Enrique Martínez Celaya (born June 9, 1964) is a contemporary
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
n-born painter, sculptor, author, and former physicist whose work has been exhibited and collected by international institutions. He trained and worked as a laser physicist, completing all coursework for his doctorate, before devoting himself full-time to his artwork. He holds master's degrees in physics and fine arts and has authored books on art and philosophy and science articles.
He is currently a Montgomery Fellow at
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...
and the Provost Professor of Humanities and Arts at
USC USC may refer to:
Education
United States
* Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico
* University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina
* ...
.
Early life and education
Martínez Celaya was born on June 9, 1964, in
Havana
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Nueva Paz and Los Palos, Cuba. His family relocated to
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
,
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
in 1972. While there, he took up drawing at the age of eight. In 1975, the family relocated again, this time to
Puerto Rico
; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
. He initiated his formal training as an apprentice to a painter at the age of 12 and developed his early interest in writing and philosophy.
In 1982, he enrolled at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
. He graduated ''magna cum laude'' with a Bachelor of Science in Applied Physics and a minor in Electrical Engineering in 1986. He was selected as a Regent's Fellow at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
, and earned a Master of Science degree with a specialization in
Quantum Electronics
Quantum optics is a branch of atomic, molecular, and optical physics and quantum chemistry that studies the behavior of photons (individual quanta of light). It includes the study of the particle-like properties of photons and their interaction w ...
While there, he patented several laser devices. He later enrolled in the M.F.A. program at the
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...
and graduated with highest honors in 1994. After graduation, he attended the
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture
The Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture is an artists residency located in Madison, Maine, just outside of Skowhegan. Every year, the program accepts online applications from emerging artists from November through January, and selects 65 ...
in
Maine
Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
.
Career
About his interest in literature, Martínez Celaya states, “Reading is a primary source for my work." I read philosophy and literature and that is the universe I see my work in, even though I'm a visual artist. ... Often when artists talk about writers, they're talking about them as source of content. I'm reading them for a moral stance in the world.”
Martínez Celaya has created solo museum exhibitions for the Hispanic Society Museum & Library in New York City (2024), the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Havana, Cuba (2023), and the Marino Marini Museum in Florence, Italy (2023). He has also created projects for the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California (2021),
The Phillips Collection
The Phillips Collection is an art museum founded by Duncan Phillips and Marjorie Acker Phillips in 1921 as the Phillips Memorial Gallery located in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Phillips was the grandson of James H. Laughli ...
in Washington, D.C. (2016), and the
State Hermitage Museum
The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and holds the large ...
in St. Petersburg, Russia (2012).
From 2007 to 2009, Martínez Celaya wrote a blog on his website with a selection of entries published as ''The Blog: Bad Time for Poetry'' (Whale & Star, 2010). Since 2012, the blog has continued in the form of journal entries on the artist's website. The University of Nebraska Press published a twenty-year survey of his writings in 2011, entitled ''Collected Writings and Interviews, 1990-2010,'' which was more recently followed by a second volume, ''Collected Writings and Interviews, 2010-2017.'' Martínez Celaya published a selection of lecture notes from his popular workshops, entitled ''On Art and Mindfulness: Notes from the Anderson Ranch'' (Whale & Star, 2015), in collaboration with the Anderson Ranch Art Center in Snowmass, Colorado. Martínez Celaya founded Whale and Star in 1998, an imprint specializing in art and its relationship to other intellectual and creative fields, especially literature, philosophy, and critical theory.
Academia
Martínez Celaya is currently Provost Professor of Humanities and Arts at
USC USC may refer to:
Education
United States
* Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico
* University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina
* ...
(2017–present) in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
and, since 2014, a Montgomery Fellow at
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...
in
Hanover, New Hampshire
Hanover is a New England town, town located along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 11,870. The town is home to the Ivy League university ...
. He was the Roth Family Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Dartmouth (2016-2017). He was Visiting Presidential Professor in the history of art at
University of Nebraska
A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
(2007–2010), and an associate professor of art at
Pomona College
Pomona College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists ...
and the
Claremont Graduate University
The Claremont Graduate University (CGU) is a private, all-graduate research university in Claremont, California, United States. Founded in 1925, CGU is a member of the Claremont Colleges consortium which includes five undergraduate and two grad ...
(1993-2003). He has taught painting workshops and given lectures at Anderson Ranch Arts Center for over a decade.
In 2010, Martínez Celaya inaugurated The Lecture Project, funded with assistance from the
Knight Foundation
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, also known as the Knight Foundation, is an American non-profit foundation that provides grants for journalism, communities, and the arts.
The organization was founded as the Knight Memorial Education ...
. The original programming presented lectures from academics and art critics until late 2012. In 2019, in collaboration with
USC Dornsife
The academics of the University of Southern California center on The College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, the Graduate School, and its 17 professional schools.
Overview
USC is a member of the Association of American Universities, joining in 196 ...
The Lecture Project was re-launched and is currently hosting programming from Martínez Celaya's Los Angeles Studio.
Awards and honors
Martínez Celaya was awarded the Brookhaven National Laboratory Fellowship (1986–1988) and was an Interdisciplinary Humanities Fellow and Regents Fellow from the University of California (1992–94). He received Los Angeles County Museum of Art's Young Talent Award (1998), the Hirsch Grant (2002), the Rosa Blanca Award from the Cuban Community (2002), and the California Community Foundation Fellowship, Getty Foundation Award (2004). He was honored with the Inaugural Colorado Contemporary Arts Collaborative Artist Residency at the CU Art Museum, sponsored by Kent and Vicki Logan (2004), and received the Anderson Ranch Arts Center's International Artist Award (2007). In 2020, Martínez Celaya was awarded a
Doctor Honoris Causa
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
from
Otis College of Art and Design
Otis College of Art and Design is a private art and design school in Los Angeles, California, United States. Established in 1918, it was the city's first independent professional school of art. The main campus is located in the former IBM Aero ...
. He was invited to give the college's commencement address the same year, and in 2021 joined the Otis College Board of Governors. In 2021, Martínez Celaya also became the inaugural fellow of the
Robinson Jeffers
John Robinson Jeffers (January 10, 1887 – January 20, 1962) was an American poet known for his work about the central California coast.
Much of Jeffers' poetry was written in narrative and Epic poetry, epic form. However, he is also known f ...
Tor House Foundation. In 2025, Martínez Celaya received the USC Associates Award, the highest honor the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
faculty bestows for distinguished intellectual and artistic achievement.
Personal life
Martínez Celaya married Alexandra Williams, the daughter of American journalist Christian Williams, in 1999. They have four children together. They later divorced in 2015. In 2023, Martínez Celaya married the psychiatrist Stacy A. Cohen.
Martínez Celaya lives and works in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...