Bio & Education
Carlos Gronlier is a Cuban-born visual artist who currently lives and work in Miami. His focus always has been painting, but also his interests expand to videoart, printmaking, drawing and incursion in dramatic arts. In 2010 was selected for lead-role in the movie “The swimming Pool” from the director Carlos Quintela, a young promising filmaker. After this experience he starts his studies of visual arts in the San Alejandro Academy of Visual Arts in 2011. During this time, he experimented different fields like sculpture, printmaking and installation. At the same time he got another lead-role in an independent film call “Blue Heart’’ directed by Miguel Coyula, a dystopic film about the political situation in Cuba. In 2016 start his studies in the Supierior Institute of Art, where he started to focus only in painting. His work is a narrative expression about different esoteric subjects like Astrology and Theology, creating images with analogies and symbols that works as a tapestry of meaning that bridges the gap between the mundane and the mystical. In 2020 he finished his graduation thesis from the Institute, getting his Bachelors Degree in Visual Arts. After this he emigrate to United States where his eagerness is to continue growing his experience as an artist.
EDUCATION
2016 - 2022 Bachelor’s Degree in Visual Arts at Supierior Institute of Art, Havana, Cuba.
2011 - 2015 Technical Degree in Printmaking, San Alejandro Academy of Fine Arts of Havana, Cuba.
SOLO SHOW
2022 -“Neptuno” , Neptune Street Gallery, Havana, Cuba
2016 - “Hidden House”, Neptune ST Gallery, Havana, Cuba
GROUP SHOW
2021 - “Latin Xhibit”, Greenville, South Carolina, United States of America
2019 - “Araound The Corner” ,University of Arts & Language, Havana, Cuba
2019 - “Nadie Duerme” Galeria Habana, Havana, Cuba
2018 - ‘‘Shapeless, like water’’Superior Art Institute, Havana, Cuba
2017 - ‘‘Blind Spot’’ Superior Art Institute, Havana, Cuba
2017 - ‘‘Distopia’’ Superior Art Institute, Havana, Cuba
2016 - “Hidden House”, Neptune ST Gallery, Havana, Cuba
2015 - ‘‘The New Beasts’’ , Maternidad Obrera Hotel, Havana, Cuba
Artist Statement
My work as an artist is oriented towards painting, with a focus on three fundamental aspects: Narration, Figuration, and Metaphor. The act of painting for me originates from a spiritual rather than an intellectual foundation.
My childhood house was a very old one, constructed in Havana, Cuba in 1909, it was almost like a museum with very peculiar antiques like mirrors, tables, toys, and books. It felt like a beautiful house from a horror movie, surrounded by dust and old family portraits. The humidity and the cold air were a constant in my life during my development, and most of these memories became the main inspiration for my personal and creative universe. I always loved to read, especially Mark Twain’s classic “Tom Sawyer” and every ‘’Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’’ I could find.
At the age of seven years old, I started to be aware of the esoteric world, feeling the presence of other entities in my house. Without fear, I assumed this as something wonderful and beautiful, and later I will describe all those experiences as the closest moments to “The Invisible World.”
I never forgot those experiences, but it wasn’t until my twenties that I started to dive into those memories and mixed esoteric subjects with my work like Theology, Astrology and Astro-Theology. Those subjects help me to understand the origins of visual symbols and were they came from.
Technique and craftsmanship serve as my grammar, providing structure but not occupying the central role in my artwork. Exquisite technique and intelligent construction of significations fall short without the spiritual pulse required for my painting to be considered art.
My paintings become conversations, describing a journey with images or examples. I always wanted to express in one image what a dialogue from a good movie could do. The films “Wings of Desire” or “Paris, Texas” from Wim Wenders, are good examples of this. At the same time, I loved to mixed that with the powerful shock images from horror movies from the 80’s, like ‘’Evil Dead’’, ‘’Brain Damage’’, ‘’The Thing’’ and also B series movies like “The killer Refrigerator” whose are for me great masterpieces.
While you may grasp the notion of the experience and react emotionally to the story, it is never the same as living the journey. Consequently, painting, through its language, establishes contact with the so-called invisible or spiritual world, and your various sensitivities determine whether you perceive this journey.
My work represents dialogues between symbols. Symbolism, for me, perpetuates content or substance from an intangible world where emotions take shape. Throughout history, symbols have encapsulated many metaphors, principles, or spiritual meanings, conveying messages and stories of humanity. The earliest human settlements in caves bear witness to these initial exercises with image and symbol, stemming from the first sensation of individuals feeling alone in a strange world at the dawn of humanity. This initial loneliness sparked a search for substance or spiritual elevation, giving rise to the invisible world’s formation and structure. The Werner Herzog documentary ‘’Cave of Forgotten Dreams” was a good inspiration to follow that path.
In my work, these narratives aim to recount intimate or creative experiences, considering creation itself as a great journey deserving of narration. The use of humorous and everyday elements, along with characters living and narrating the story, acts as the link between the mundane and tangible with substance and emotion. A simple and everyday story may encompass a chaotic and invisible world perceptible only to the most sensitive.