaching included lessons in

color theory In the visual arts, color theory is the body of practical guidance for color mixing and the visual effects of a specific color combination. Color terminology based on the color wheel and its geometry separates colors into primary color, seconda ...

and advanced readings on his own. He graduated from Belen Jesuit Preparatory in 1961 and subsequently emigrated to the United States in 1962 as a part of Operation Peter Pan following the events of the Cuban Revolution. Upon arriving to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, joined a wave of younger emerging Cuban artists who would become a prominent force in Cuban art, including Juan Gonzalez and

Rafael Consuegra Rafael Consuegra (September 16, 1941 – September 17, 2021) was a Cuban-born American sculptor and ceramist who worked in the United States and Europe. Consuegra was born in Havana, Cuba. He left the island in 1960 and established residence ...

. Falero studied painting, sculpture, and ceramics with other prominent artists, such as

Rafael Soriano Rafael Soriano (born December 19, 1979) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees, Washington Nationals, and Chicago ...

Duane Hanson Duane Hanson (January 17, 1925 – January 6, 1996) was an American artist and sculptor born in Minnesota. He spent most of his career in South Florida. He was known for his life-sized realistic sculptures of people. He cast the works based o ...

and Mark Wethli, in

, Florida, between 1966 and 1969 graduating from Miami Dade Community College (North Campus, Miami), Florida in 1967, and later attended

Barry College Barry College was a Further Education college in Barry, Wales which merged with Coleg Glan Hafren in September 2011 to form the new Cardiff and Vale College. The college admits approximately 10,000 students per year. It is partnered with the Univ ...

in North Miami, Florida, in 1969. Before then, Falero had attended and graduated from Belen Jesuit Preparatory in 1961. Since graduating, he has gone on to achieve success in numerous high-profile exhibitions, win awards, and received praise from Cuban art scholars as well as significant media and literary coverage. He is a member of the Agrupación Católica Universitaria.

Style

His work is known for its distinctly academic and intellectual approach, often with layered references to art history and theology. His common influences are rooted in

Spanish art Spanish art has been an important contributor to Western art and Spain has produced many famous and influential artists including Velázquez, Goya and Picasso. Spanish art was particularly influenced by France and Italy during the Baroque and ...

, especially Velazquez and

Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

, but also nods to others such as

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...

Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , , see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. During his lifetime, he was a moderately succe ...

, and

El Greco Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos ( el, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco ("The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El G ...

. He utilizes a high degree of technical skill to achieve his updated takes on

Realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

, and the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

. Falero has had phases nodding to more recent influential art movements of the twentieth century - such as Pop Art (i.e.

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

George Segal George Segal Jr. (February 13, 1934 – March 23, 2021) was an American actor. He became popular in the 1960s and 1970s for playing both dramatic and comedic roles. After first rising to prominence with roles in acclaimed films such as ''Ship o ...

Surrealism 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 l ...

Modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

, and

Postmodernism Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or Rhetorical modes, mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by philosophical skepticism, skepticis ...

- while incorporating Latin American elements and other flourishes to reflect his Cuban background. Art historian Dr. Lynette Bosch of the State University of New York says of Falero: "By drawing on imagery taken from a range of artistic styles and eras, he has blended the separate parts of his life into a united reality that reflects his diverse experience and faith."

Exhibitions

Individual exhibitions

His most relevant solo shows include a 1974 exhibit at

Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America, and serving as the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribb ...

, Washington, D.C.; a 1974 exhibition at the Permuy Gallery in

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Coral Gables is known globally as home to the ...

that led to a subsequent 1976 solo exhibition; a 1979 solo exhibit titled ''Emilio Falero. Paintings, Drawings and Works in Progress'' at the Forma Gallery in Coral Gables, Florida; the 1986 ''Correlations/Inversions: Recent Works by Emilio Falero'' show at the Acanthus Gallery in Coral Gables, Florida, and the 1987 ''Emilio Falero and Miguel Padura: Realism for the 1980s'' show at the Miami-Dade Public Library System's celebration of the 15th Annual Hispanic Heritage Month. The show was held at the West Dade Regional Library, Miami, Florida.

Collective exhibitions

Emilio has formed part of many collective exhibitions, such as the 1969 group show at Miami Dade Community College, North Campus, Miami, Florida; the 1976 exhibit at ''18th Annual Hortt Memorial Exhibition'' at the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; the renown 1983 ''Miami Generation'' Exhibition; the 1988 ''Cintas Fellows Revisited: A Decade After'' show held at the Main Library, Metro Dade Cultural Center in Miami, Florida, and the noted 1997 group show titled ''Breaking Barriers: Selections from the Museum of Art’s Permanent Contemporary Cuban Collection'' also at the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Recognition and collections

Emilio Falero is highly regarded in

Cuban art Cuban art is an exceptionally diverse cultural blend of African, South American, European, and North American elements, reflecting the diverse demographic makeup of the island. Cuban artists embraced European modernism, and the early part of the 2 ...

circles, particularly by scholars. He has been prominently featured in numerous books on the subject, including ''Cuban-American Art in Miami: Exile, Identity and the Neo-Baroque'' (2004) and ''Outside Cuba: Contemporary Cuban Visual Artists'' (1989). Falero has won several awards for his artwork, including the ''

Cintas Foundation Oscar Benjamin Cintas y Rodriguez, (31 Mar 1887 in Sagua la Grande, Cuba – 11 May 1957 in New York City, N.Y.) was a prominent sugar and railroad magnate who served as Cuba's ambassador to the United States from 1932 until 1934. Career He wa ...

Fellowship'' (1978), New York; the ''Ziuta and Joseph James Akston Foundation'' Award at the ''38th Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Art Painting''; The Society of Four Arts, Palm Beach, Florida. He has been profiled numerous times in media and recognized by many curators, gallery owners and prominent art critics as a leading artistic component of the Cuban American art scene for more than five decades. Noted Cuban art critic and scholar Giulio V. Blanc said Falero "takes art istoryout of context", "plays tricks with reality" and "goes beyond the superficial differences" to make deeper revelations. His work can be found in numerous Cuban art collections such as the Agrupación Católica Universitaria, Miami, Florida; the Cintas Foundation Inc.,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

; the Lowe Art Museum,

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

; the Metropolitan Museum and Art Center, Miami, Florida; Saladrigas Art Gallery, Belen Jesuit Preparatory School,

, Florida; and the

Miami-Dade Public Library System The Miami-Dade Public Library System (MDPLS) is a system of libraries in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Governance The Miami-Dade Public Library System is a county department within Miami-Dade county government. The Board of County Commissioner ...

, Miami, Florida.

References

* El Nuevo Herald, ''VALIO LA PENA ESPERAR ESTA MUESTRA DE EMILIO FALERO''; October 25, 1986. * El Nuevo Herald, ''DE RONDA''; January 18, 1995 * The Miami Herald, ''CUBA-USA''; May 3, 1992 * El Nuevo Herald, ''ONCE PINTORES CUBANOS EN FORT LAUDERDALE'', October 1, 1988 * El Nuevo Herald, ''PINTURA Y CINE EN PRIMER PLANO CESAR TRASOBARES Y 'LA QUINCEANERA' CONNIE LLOVERAS MARIA BRITO-AVELLANA MARIO BENCOMO''; June 6, 1984 * El Nuevo Herald, ''CUBA EN EL CORAZÓN''; May 18, 2002 * The Miami Herald, ''THE ART OF EXILE''; February 13, 2005 * Naples Daily News, ''Minds over matter: Art by Cuban nationals, refugees, descendants is ambitious but veiled''; April 26, 2001 * Star Tribune: Newspaper of the Twin Cities, ''A potent mix of cultural symbols, CUBA-USA show views are unique''; February 2, 1992 {{DEFAULTSORT:Falero, Emilio Cuban painters Cuban contemporary artists 20th-century Cuban painters 20th-century Cuban male artists 1947 births Living people People from Sagua la Grande Male painters