Carlos Garaicoa

Carlos Garaicoa, born in Havana (Cuba) in 1967, initially pursued studies in thermodynamics before turning toward the visual arts. He later trained in painting at the Instituto Superior de Arte between 1989 and 1994. Today, his practice is developed between Havana and Madrid, reflecting an artistic position shaped by both local and international contexts.

Since the beginning of his career, Garaicoa has explored the relationship between art and urban space, using the city as a central framework for reflecting on social, political, and historical structures. His work examines how architecture and urban planning reveal systems of power, collective memory, and ideological transformation. Through a multidisciplinary practice that includes sculpture, drawing, photography, video, and installation, he investigates cultural and political realities, with particular attention to the Cuban context. The city of Havana has remained a constant point of reference in his work. Rather than representing the city in a documentary manner, Garaicoa approaches it as a symbolic and conceptual space. His works often combine irony and a sense of fragility to address themes such as unrealized modernist ambitions, urban decay, and the failure of utopian projects associated with twentieth-century ideologies. By employing diverse materials and installation strategies, he constructs poetic yet critical narratives that question how cities embody both collective aspirations and their eventual disillusionment.

Carlos Garaicoa’s work has been presented in solo exhibition like: Fragile Garden, Usina del Arte, Pernambuco, Brazil (2025); Toda utopía pasa por la barriga, Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno (CAAM), Gran Canaria and Es Baluard Museu d’Art Contemporani de Palma, Spain (2024); Ascoltare il volo degli uccelli, Rocca Maggiore, Assisi, Italy (2024); Oratorio, Oratorio San Filippo Neri, Bologna, Italy (2022); Soñamos en la superficie rayada de un cristal, Wellbeing Summit Week, Bilbao, Spain (installation) (2022); Partitura, PEM Peadoby Essex Museum, Salem, USA (2021). Other solo shows have been presented at SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah (2020); Lunds Konsthall and Skissernass Museum, Lund (2019); Parasol Unit Foundation, London (2018); Fondazione Merz, Turin (2017); MAAT, Lisbon (2017); Azkuna Zentroa, Bilbao (2017); Museum Villa Stuck, Munich (2016); Nasjonalmuseet, Oslo (2015); CA2M Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, Móstoles, Madrid (2014); Fundación Botín, Santander (2014).

He has recently received the PEM 2021 Award (Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, USA). In 2005 he received the XXXIX International Prize for Contemporary Art – Prince Pierre de Monaco Foundation, and the Katherine S. Marmor Award in Los Angeles.