José Manuel Fors


José Manuel Fors is a contemporary Cuban artist born in Havana in 1956. His work is principally based on installations and supported by photography. His first artistic forays, during the early eighties, were part of what has been coined "The Renaissance of Cuban Art". His artworks have been shown in renowned museums and galleries in the United States, Europe and Cuba.

Biography

José Manuel Fors graduated from the Academy of Art San Alejandro in 1976. He then studied at the Institute of Museology in Havana from 1983 to 1986 and, at the same time, worked as museographer in the National Museum of Baux-Arts.
In 1981, Fors participated in one of the most important shows in Cuban artistic renewal, called Volume I. Subsequently, he switched from material abstraction to installations as his primary art form. His first personal exhibition, "Accumulations", thus set the stage for some of his most recurrent topics and methodologies as an artist.
Fors is often considered a photographer, despite the fact that he infrequently engages in photographic work and, in some cases such as in the early versions of "Fallen Leaves", it is merely documentary support. Furthermore, the photographs he usually uses in his installations are employed to reveal his interest in memory as topic in his work. In addition, their creations are inspired by the literature of some of the most important Cuban writers, mainly Eliseo Diego and Dulce Maria Loynaz, whose verses title some of Fors' artworks.

Body of work

Collections

2015
Contaminación. National Museum Fine Arts. Havana, Cuba.
Photography in Cuba Today. Chazen Museum. Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Lens Work: Celebrating LACMA's Experimental Photography at 50. Los Angeles, USA.
2013
Almacenes Afuera. National Museum of Fine Arts. Havana, Cuba.
A Sense of Place. Pier 24. San Francisco, CA, USA.
Del otro lado del espejo. Servando Gallery. Havana, Cuba.
CUBART: Contemporary Cuban Art. Pan American Art Projects. New York, USA.
2012
Estado Actual. Muestra colectiva de las vanguardias cubanas. La Acacia Gallery. Havana, Cuba.
Las Metáforas del Cambio. Habana Factory. Collateral XI Bienal de la Habana, Cuba.
2011
50 en los 50. La Acacia Gallery. Havana, Cuba.
Urbanitas. Pan American Art Projects, Miami, Florida, USA. Art Miami 2011.
2010
Madrid Mirada, 14 Artistas Latinoamericanos. Fototeca de Cuba, Havana, Cuba.
Cuba Avant-Garde: Arte Contemporáneo cubano de la Colección Farber. University of Miami Lowe Art Museum. Florida, USA.
Encuentros. Sala Retiro, Caja Madrid, Spain.
2008
Rodeado de agua: Expresión de Libertad y aislamiento en el arte cubano contemporáneo. Boston University Art Gallery. USA.
CUBA Art History From 1868 To Today. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Canadá.
2007
Cuba Avant Garde: Arte Contemporáneo cubano de la Colección Farber. Harn Museum of Art, Gainesville, Florida, USA
Cuba Avant Garde: Arte Contemporáneo cubano de la Colección Farber. Museo Ringling, Tampa, Florida, USA
Habanart à Québec. Québec, Canadá Homing Devices. Contemporary Art Museum, Tampa, USA
2006
Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, Brasil.
2005
Documenting Poetry: Contemporary Latin American Photography. Maier Museum of Art. Virginia, USA.
No Island is an Island: Contemporary Cuban Art, Sawhill Gallery, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.
Contemporary Art and the Art of Survival. Natalie and James Thompson Art Gallery, San José State University. San José, California, USA.
2002
Shifting Tides: Cuban Photography After the Revolution. Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, USA.
2001
Four Cuban Photographers. Couturier Gallery, Los Angeles, Ca.
Shifting Tides: Cuban Photography after the Revolution, Los Angeles County Museum of Art Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Shifting Tides: Cuban Photography After the Revolution. Grey Art Gallery. New York University. New York, USA.
2000
Vigovisións. IX Fotobienal. Vigo, Pontevedra, España.
Subasta Humanitaria, Arte Cubano Contemporáneo. Casa de las Américas. Havana, Cuba.
1999
La huella múltiple. Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales. Havana, Cuba.
Metáforas / Comentarios. Artistas de Cuba. State University of San Francisco, CA, USA. Lo real infatigable. Fundación Ludwig de Cuba; Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, La Habana.
1998
¿Cómo es Possible ser Cubano? La Maison de l'Amérique Latine. Paris, France.
Fragmentos a su Imán. Casa de Las Américas. Havana, Cuba.
1996
Fotografía Cubana. Fotocentre. Unión de Periodistas de Rusia. Moscú, Rusia.
1995
Relaciones peligrosas. Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales. Havana, Cuba.
Vestigios. Ego: un retrato possible. Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales. Havana, Cuba.
I Salón Nacional de Arte Cubano Contemporáneo. National Museum of Fine Arts. Havana, Cuba.
Visioni, Fotografía Cubana de los 90. Spazio Italia. Milano, Italia
1994
X Abril Mes de la Fotografía. Mérida, Yucatán, México.
1993
La Nube en Pantalones. National Museum of Fine Arts. Havana, Cuba.
Plástica Cubana Contemporánea de los Ochenta. Museo Universitario del Chopo, México.
1992
Fotografía Cubana Contemporánea. Exposición itinerante. Firenze, Italia.
1991
Nuevas Adquisiciones Contemporáneas. Muestra de Arte Cubano. National Museum of Fine Arts. Havana, Cuba.
IV Bienal de La Habana. L Gallery. Havana, Cuba.
1989
49th International Photographic Salon of Japan. Tokio, Osaka, Nagoya, Kyoto, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Japan.
III Bienal de La Habana. National Museum of Fine Arts. Havana, Cuba.
1988
Jóvenes Fotógrafos. Centro Provincial de Artes Plásticas y Diseño. Havana, Cuba. Pintura Cubana Contemporánea.
1987
El Árbol y la Vida. National Museum of Fine Arts. Havana, Cuba.
Visiones del paisaje. Galería de la Universidad de Los Andes. Mérida, Venezuela
1986
Pintura Cubana Actual. Galería Nacional de Arte Contemporáneo. San José, Costa Rica.
II Bienal de La Habana. National Museum of Fine Arts. Havana, Cuba
1985
De lo Contemporáneo. National Museum of Fine Arts. Havana, Cuba.
1984
Manipulación y Alteración de la Imagen Fotográfica. Consejo Mexicano de la Fotografía. México DF, México.
Concurso Internacional de Carteles de Cine. 23 y M Gallery. Havana, Cuba.
1983
Encuentro de Jóvenes Artistas Latinoamericanos. Casa de Las Américas. Havana, Cuba.
1982
Premio de Fotografía Cubana. 23 y M Gallery. Havana, Cuba.
1981
Volumen I. Centro de Arte Internacional. Havana, Cuba.
Trece Artistas Jóvenes. Havana Gallery. Havana, Cuba.
Sano y Sabroso. 23 y M Gallery. Havana, Cuba.
Cuban Posters, Drawing and Graphics From Cuba. New Delhi, India.
1980
Salón de Pintura Carlos Enríquez. Centro de Arte Internacional. Havana, Cuba.
1979
Pintura Fresca. Artist's Residence. Havana, Cuba.
Pintura Fresca. Cienfuegos Art Gallery. Cienfuegos, Cuba.
1978
Exposición Colectiva de Dibujos. Havana Gallery. Havana, Cuba.

Awards Selection

2016: National Plastic Art Awards
2007: Teaching Special Category as Consultant Teacher, Instituto Superior de Arte, Havana, Cuba.
2001: Award to the Artistic Merit. Instituto Superior de Arte. Havana, Cuba.
1999: Award of the National Culture. Culture Ministry. Havana, Cuba.
1989: Gold Medal. 49th International Photographic Salon of Japan. Tokio, Japan.