Carlos Garaicoa

Carlos Garaicoa (born 1967) is a Cuban contemporary artist, specializing in photography and installations. Garaicoa became a prominent Cuban artist in the nineteen-nineties after a massive exodus of artists who had played a decisive role in the Cuban art movement of the nineteen-eighties. His pieces often carry social and political commentaries about life in Havana. Garaicoa's work is known to draw on post-modernist theory to connect aesthetics to meaning within urban spaces and architecture.

The Cuban artists of this time period included Alexandre Arrechea, Marcos Castillo and Dagoberto Rodríguez, Fernando Rodríguez, and Sandra Ramos. Theses artists are known for incorporating 'artisanal techniques' such as carpentry into their works. Garaicoa often analyzes and draws on architecture as an artisanal technique. Garaicoa along with the other artists of the time period were the first to emphasize using the city of Havana as a central space for their art. During the Cold War and after the fall of European socialism, many buildings in Cuba remained unfinished, and modernization stagnated, leaving architecture in ruin and decay. After these studies, Garaicoa served four years of mandatory service in the Cuban army as a draughtsman, then enrolled in the painting department at el Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) from 1989 to 1992. Due to the open nature of instruction at the ISA, he became interested in architecture within the context of art. However, during his time in art school, Garaicoa was drafted back into the army but refused to re-enlist. This was a difficult time for artists, but Garaicoa persevered by gaining international recognition through social commentary and political discourse in his art. He remained anonymous the entire time and never revealed his intentions for the project. His documentation was meant to serve as a criticism of the tendency of society to process messages without challenging them, as so many people walked by without noticing the installation. These photographs have become a staple of Garaicoa's work, representing his artistic style and political critique of poverty and capitalism in Cuba. The gallery of various art forms explores how architecture, politics, and culture intersect within Havana. In each piece, Garaicoa illustrates how political scars and complex landscapes are tied to one another.

Minimo is not Minimal (Los trucos de Mr. S. L.) (Minimo is not Minimal (Mr. S.L.'s tricks)) I, III, and IV (2010) are central to the exhibit. The pieces continue to draw upon themes explored by Garaicoa in the past. In Minimo is not Minimal, Garaicoa juxtaposes an idealized minimal structure with the broken I-beam found in Havana.

The model airplane crashing into the tree is symbolic of humanity's relationship with conflict, the economy, and ecology. The plane shows the destructive impact humans have had on all of these. Garaicoa chose to reference Surrealism because of the movement's political background, and re-orientation of how society could relate to reality. Garaicoa is passionate about creating a stable environment for artists and culture, rather than commercial interests, to thrive, and was involved in the opening of the Galleria Continua’s Havana space. Garaicoa provides international artists a grant to live in Havana for one month paid and in exchange, take young artists from Cuba abroad to develop new ideas, train, and share the art community beyond borders.

Garaicoa was also heavily influenced by the Cuban Revolution, and much of his work criticizes the duality between communism and over-consumption in Cuba, especially within architecture. However, his pieces are often abstract or minimal, with little or no explanation of their purpose, in order to force viewers to construct their own meaning and think critically about his art. His art has been featured in many prominent exhibitions at museums such as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Tate Modern, and the Bronx Museum of the Arts.