Mario Carreño y Morales, better known as Mario Carreño (May 24, 1913 – December 20, 1999) was a Cuban-Chilean
painter
Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
.
Biography
Morales was born on May 24, 1913 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.Academia de San Alejandro, Havana from 1925 until 1926. In 1934, he studied at the
Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando
The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (RABASF; ), located on the Calle de Alcalá in the centre of Madrid, currently functions as a museum and gallery. A public law corporation, it is integrated together with other Spanish royal aca ...
,
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 ...
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, France and that same year, at the
Académie Julian
The () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907). The school was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number and qual ...
, Paris, France. Among his teachers was Jaime Colson. Circa 1935, he painted a mural in Havana with David Alfaro Siqueiros, which was later destroyed. Universidad Finis Terrae anal Finis Terrae(2022, July 20).El Universo Creativo de Mario Carreño
ideo
IDEO () is a design firm, design and consulting firm with offices in the U.S., England, and China. It was founded in Palo Alto, California, in 1991. The company's 500 staff uses a design thinking approach to design products, services, environmen ...
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiezDRFXStc He was an original member of the Origenes (nativist-baroque) movement. In 1944 he was one of several painters displayed in the New York Museum of Modern Art's-- Exhibition of Modern Cuban Painters. Works such as "Cortadores de Caña", "Danza Afro-Cubana", and "Fuego en el Batey" characterize the nativist-baroque style of this period, while at the same time, paintings such as "La Siesta" and "El Azulejo", evince classical and
cubist
Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture.
Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...
inspiration. In the 1950s his style evolved towards geometric abstraction with works such as "Equinocio", and in the 1960s towards a poetic style, which could be described as surreal-metaphysical. This latter period is represented by works such as "Los Olvidados", "Mar y Luna", "Atardecer de Nostalgia" and "La Caida de Los Grandes Mitos". Besides a prolific output he also taught painting at numerous institutions such as the New School for Social Research in New York City, the Escuela de San Alejandro in Havana, Cuba, and the Universidad Catolica of Santiago, Chile.
Solo exhibitions
* 1930 – ''"Mario Carreño"'', ''Salón de Merás y Rico'',
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.New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
Caracas
Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...
, Venezuela
* 2000 – ''"Exposición en Homenaje a Mario Carreño"'', ''Galería de Arte Patricia Ready'',
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...
, Chile
Group exhibitions
* 1932 – ''"Exposición Única de Pintores y Escultores Cubanos"'',
Lyceum
The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Basic science and some introduction to ...
,
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.Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
, New York City
* 1944 – " Exhibition of Modern Cuban Painters, March 17, 1944, Museum of Modern Art, MoMA, New York City
* 1951 – ''I São Paulo Art Biennial'',
São Paulo
São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
, Brazil
* 1952 – ''XXVI
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...
'',
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
Guggenheim International Award The Guggenheim International Award was established in 1956 as "both a recognition of outstanding achievements in the visual arts and an important manifestation of international goodwill". A shortlist of artists and works were selected by juries to ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
* 1982 –
National Prize of Art of Chile
The National Prize of Art of Chile, was created on November 9, 1942. It was awarded yearly since 1944 and alternated the mention among Painting or Sculpture, Music and Theatre. In 1992, it was replaced by the National Prize of Chile, National Prize ...
,
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...
Many of his pieces are in the permanent collections of:
* Carrol Reece Museum,
East Tennessee State University
East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. It was historically part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee under the Tennessee Board of Regents, but since 2016, ...
,
Johnson City, Tennessee
Johnson City is a city in Washington, Carter, and Sullivan counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, mostly in Washington County. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 71,046, making it Tennessee's eighth-most populous cit ...
Coral Gables, Florida
Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida and is located southwest of Greater Downtown Miami, Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...
, Chile,
*
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 o ...
,
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.Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It had a population of 15,425 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern par ...
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
Selected bibliography
* Alden Jewell, Edward. "Carreño's Painting." The New York Times, New York, U.S.A., September, 1947.
* Blanc, Giulio V. "Mario Carreño: A Retrospective." cat. Mario Carreño: A Retrospective, Sotheby’s Latin American Painting, Sotheby’s. La Puerta del Sol, Coral Gables llus. unpaginated, U.S.A., January 4-6, 1995.*
* Boullier, Renée. "Carreño." Candide, Paris, France, Mai, 1962.
* Brandao, Aurasil. "Carreño en la Bienal de Sâo Paulo." A Noite, Brazil, October, 1951.
* Carpentier, Alejo. "Reencuentro en el Tiempo." El Universal, Caracas, Venezuela, 1957.
* Casamayor, Enrique. "Literatura Pictórica Antillana en el Pintor Cubano Mario Carreño." Cuadernos Hispanoamericanos, Madrid, No. 17, Spain, September, 1950.
* Castellanos, Orlando. "Mario Carreño. Pintura y Vida nterview" Unión, Havana, Vol. 7, No. 18, pp. 90–96, CUBA, January-March, 1995.
* Cockcroft, Eva Sperling. "Los Estados Unidos y el Arte Latinoamericano de Compromiso Social." cat. El Espíritu Latinoamericano: Arte y Artistas en los Estados Unidos, 1920-1970, The Bronx Museum of Arts, New York, llus. pp. 191–192, 199, U.S.A., September 29/1988-January 29/1989.
* Cruz, Isabel. El Arte en Chile. Ed. Biblioteca Antártica, Santiago, Chile, 1987.
* Darie, Sandú. "Mario Carreño en la Aventura Plástica de este Siglo." cat. Carreño, 1950 1957, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana llus. 21 pp., CUBA, February, 1957.*
* Elgar, Frank. "Carreño." Carrefour, Paris, France, Mai 3, 1962.
* Frost, Rosamond. "Mario Carreño." ArtNews, New York, llus. p. 43, U.S.A., March 15, 1941.
* Jones, Catherine. "Cuban Artist Gives Color." The Oregonian, Portland, Oregon llus. p. 3, Sección 6, U.S.A., January 14, 1945.
* Karvaly, Imre. "El Pintor Carreño." Revista Humboldt, No. 38, GERMANY, 1969. KEMPER RILEY, Maude. "Carreño Seen in New York." The Art Digest, New York, U.S.A., March, 1944.
* Karvaly, Imre. "Un Moderno Intérprete de las Culturas de Indios Cubanos." The Art Digest, New York, U.S.A., May 1, 1951.
* Krasne, Belle. "The Accomplished Facts of Cuba's Carreño." The Art Digest, New York, p. 14, U.S.A., February, 1950.
* Lopez Oliva, Manuel. "Nuevo Encuentro con Mario Carreño." Granma, Havana, CUBA, May 26, 1993.
* Martinez, Juan A. "Mario Carreño, Mariano Rodríguez and Cuban Modern Painting." cat. Christie's Part I, New York, U.S.A., May, 1995.
* McBride, Henry. "Carreño." ArtNews, New York, U.S.A., 1947.
* Michel, Jacques. "Carreño." Le Monde, Paris, France, April 27, 1962.
* Neruda, Pablo. "M. Carreño." cat. Galería Central de Arte, Santiago, Chile, November, 1970.
* Preston, Stuart. "Carreño's Painting." The New York Times, New York, U.S.A., January 29, 1950.
* Salpeter, Harry. "Carreño the Cubanist." Esquire, Chicago, Illinois, llus. pp. 74-75, 170, U.S.A., September, 1944.
* Seuphor, Michel. "M. Carreño." Diccionario de la Pintura Abstracta, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1964.
* Štěpánek, Pavel. "Carreño." Výtvarný život, Prague, Czechoslovakia, November, 1966.
* Szyszlo, Fernando de. "Un Pintor Cubano." La Nación, Lima, Peru, June 14, 1947.
* Szyszlo, Fernando de. "El Pintor Carreño." Las Moradas, Lima, Vol. II, No. 4, pp. 65–67, Peru, April, 1948.
* Zendegui, Guillermo de. "El Cosmos Luminoso de Carreño." Americas, Washington, D.C., U.S.A., 1977.
References
Further reading
* Mario Carreño: Selected Works (1936-1957), by Jesús Fernández Torna.
* Vicente Báez, Virilio Pinera, Calvert Casey, and Anton Arrufat, Editors; ''Pintores Cubanos'', Editors; Ediciones Revolucion, Havana, Cuba 1962
* Jose Veigas-Zamora, Cristina Vives Gutiérrez, Adolfo V. Nodal, Valia Garzón, Dannys Montes de Oca; ''Memoria: Cuban Art of the 20th Century''; (California/International Arts Foundation 2001);
* Eduardo Luis Rodríguez; ''The Havana Guide: Modern Architecture 1925-1965''; (Princeton Architectural Press 2000);