Alberto Lescay Merencio

Sculptor, painter and draftsman with more than 25 years of artistic life. Founder of the Youth Column of Writers and Artists of the East and of the Hermanos Saíz Brigade. Member of the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba and of the International Association of Plastic Artists. Lescay was awarded the National Prize for Plastic Arts in 2021

With more than seventy personal exhibitions and almost an equal number of collective ones, he has endowed the panorama of Caribbean culture with a prominent force. His sculptural works have made him famous. It is enough to recall the Equestrian Figure of Antonio Maceo (Santiago de Cuba, 1991), a symbolic epitome of the Cuban nation. In another vein, Lescay sculpts the Monument to the Maroon (Poblado del Cobre, Santiago de Cuba, 1997), an effigy of a culture of resistance, the very image of subalternity, the bronze face of those who have no history, a proud celebration of African wealth, erected over the wounds of the colonial trafficking of the Black Atlantic.

He has also participated in multiple collective exhibitions in Cuba and other countries obtaining numerous and important awards and recognitions, which gives his work high esteem in contemporary Cuban and universal plastic arts.

Graduate in Painting. Plastic Arts Workshop School "José Joaquín Tejada", Santiago de Cuba. 1968. Graduate in Sculpture. National School of Art "Cubanacán", City of La Habana. 1973. Master in Art: Academy of Sculpture, Architecture, Painting and Graphics "Repin". San Petersburgo, Russia. 1979.

Participates in the World Meeting of Intellectuals in Defense of Humanity. Caracas, Venezuela. 2005. Participates in the Opening of The Chapel of Man. Quito, Ecuador. 2003.
Teaches Sculpture Workshop in Curaçao. 2000. Creates and Presides over the Caguayo Foundation for Monumental and Applied Arts, Cuba. 1995. Creates Monumental and Applied Arts Workshop "René Valdés". Santiago de Cuba. 1990 /95. Presides Cultural Workshop "Luís Díaz Eduardo", Santiago de Cuba. 1981 /90. Presides the "Hermanos Saiz" Brigade of Writers and Artists of Santiago de Cuba and is a Member of its National Council. 1981 /85. Delegate to the XII World Festival of Youth and Students. Moscú, Russia. 1985. Professor of Monumental Sculpture. Academy of Plastic Arts "José Joaquín Tejada", Santiago de Cuba. 1979/84. Co-founder of Tele Rebelde Channel, Santiago de Cuba. 1968. Co-founder of the Youth Column of Writers and Artists of the East. Cuba. 1965.

Among the multiple referenced actions, the wise initiative of having created the Workshop for Monumental and Applied Arts stands out, unique of its kind in Cuba and, subsequently, the Caguayo Foundation which has acted as a platform for making dreams come true for so many Cuban artists. From there, Lescay exercises as a tireless cultural activist.

Projects such as Somos (performance where various artistic manifestations intervene), Vuelo de Bronce (International event of sculptors) and Arte Vida (Cultural center) are testimony to such affirmation.

His permanent creative activity has earned him numerous recognitions. From the awards obtained in the Young Artists Halls, then the Halls of the city of Santiago de Cuba and so many others, to the accolades in international competitions, have marked his consecrated trajectory. These are collected in a third section. Such notions have not gone unnoticed before the opinion of critics and specialists in the national and international sphere who frequently express themselves about his work. Some of these writings have been compiled here. Finally, graphic testimonies of his foray into other aspects such as the design of book and magazine covers, records and other media are recorded. Alberto Lescay Merencio has moved successfully in various lines of the arts. Before painter, before sculptor, before draftsman; he is the artist.

Awards and Mentions

1966
Award in Painting. Provincial Hall of Plastic Arts, Oriente Gallery, Santiago de Cuba.
Award in Poster Contest on Camilo and Che. National School of Art. City of La Habana, Cuba.

1977
Award in Painting. Provincial Hall of Plastic Arts. Santiago de Cuba.
Award in Drawing and Sculpture. First Mention in Painting City Hall. Oriente Gallery, Santiago de Cuba.
Award. 8th Provincial Hall "November 30". Provincial Center of Plastic Arts and Design. Santiago de Cuba.

1981
Mention National Contest for the Monument to Che and the Children. Parque Lenin. La Habana. Cuba.

1982
Drawing Award. City Hall, Oriente Gallery, Santiago de Cuba.
Award in the Contest for the Project of the Plaza de la Revolución Antonio Maceo of Santiago de Cuba. Monument to Antonio Maceo. (Directs Multidisciplinary team)

1983
Drawing Award. Provincial Youth Hall. Oriente Gallery, Santiago de Cuba.
Award in Sculpture. UNEAC Hall, Oriente Gallery, Santiago de Cuba.

1984
Drawing Award. Youth Hall of Plastic Arts, Oriente Gallery, Santiago de Cuba.
Award Environmental Sculpture Contest. Creates the Totem Sculpture placed in exterior area of the Center for Architecture Projects (EMPROY 15), Santiago de Cuba.
Award in the International Contest for the Pictorial Mural on Peace within the framework of the XII World Festival of Youth and Students. Moscú.
Award in Painting. Provincial Hall "November 30". Center of Visual Arts Santiago de Cuba.

1992
Drawing Award. UNEAC Hall, Oriente Gallery, Santiago de Cuba.

1995
Abril Award. For the Sculpture of Julio Antonio Mella. Awarded by the UJC.
Most Relevant Recognitions

1994. Delivery of the replica of the Machete of Generalísimo Máximo Gómez by the Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba.
1994. Distinction for National Culture.
1996. Delivery of the replica of the Yacht Granma.
1996. Juan Marinello Order. Awarded by the Council of State.
1999. Nominated for the National Prize for Plastic Arts.
2000. José María Heredia Plaque. Awarded by the Provincial Culture Office
2021 National Prize for Plastic Arts

Works placed in Cuba and abroad

King's Head. Museum of Fine Arts. Ukraine.
Statue of the Heroic Guerrilla Ernesto Guevara. (Bronze). Hospital bearing his name. Las Tunas, Cuba.
Monument to Maurice Bishop in Cuba. (Bronze and wood). Meeting of Anti-imperialist Intellectuals of the Caribbean. Casa del Caribe, Santiago de Cuba.
1984. Ceramic and metal Mural: Caribe Restaurant. Guantánamo, Cuba.
1985. Mural on Peace. House of the Union of Painters. Moscú.
Mural and Ceramic Works. South Children's Polyclinic, Santiago de Cuba.
1991. Monument to General Antonio Maceo. (Bronze). Homonymous Plaza, Santiago de Cuba.
Dynamics of the Atom Mural (Ceramic and Stainless Steel). Facade of the Institute of Medical Biophysics. University of the East, Santiago de Cuba.
Garden of Love Sculptural Ensemble. (Bronze). Heredia Theater, Santiago de Cuba.
Monument to the Warrior Spirit, symbol of the City of Puerto Cabello (bronze) Puerto Cabello, State of Carabobo. Venezuela.
1997 Monument to the Maroon. Bronze and iron. Poblado de El Cobre, Santiago de Cuba.
Sculpture Che. Bronze. Gardens of the Ministry of Foreign Relations. La Habana, Cuba.

Exhibitions (selection)
2019 Cuba: Identity and Difference. Palazzo Ca ́ Zenobio. Venice Biennial, Italy.
Confabulations. Collateral exhibitions XIII Havana Biennial, Cuba.
HB Exhibition of Contemporary Cuban Art. Collateral exhibitions XIII Havana Biennial, Cuba.

2018 African Civilizations; Resistance, Renaissance and Emergence. Museum of Civilizations. Dakar, Senegal.

2017 Images of the Island. Cuban plastic arts in Mexico City.

2015 Crossed Visions. Alberto Linero Gallery. Art Bassel Fair. Miami. United States.

2014 Drapetomania. Homage to Grupo Antillano. The 8th Floor Gallery. New York. United States.

2012 First International Sculpture Exhibition. VILLACERO Collection. Permanent exhibition in the VILLACERO Room. Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico.
Masters of Cuban plastic arts. Taganana Room. XI Havana Biennial. Hotel Nacional de Cuba.

2006 Urban Utopias. Environmental sculpture. Municipality of Meyrin. Switzerland.
Gugsymposium Galerie Alte Schule. Berlin, Germany.

Source: EcuRed