Claudio Sotolongo

Graphic artist. Professor of Design History and editorial designer at the University of La Habana. He holds a Master's degree in Design Management and Innovation from the Instituto Superior de Diseño (La Habana, 2006). Since 2004 he has designed posters for the Instituto de Cine (ICAIC).

Graduate of the Instituto Superior de Diseño (2006), Master's degree in Design Management and Innovation (ISDi, 2010) Professor of Design History at ISDi (2006-2011) and at the University of La Habana (2011-2019).

Since 2004 he designs posters for the Instituto Cubano de Arte e Industria Cinamatográficos.

Since 2005 he writes about graphic design, organizes events and curates design exhibitions.

In 2007 he was co-screenwriter of the documentary Poética Gráfica Insular and in 2011 co-author of the book Soy Cuba: Cuban Film Poster from after the Revolution. In 2010 he obtained the Studio 21 creative grant from the Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales in La Habana.

Between 2016 and 2017 he was awarded a fellowship from the Real Academia de España in Rome. In 2016 his poster Casa Tomada was selected to promote the event of the same name, organized by the Casa de las Américas.

In 2018 his work was exhibited at the Festival Artes de Cuba in Washington D.C.; the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana; the DAAP gallery at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio; the Centro Cultural Matadero, Madrid and the California Art Museum in Pasadena. His posters have been selected in the poster biennales of Lublin, Trnava and Bolivia.

In 2007 he was co-screenwriter of the documentary Poética Gráfica Insular. Between 2005 and 2007 he carried out various design projects for the office of the Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano. In 2018 he participated in several collective exhibitions in important museums and cultural centers in Spain, the United States and Cuba. As a curator on Cuban film posters he has organized or collaborated in exhibitions in La Habana, Los Ángeles, London and Basel.

In 2011 he was co-author of the books Soy Cuba: Cuban Film Poster from after the Revolution (Trilce Ediciones) and Ciudadano Cartel (Ediciones ICAIC). Since 2010 he is a professor at the University of La Habana. That same year he obtained the Studio 21 artistic creation grant from the Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales in La Habana and in the periods 2016-2017 and 2019-2020 he participated in the artistic residency program of the Real Academia de España in Rome. Between 2018 and 2020 he has exhibited at the Kennedy Center, Washington D.C.; the Centro Cultural Matadero, Madrid; California Art Museum, Pasadena; Fowler Museum, UCLA; Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris and in La Habana at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Factoría Habana, Fábrica de Arte Cubano, Fundación Ludwig, Estudio 50 and Galería 23 y 12. His work has been exhibited by the design biennales of Madrid and La Habana and by the poster biennales of Lublin, Trnava, Ecuador and Bolivia, and is part of the collections of the Margaret Herrick and UCLA libraries; Biblioteca Nacional de Cuba; CSPG, the Cinemateca de Cuba and the Museum für Gestaltung, Zürich, Switzerland.

His work has been exhibited by the design biennales of Madrid and La Habana and by the poster biennales of Lublin, Trnava, Ecuador and Bolivia, and is part of the collections of the Margaret Herrick and UCLA libraries; Biblioteca Nacional de Cuba; CSPG, the Cinemateca de Cuba and the Museum für Gestaltung, Zürich, Switzerland.

Relevant Exhibitions
2018 X Triennial of the Poster of Trnava, Slovakia / Festival Artes de Cuba, Kennedy Center, Washington D.C. / La memoria diseñada, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, La Habana / Processi 144 entrelazarse con Roma, Centro Cultural Matadero, Madrid / CACa en el taller, Taller René Portocarrero, La Habana *2017 7th Salon of Contemporary Cuban Art, Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, La Habana / Processi 144, Real Academia de España in Rome, Rome / III Poster Biennial, Lublin, Poland 2016 Black with a drop of Red, Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles 2015 ¿Cuál es tu necesidad? Estudio Arsenal, collateral to the 12th Biennial of La Habana 2013 Cuba Va! Graphikdesign zum film aus Kuba, Plakatsammlung, Basel, Switzerland / Un grito en la pared. Milestones of the Cuban Poster, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, La Habana /

Grants and Awards
2018 Coral Award for best poster of the 40th Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano
2016-2017 Artistic residency at the Real Academia de España in Rome, fellow of the MAEC-AECID program
2012 Finalist for the Raúl Corrales creative grant from the Fototeca de Cuba 2010 Studio 21 creative grant awarded by the Centro de Desarrollo de la Artes Visuales.

In 2019 he was invited to participate on the admissions jury of the II Design Biennial of La Habana.