Artist Maisel López inaugurates first mural painting created by a Cuban in Qatar

October 6, 2022

With surgical precision in the brushstrokes and the choice of brushes and colors, artist Maisel López imprinted his art in Doha, capital of Qatar, to place Cuba on the soccer world map of Qatar 2022 starting this Monday.

His Colossi -series of murals inspired by childhood- broke down the barriers of distance and found space on Arab soil to give a magical and unusual touch to the environment before the highly anticipated sporting event.

In exclusive statements to Prensa Latina, the painter detailed that the work illustrates two infants: one from Qatar and another from Cuba, with symbols of both nations and a soccer ball allegorical to the upcoming World Cup of the sport.

After two weeks of intense hustle, the project came to life thanks to cultural exchange between both territories, he stated through Facebook before adding that his idea was selected from several proposals by creators from the Island.

A graduate of the San Alejandro National Academy of Fine Arts, López began his artistic career at age 14:

"I loved to draw, I spent hours on this activity, and at 15 I start to paint for real, with materials and everything necessary".

Known by many as the painter of children, around his creations fables emerge, but the protagonists of the large-scale portraits live and some have already stopped being those little ones who remember the "crazy" one capable of taking dozens of snapshots of them and transforming their faces into art.

This creator also cannot conceive of his life without transmitting what he knows and guides people of different ages into the world of visual arts, so that they can unleash their talents or develop aesthetic sensitivity as spectators.

I feel honored to contribute my grain of sand in strengthening friendship between Cuba and Qatar, he wrote on September 19 in a post on his Facebook profile.

The XXII FIFA World Cup for men will take place between November 20 and December 18 in eight stadiums, with the presence of 32 national teams and the French squad ready to defend the crown achieved in the Russia 2018 tournament.