BIOGRAPHY

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Pedro Pablo Oliva (b.1949)

Pinar Del Río, Cuba

 

Artist Pedro Pablo Oliva completed the first part of his studies at the Escuela Provincial de Artes Plásticas in his home province of Pinar de Río before moving to Havana and completing his studies at the Escuela Nacional de Arte de La Habana specialising in painting.

Having won numerous prizes and distinctions throughout his life, artist Pablo Pedro Oliva has become one of Cuba’s most famous and influential artists, earning his place among his fellow peers and predecessors as an internationally known and respected Cuban artist. Alongside his career as a practicing artist, artist Pedro Pablo Oliva has also taught at the arts university, the Instituto Superior de Artes and has opened up his studio space to create a cultural hub in his town of Pinar del Río. Artist Pedro Pablo Oliva, is a strong supporter of an academic and philosophical grounding within the arts ensured the liberal space artist Pedro Pablo Oliva created held freedom of expression at its core. Sadly due to the dissemination of censored literature, the space as a creative hub, was closed down.’

Stylistically the artist Pedro Pablo Oliva stresses his focus on Cubanía, a representation of that which is Cuban, he argues it is not so much a conscious choice, rather than something that simply runs through his body and blood. His representation of Cubanía is a critical analysis of society within the experience of Cuban society, as opposed to his contemporaries symbolic and coloristic depictions of said theme.

 

Artist Pedro Pablo Oliva’s neo-expressionist style has been heavily influenced by Cuban masters such as artist Antonia Eiriz and artsit Eduardo Abela, as well a European Symbolists artist Marc Chagall and artist Gustav Klimt. Artist Pedro Pablo Oliva explains that he has unintentionally recorded his life in art from the start of hi career. He has captured moments that have marked him in his life coupled with the integration of the world the artists lives in, with its contradictions, its joys, its sorrows. He explains, “All of my work is a big fable, or small fables that are intermingled in this grand fable which is the Cuban reality”.

 

For the moment artist Pedro Pablo Oliva states that his work is focused on the disenchantment with utopia. His work features a character named Utopito. The very incarnation of utopia, but at the same time disenchantment. Utopito lives a very great contradiction. It’s the contradiction in which the Cuban people have lived, with plans today that later fail. Then others are put forth and again fail. He likens the character to that of Bobo seen in the works of Abela or Salomón from the works of Chago.

 

Artist Pedro Pablo Oliva currently lives and works between Havana, Cuba, his workshop being part of La Mina and his open studio in Pinar del Río, Cuba.

ASSOCIATIONS:  
 

National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC), International Association of Fine Artists (AIAP)

AWARDS

1987 Distinction for National Culture. Council of State of The Republic of Cuba.
1994 Alejo Carpentier Medal. Council of State of The Republic of Cuba.
1997 Medal of The Members of Honour of The FAO. Rome, Italy.

PRIZES & RECOGNITION 
 

1973 1st Prize Drawing And Painting. 1st Provincial Instructors Fine Arts Salon, Pinar Del Río, Cuba.
1974 1st And 2nd Prizes For Painting and 1st Prize In Drawing: 2nd Professors and Instructors of Fine Arts Salon, National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.
1975 Special Mention. 3rd Professors and Instructors of Fine Arts National Salon, National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.
1980 1st Prize, Painting. 8th National Youth Salon of Fine Arts, National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.
1981 Acquisition Prize. "Girón '81" National Salon of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.
1990 Painting Prize. National Salon UNEAC 1990, National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

1974 Show ofThe Month. Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.
1977 Show ofThe Month. Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.
Pedro Pablo Oliva Exhibition. Small Salon. National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.
1978 Oliva and The Images of His “Pueblo”, La Habana Gallery, Cuba.
1979 Pedro Pablo Oliva, Art Gallery, Pinar Del Río, Cuba.
1980 Exhibition By Pedro Pablo Oliva. Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.
1984 Pedro Pablo Oliva. Paintings, Drawings, Drafts and Other Pastimes. National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.
1991 Pedro Pablo Oliva. Dialogue with His Magic. La Acacia Gallery, Havana, Cuba.
1992 Pedro Pablo Oliva. Recent Works. Bernheim Gallery, Panama City, Panama.
Pedro Pablo Oliva. Sindin Gallery, N.Y., USA.
1995 The Big Blackout. Gallery of Art, Pinar Del Río, Cuba.
2000 I Want to Paint in Peace. La Acacia Gallery, Havana, Cuba.
2002 Nocturnal Papers, Domingo Padrón Gallery, Miami, Cuba.

COLLECTIVE EXHIBITIONS

1968 1967 National Drawing Salon. Havana Gallery, Cuba.
1972 2nd Youth Salon of Fine Arts Havana '72. Galiano Art Gallery, Havana, Cuba.
2nd Youth Salon of Fine Arts. National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.
1973 Exhibition of Small Format, Painting and Sculpture, La Havana Gallery, Cuba.
1st Provincial Salon of Fine Arts Instructors, Gallery of Art, Pinar Del Río, Cuba.
Professors and Instructors of Fine Arts National Salon. National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.
1974 2nd Professors and Instructors of Fine Arts National Salon. National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.
Women: Time and Images. National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.
1975 3rd Professors and Instructors of Fine Arts National Salon. Havana Gallery, Cuba.
Panorama of Cuban Art from The Colony Until Our Times. Museum of Modern Art, Mexico City.
13th Anniversary of The National School of Art. Exhibition of Fine Arts, Alumni and Graduates. Exhibitions Salon of The National School of Art, Cubanacán, Havana, Cuba.
1976 Retrospective Engraving Exhibition 1965-1976. National Art School Exhibition Salon. Havana, Cuba.
National Art School (Ena) Promotion '70. L. Gallery, Havana, Cuba.
Malarstwo I Grafika Kuby (Cuba Paiting And Graphics) Zacheta Gallery, Warsaw, Poland
Cuban Painting. Casa De La Cultura Bratislava, Czechoslovakia.
Painting AND Cuban Graphics. National Gallery, Sophia, Bulgaria.
Permanent Salon of Young Painters and Engravers. National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.
Souborna Viptava Kubanskeho Malirtvi (Cuban Painting) D. Smichov Gallery, Prague, Czechoslovakia
Viva Cuba Libre. Festival of The Magazine Avant-Garde. Paris, France.
1977 50 Years of The Magazine Avance. National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.
Cuba Painters of Today. Museum of Modern Art, Paris, France.
Cuban Museum of Fine Arts, Mexico City, Mexico.
Permanent Youth Health Salon, 3rd Congress of The Ujc. National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.
1978 25 Years of Moncada. Small Salon. National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana.
Exhibition of Fine Arts. International Youth Artists Gathering.Ena Exhibition Salon, Havana, Cuba.
Cuban Painting and Graphics. Spanish Museum of Contemporary Art. Joan Miró Foundation, Center For Contemporáry Art Studies, Madrid, Spain.
1979 A Kubai Festezet 50 Ene (50 Years of Cuban Art). Fine Arts Museum, Budapest, Hungary.
Contemporary Cuban Art. La Havana Gallery, Cuba.
Wspolczesne Malarstwo Kubanskie Zacheta Gallery, Warsaw, Poland.
1980 Exhbition of Two Masters and Two Youths Cuban Culture Day At Unesco (Lam, Portocarrero, Mendive, P.P.Oliva) Unesco House, Paris, France.
Women As Depicted in Art. National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.
8th National Youth Fine Arts Salon. Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.
1980-1981 The Generation of True Esperanza. Itinerant Exhibition. Czechoslovakia, Budapest, Hungary, Yugoslavia.
1981 5 Cuban Artists. Italo-Latin American Artists, Sala Rotanda, Rome, Italy.
Inaugural Exhibition of Habana Gallery.
First Look: 10 Young Artists from Today's Cuba. Westbeth Gallery, N.Y., USA
Cuban Paiting. Taidemaalarililiton Gallery, Helsinki, Finland.
The Generation True Hope. Mexican Fine Art Salon. Museum of Anthropology of Taxto, Guerrero, Mexico.
Giron '81 Salon. National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.
8th International Painting. Château-Musée de Cagnes-Sur-Mer, France.
1982 5 Cuban Artists. Sodertalje Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden.
The Generation of True Hope. 23 Y 12 Art Center, Havana, Cuba.
Permanent Youth Salon. National Museum of Fine Arts. Havana, Cuba.
11th Biennale of Venice, Venice, Italy
1983 7 Cuban Contemporary Artists. Museum of Spanish Contemporary Art, Madrid, Spain.
Contemporary Cuban Painters. “Casón Del Buen Retiro.” Prado Museum, Madrid.
Latin American Fine Artists. Latin American. Gallery and Miranda Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden.
Meeting of Latin American Youth. Latin American Gallery, Casa De Las Américas, Havana, Cuba.
Contemporary Cuban Fine Art. Colombian Institute of Culture. National Museum, Bogota, Colombia.
1984 1st Biennale of Havana. National Museum of Fine Arts Havana. Cuba.
7 Contemporary Cuban Artists. Ministry of The Interior, Museum Hall, Prague, Czechoslovakia.
Cuba: Young Painting. Erindale College Campus Art Gallery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Cuba: Young Painting. Musée de Sept-Iles, Québec, Canada.
Ist Cuba In Venice Day. Giustiniani Hall, Venice, Italy.
Fine Arts in The Cuban Revolution. Cervando Cabrera Moreno Gallery. Havana, Cuba.
Cuban Painting: Lithography and Engravings. Ermitage Museum, Leningrad, Russia.
Enfac Fine Arts Salon. Venice, Reggio Emilia, Milan, Torino, Genova, Rome, Italy.
1987 Love. National Museum of Fine Arts. Havana, Cuba.
International Art Fair. Arco'87. Madrid, Spain.
1988 17th Cultural Festival of Martinique. Collective Exhibition of Cuban Artists. Martinique.
Contemporary Cuban Paiting. Tetriakov Gallery. Moscow, Russia.
Fine Arts Salon, UNEAC '87. Cuba Pavillion, Havana, Cuba.
1988-1989 Cuban Illustrations Across Three Centuries. (Itinerant) Bulgaria, Poland, Czechoslovakia.
1989 Havana In Madrid. Villa Madrid Cultural Center, Spain.
1990 Fine Arts Salon, UNEAC 1990. National Museum of Fine Arts Havana, Cuba.
An Island Called Cuba. Giornate Della Cultura Cubana. Latin American Day, Rome, Italy.
1991 Exhibition of Today’s Art. Art Gallery. Villa Panamericana, Havana, Cuba.
New Contemporary Acquisitions: Showing of Cuban Art. National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.
Cuban Painting. Polyforum Cultural Siqueiros, Mexico City.
1992 Miami Art'92. International Art Exhibition. Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, Fl., USA. Represented By The Bernheim Gallery.
Colour of Cuba Arts Pavillion. Sevilla Universal Expo'92, Spain.
1993 Presence Of Cuba. Alonso Art. Bogota, Colombia.
Art Miami'93. International Art Exposition. Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, Fl., USA. Represented By The Bernheim Gallery.
1994 Art Miami'94. International Art Exhibition. Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, Fl., USA. Representaded By The Bernheim Gallery.
An Encounter with Creation. Imago Gallery. Center for Cultural Promotion, Grand Theater of Havana.
Christie's Auction, N.Y., USA.
The Trio of Seduction. P.P.Oliva, N. Dominguez, R.Fabelo. La Acacia Gallery, Havana, Cuba.
“Guiro,” Squash and Honey. 70x50 Gallery. "Renee Portocarrero" Seriography Artistic Workshop, Havana, Cuba.
New Acquisition. National Museum of Fine Arts. Havana, Cuba.
Cuban Paintings. Habana Libre Hotel. Cuba.
"Renee Portocarrero" Meeting of Seriographers Havana, Cuba.
UNEAC Auction.
Today’s Vision of Cuban Painting. Czechowska Gallery. Santiago, Chile.
1st Salon of Cuban Contemporary Art. National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.
1995 Arco'95 International Fair. Madrid, Spain.
Hommage To Martí. National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.
Images of Martí. Wilfredo Lam Center. Havana, Cuba.
One Love. Jamaica & Cuban Artists on The Theme of Love in Honour of Bob Marley’s 50th Birthday. Chelsea Galleries, Island Lite Center, Kingston, Jamaica.
Christie's Auction, N.Y., USA
1996 1st Salon Of Contemporary Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.
Arco'96 International Fair. Madrid, Spain.
2nd Biennale of Central American and Caribbean Art. Dominican Republic.
Christie's Auction, N.Y., USA. 
Festival of Latin American Cinema. Icaic Gallery. Havana, Cuba.
1997 4th Gary Nader Auction of Latin American Art, Miami, Fl., USA.
World Food. FAO Headquarters, Rome, Italy
Christie's Auction. N.Y., USA
Ceramic Tiles. Sidewalk of The Louvre, Hotel Inglaterra. Havana.
1998 5th Gary Nader Latin American Art Auction, Miami, Fl., USA. 
Homage During The 3rd National Coloquium on Fine Arts (Joel Jover And P.P. Oliva). P.P. Oliva Home Workshop.
“Peninsulares Y Criollas.” Municipality of Huesca, Spain.
Imago Gallery Auction. García Lorca Theater, Havana. Cuba.
Christie's Auction, N.Y., USA.
Sotheby's Auction, N.Y., USA.
1999 6th Gary Nader Auction of Latin American Art, Miami, Fl., USA.
Club Havana Exhibition. Exhibition Hall, Havana, Cuba.
End of The Century Salon. Bacardi Museum Gallery, Santiago De Cuba, Cuba.
Imago Gallery Auction. García Lorca Theater, Havana. Cuba.
Christie's Auction. N.Y., USA.
Sotheby's Auction. N.Y., USA.
2000 7th Gary Nader Auction of Latin American Art, Miami, Fl., USA.
Marbella International Fair, Spain.
Exhibition "Here Now." José Martí Memorial, Havana, Cuba.
Exhibition "Three from Cuba." Moleiros Gallery, Monterrey, Mexico.
Auction during The 7th Biennale Of Havana. Casa De Las Américas, Havana, Cuba.
Sotheby's Auction. N.Y., USA.
2001 8th Gary Nader Latin American Art Auction. Miami, Fl., USA.
Exhibition “One Hundred Years of Art in Pinar Del Río.” Pinar Del Río Museum of Art, Cuba.
Exhibition Hommage to Cuban Cinema. Festival of New Latin American Cinema, Icaic, Havana, Cuba.
Sotheby’s Auction. N.Y., USA
Auction Benitting Lights for Hope, Alpha Int. Galleries, Miami, Fl., USA
2002 Cuban Art Emerging: Island In Transition. The Society For 
Latin American Art & Culture, Greenwich, Connecticut. USA
Sothebys’s Auction. N.Y., USA.
Christie’s Auction. N.Y., USA.
Art for Life, Icaic-Cnap, Havana Cuba.
Havana Auction, Club Habana, Cuba.
19th Fine Arts Salon, Pinar Del Río, Cuba.
Hommage to Cuban Culture, (Heritage Registry (Registro De Patrimonio), Havana, Cuba.
2003 International Art Fair - Artmiami 2003. Miami, USA.
Grand Latin American and Puerto Rico, Hyatt Regency Resort, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
International Contemporary Art Fair – Arco 2003. Madrid, Spain.

2018 La Galeria Fine Art, Miami, Fl., USA