Pedro Hernandez

Pedro Hernandez Dominguez (born 1932) is a Cuban American artist primarily known for his sculptures in wood and stone as well as paper medium works. Since beginning his art career in the 1950s, he has been primarily active in Cuba, the United States, and Europe. He is among the significant contributing artists to the establishment of Cuban art in South Florida during the 20th century. His artwork has gained recognition for his awards, use in public art, coverage in media and published Cuban art literature, as well as international exhibitions. Hernandez is included in the permanent collection of the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana, the Museum of Geometric and MADI Art, the City of Hialeah, and the Miami-Dade Public Library System.

Early life and career in Cuba

Pedro Hernández Domínguez was born on August 11, 1932, in Havana, Cuba. He was the only child of Havana medical doctor Pedro Lorenzo Hernández Gómez and his wife Eliosa Domínguez Lopez. Hernández was subsequently raised in Havana and attended the Instituto Edison de La Habana for both his primary and secondary education. The rest of the decade would see Hernández relocate and establish his art beyond Cuba.

Art career in the United States

Hernández and his family left Cuba in 1968. After initially staying in Spain, they permanently resettled in Miami in 1969 where they joined the Cuban exile community there.

In 1987 Hernández participated in a collective exhibition in Tonneins-Bordeaux, France coordinated by International Art Connection, for which he won an award for one of his cut-drawings, El Teide. O&Y Gallery, overseen by artistic director Alina Marrero, would represent Hernández for much of the following decade from 1998 to 2007, in which time Hernández exhibited frequently.

Another pivotal development in Hernández's career came with the new millennium as he further expanded his oeuvre into the mediums of soapstone and alabaster. In 2001, his cut drawing Horizon was accepted into and featured in the 2nd World Festival of Art on Paper, held in Bled, Slovenia. The piece was later exhibited in the 2024 exhibition In Plain Sight: Public Art in Miami x Artists of Cuban Heritage in Belen Jesuit's Saladrigas Gallery. In 2008 he was the subject of a solo exhibition in Stonington, Connecticut organized by painters Guido Garaycochea and José Ulloa featuring both sculpture and cut-drawings. Also in 2012, Hernández's own work began a stylist shift towards geometric abstraction. This shift was the shown in the collective exhibition Lines: Contemporary Geometric Abstraction held at Cremata Art Gallery.

In 2024 he was the subject of the solo exhibition Pedro Hernandez: Geometric Abstraction in the Museum of Contemporary Art of The Americas. The exhibition showcased his later-career focus on geometric abstraction since 2012, particularly through his cut-drawings and ceramic plates. The library's permanent collection also features work by Salvador Dalí, Dale Chihuly, Peter Max, and Neith Nevelson. The piece was subsequently unveiled with an exhibition at the library in October 2024 to coincide with Hispanic Heritage Month.

Artwork analysis

Hernández's artwork has been extensively critiqued by noted critics of Cuban and American art, including José Gómez-Sicre, , Juan Espinosa Almodóvar, Rafael Casalíns, Armando Alvarez Bravo, and Lillian Dobbs.

His sculpture works are considered part of the international Biomorphism movement and known for their organic and fluid qualities that convey movement. While often abstract, his works have frequently been associated with sensual or poetic themes. Hernandez also frequently incorporates elements of color, such as blue patina, into the grooves of his sculptures to emphasize and enhance their forms. In 2013 he was the subject of book Pedro Hernández: Line in Movement, the first official monograph of his career produced with his participation. 2000: Medusa, One-man show, O&Y Gallery, Coral Gables 2001: Absolut Chalk, Street Painting Festival, Light Bringer Project, Miami Beach 2001: 2nd World Festival of Art on Paper, Bled, Slovenia 2002: Flamingoes on the Beach, Outdoor Sculpture Installation, Art in Public Places, Miami Beach 2002: Latin Strokes group exhibition, Naples, Florida 2003: Maison des Dames: Erotic Art by Pedro Hernández and Miguel Ordoqui, O&Y Gallery, Coral Gables 2003: Latin Views, Branford Mansion of the University of Connecticut, Avery Point Campus, Groton, Connecticut 2004: Salon de Verano: Hand painted ceramic plates by Pedro Hernández, O&Y Gallery, Coral Gables 2004: Master's Mystery Art Show, Florida International University, Miami Beach 2005: Initium Collective Art Exhibit, Obini Productions, Miami 2005: Awakenings: A Three Men Show, The Results Gallery, Washington D.C. 2006: ARWI, Art & Wine Fair San Juan, Puerto Rico 2006: Angels, Group show, Cremata Fine Arts Gallery, Miami 2007: Surfside Arts Festival, Surfside, Florida 2007: Kick off Basel, Obini Art Gallery, Miami 2008: One man show: Sense & Sensible, Latins in the Borough Art Gallery, Connecticut 2008: Latin America: Toward an Apollonian Expression, Latins in the Borough Art Gallery & Hygienic Art Gallery, Connecticut 2009: Hispanic Art Expressions, Coral Gables and Doral, Florida 2009: Abstractomicina, Cremata Fine Arts Gallery, Miami 2010: Members Collect: The Thrill of the Chase, Lyman Allyn Art Museum, Connecticut 2011: Contemporary Art from the Latin World, LNVA Permanent Collection, Charles A. Shain Library at Connecticut College, Connecticut 2012: Real Abstraction, Miami-Dade College West Campus, Doral 2015: Geometry in Motion, Miami-Dade College MDC-West, Miami 2019: Museum of Geometric and MADI Art 2019 Biennale: Origins in Geometry, The Museum of Geometric and MADI Art, Dallas, Texas 2024: In Plain Sight: Public Art in Miami x Artists of Cuban Heritage, Saladrigas Gallery, Belen Jesuit Preparatory School, Miami 2024: Pedro Hernandez: Geometric Abstraction, the Museum of Contemporary Art of The Americas, Miami

Personal life

Hernández married his wife Margarita Saíz Lopez (1931–2021) in 1958. The two would have a daughter, Margarita, in 1960 and a son, Pedro Javier, in 1964, and a granddaughter Sydney in 2000.

Permanent collections

Hernández art has been included in the following public collections: CINTAS Foundation Fellowship Collection Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture Miami-Dade Public Library System permanent collection NSU Alvin Sherman Library permanent collection Hialeah Art in Public Places Collection Raul L. Martinez Center Plaza Bay Harbor Islands, Florida Latin Network for the Visual Art, Gales Ferry, Connecticut The Museum of Geometric and MADI Art Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana, Cuba