Glenda León

Cuban artist born in Havana in 1976. She lives and works between Madrid and Spain. Her work includes drawing, video, installation, and photography primarily. She has presented her work at events such as the Venice Biennale, the Glasgow International Festival of Contemporary Art, and the Havana Biennial. She has obtained awards such as the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Award and residencies such as the Couvent des Recollets in Paris and the Fonderie Darling in Montreal. She resides between Madrid and Havana.

Glenda León is a visual artist who asks us to listen to what she sees; to see what she hears or to think about what we hear and see when admiring one of her works. In a relatively short period of time, León has gained recognition around the world for her remarkable ability to add sound to the visual medium.

Her conceptual works and video art are exhibited in museums such as the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana, or the Museum of Fine Arts in Montreal, as well as in galleries in Cuba, Germany, Spain, and the United States.

Like many Cuban artists, Glenda León has a passion for music and performing arts. At age 14, her parents enrolled her at the Centro Prodanza de Cuba, where she studied classical ballet under the direction of Laura Alonso, the only daughter of the legendary Cuban prima ballerina Alicia Alonso. She demonstrated her talent for dance and choreography, but ultimately decided she had other things to explore.

She studied Art History at the Faculty of Art and Letters in Havana and began her work as a visual artist. However, she never stopped being interested in music.

Glenda León often works with raw materials and music derivatives. She examines and transforms them in ways that reveal their metaphorical power in an era when music is made, produced, and consumed in a constant flow.

A recent exhibition by León at the MagnanMetz Gallery in New York—her first solo exhibition in the United States—was titled Listening to Silence and featured sculptures made from 45 rpm records and photographic negatives of different objects (leaves, raindrops, dice...) superimposed to form notes on sheet music.

In a work that was first shown in Havana as part of her Found Objects series from 2005, a two-legged piano with a raised lid revealing an explosion of yellow flowers leans forward like a circus pony bowing after a performance.

Some of León's conceptual works literally incorporate a personal dimension. Her "Hairstyle for a Silent Moment" shows sheet music forming strands of hair. The artist has used chewed gum by herself to form an image of a tree and a map of the world. One of her works seems to draw directly from her experience in her hometown. "Your Clothes Are My Clothes" (2006) is a photographic print on canvas showing clothes drying on the type of clotheslines that cross the streets of Havana. The only difference is that in León's interpretation of the scene, the clothes hang from a blue sky like a bird on a string, with no people or buildings in sight, extending into infinity.

"I spent a long time worrying about the absurdities of life in Cuba or trying to make sense of situations that seemed a little absurd," León confides to Havana Cultura. But then she moved to Germany to study at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne between 2005 and 2007. "When I returned to Havana, I saw things in a completely different way. I realized that the absurd can have a positive side."

Recognized internationally, her work has received awards such as The Pollock-Krasner Foundation Award and residencies such as those at the Couvent des Recollets in Paris and the Fonderie Darling in Montreal. She is also part of important public collections such as those of the George Pompidou art center, the Musée des Beaux Arts de Montréal, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, USA.

Glenda León began her studies in visual arts at age 12, although she only began exhibiting professionally starting in 1999.

From the beginning, her work was innovative for the Cuban artistic context due to her approach to conceptualism in a particularly feminine way. The use of natural and artificial flowers, text, sound, and materials such as hair and gum were present in these early works.

Some of her most well-known installations are Interpreted World, Lost Time, and the videos Investment, Each Breath, and Destiny.

In 2013, she was part of the Cuban Pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennial with the work Music of the Spheres, a circular score superimposed on the solar system, where each planet becomes a musical note. This sound is played by a music box that is suspended from the ceiling inside a glass sphere.

Her work has been published in various magazines, catalogs, and newspapers such as Bomb Magazine, ArtNexus, ArtForum, ArteCubano, among others.

References
Magaly Espinosa (winter 2003). "Glenda León" (in English). article. Accessed June 18, 2013.
"Exclusive Interview: Glenda León" (in English) (February 23, 2012). Accessed February 23, 2012.
Alberto Barral (May 2012). "Glenda León solo show" (in Spanish). Glenda León solo show. Accessed June 18, 2013.

STUDIES
Master in Art of New Media, Superior Academy of Art and New Media in Cologne, Cologne, Germany 2007.
Degree in Art History, Faculty of Arts and Letters University of Havana, Cuba 1999.
Classical Ballet at Centro Prodanza de Cuba (1990-1999).
Elementary School of Visual Arts October 20 (1988-90).

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2008
The Flight of Reason, Center for Development of Visual Arts, Havana, Cuba.
2007
Inner Sea, Le Plateau Experimental Space, Paris.
2006
The Coming and Going of Permanence (Inner Sea), Optica Gallery, Montreal, Canada.
2005
The Flight of Reason, Galerie m:a contemporary, Berlin, Germany.
2003
Magical Realities, Gallery 23 and 12, Havana, Cuba.
2001
The Forms of the Instant, Center for Development of Visual Arts, Havana, Cuba.

GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2008
Island in Continent, Fundarte National Art Gallery, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
Visions from an Island, Contemporary Art, Ecuador.
V Salon of Contemporary Cuban Art, Center for Development of Visual Arts, Havana, Cuba.
Intimate Topographies, Iniciarte Space, Andalusia, Spain.
DIVA art fair, Galería Habana, Paris, France.
Show Off art fair, Galería Habana, Paris, France.
Resistance Strategies, Senda Gallery, Espai 2Nou2, Barcelona, Spain.
Arboleda, The Body is Bodies, Jesús Gallardo Gallery, León, Guanajuato, Mexico.
Fotología 6, Art Museum Universidad Nacional de Colombia/ El Museo Gallery, Bogotá, Colombia.
Lança Cuba, Galería A Gentil Carioca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Beijing Today Art Museum, China/ The One Minutes Foundation, Amsterdam, Holland.
V.I.P, La Casona Gallery, Havana, Cuba.
Identify Yourself, Galería Habana, Havana, Cuba.
Group Therapy, Fernando Pradilla Gallery, Madrid, Spain.
Open Studio 2.0, Carlos Garaicoa Studio, Madrid, Spain.
2007
Various Landscapes, Villa du Parc Contemporary Art Center, Annemasse, Haute-Savoie, France.
Open Studio, National Academy of Fine Arts San Alejandro, Batiscafo International Residency Project, Havana, Cuba.
Infinite Island, Brooklyn Museum, New York, USA.
Altitude 2007, Academy of New Media, Cologne, Germany.
Killing Time, Exit Art, New York.
PINK, The Art Gallery of Calgary, Canada.
Moving Fast, European Media Art Festival, Osnabrueck, Germany.
ARCO, La Casona Gallery, Madrid.
Cuba Exchange, Badischen Kunstverein, Karlsruhe, Germany.
2006
'Cropped', Figge von Rosen Gallery, Cologne, Germany.
Here and Now, Galerie intemporel, Paris, France.
ArtCologne, KHM, Cologne.
Waiting List, City Art Museum Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Artforum Berlin, La Casona Gallery, Berlin.
Night of Video Art, KHM/Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany.
Impakt Film Festival, Centraal Museum, Utrecht, Holland.
Stop & Forward, Galería Habana, Havana, Cuba.
Vila do Conde International Film Festival, Vila do Conde, Portugal.
Assault on Heaven, Off Loop Festival, Saladestar, Barcelona.
Rewind...Rewind, Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Flight, Glimorehill G12 Theater, Glasgow International Festival of Contemporary Art, Glasgow, Scotland.
IV International Banner Biennial, Centro Cultural de Tijuana, Tijuana, Mexico.
Inner Cities, Center for Visual Arts and Design, Havana, Cuba.
Somewhere Better Than This Place Nowhere Better Than This Place, One Night Gallery Project, Havana.
2005
Invisible Videographies, Museo Patio Herreriano, Valladolid, Spain.
Contacts and Mediations. Poetics of the Digital in Cuban Art, Dunlop Art Gallery, Regina, Canada.
Belgrade Then and Now, Beograd Gallery, Belgrade.
QUADRILATERAL, Centro Michon Contemporary Art, Livorno.
Intimate Reflections, KATT Kunsthalle Attersee, Austria.
II Jafre Biennial, Girona, Spain.
Cubarte.cult.cu, Frauen Museum, Bonn, Germany.
IRREDUCIBLE: Contemporary Short Form Video, 1995-2005. CCA Wattis Institute, San Francisco/ Miami Art Central, Miami/ Bronx Museum, NYC.
Arteamericas, Galerie Bourbon-Lally, The Coconut Grove Convention Center, Miami.
V Salon of Contemporary Art, Center for Development of Visual Arts, Havana.
2004
Online Auction, Galeria Habana, Havana.
In Place of Place, One Night Gallery, California.
ArtCologne, Galerie Refugium, Cologne.
Cuba: New Installations, Resident Artists, The Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh.
Spaces for Experimentation III, Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, Costa Rica.
VI Salon of Digital Art, National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana.
Domestic Labors, Provincial Center of Visual Arts, Pinar del Río/ Center for Development of Visual Arts, Havana.
SCOPE, Images Festival international film/video, Trinity Square Video, Toronto.
Island Nations, Rhode Island School of Design Museum.
Month of Performance Festival, La Centrale, Montreal.
Futurible, ARCO fair, [Galería Refugium], Madrid.
Other Realities, Galería Refugium, Berlin.
7a*11d International Performance Art Festival, Ontario College of Art and Design, Toronto.
Contemporary Cuban Video, Ritzy Cinema, London, Great Britain.
2003
VIII Havana Biennial, La Cabaña, Havana.
An Sich, Playa Culture Center, Havana.
Beyond the Horizon, San Francisco de Asís Convent, Havana.
Ways of Inventing a Smile, Center for Development of Visual Arts, satellite to VIII Havana Biennial.
What?, Aglutinador Space, Havana.
56 Locarno International Film Festival, Italy.
V Salon of Digital Art, Pablo de la Torriente Brau Center, Havana.
2002
Another Look, Center for Development of Visual Arts, Havana.
The Armory Photography Show (Nina Menocal Gallery), Javits Center, New York City, United States.
One Photograph, Two Photographs, Casa Vallarta, VII International Book Fair, Guadalajara, Mexico.
Words in the Tropics, CENCREM, Havana.
Contemporary Cuban Art, (satellite to the Sao Paolo Biennial), Marta Trava Gallery, Memorial América Latina, Sao Paolo, Brazil.
Environment, Center for Development of Visual Arts, Havana.
Art is Not for Understanding, Center for Development of Visual Arts, Havana.
The Multiple Footprint, La Casona, Havana.
IV Salon of Digital Art, Pablo de la Torriente Brau Cultural Center, Havana.
2001
Take 15, Cuban Painting: Action!, International Film and TV School, ICAIC Cinematographic Cultural Center, Havana.
National Video Art Festival, Ludwig Foundation of Cuba, ICAIC, ICAIC Cinematographic Cultural Center, Havana.
III Salon of Contemporary Cuban Art, Wifredo Lam Center, Havana.
II National Photography Salon, Photography Archive of Cuba, Havana.
Elb Art Fair Hamburg (Ars Cuba), Hamburg, Germany.
ArtParis III edition fair (Galería Habana), Carrousel du Louvre, Paris, France.
Hello Cuba/ Breaking Barriers, The Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science, Tallahassee, FL, United States.
One Photograph, Two Photographs, Photography Archive of Cuba, Havana.
Small Format Festival, Romerías de Mayo, Holguín, Cuba.
The Second Western Australian International Artists Workshop, Dingo Flat Farm, Walpole/Access Gallery, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia.
2000
VII Havana Biennial, Morro, Havana.
Ninth International Performance Show, Ex Teresa Contemporary Art, Mexico City.
Zoom.... dupp@hablar.abstraese.cu, DUPP Gallery, Andrés Bello Center, Bogotá, Colombia.
Romerías de Mayo, Guardalavaca Beach, Holguín.
Friendship, DUPP Gallery, Tienda La Amistad, Holguín.
The New is the Old, DUPP Gallery, Piano Bar, National Theater, Havana.
I Performance Day, Community Culture Center, Cienfuegos.
With an Abstracted Thought, DUPP Gallery, Galería Habana, Havana.
The Conjunction of Nothingness, Center for Development of Visual Arts, Havana.
1999
II Ana Mendieta Performance Festival, Cuba Pavilion, Havana.

AWARDS, GRANTS, RESIDENCIES
2007
Artist in Residence at Couvent des Recollets, Paris.
2006
DAAD Grant for artists, 2006-2007, Germany.
2004
Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant, New York.
Cuba: New Installations, Resident Artists, The Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh.
Ontario College of Art artist in residency, Toronto.
Month of Performance, Galerie La Centrale, Montreal.
2003
Grant from the Superior Academy of Art and New Media in Cologne, the Peter and Irene Ludwig Foundation of Germany, and the Ludwig Foundation of Cuba.
2002
Up Front and Personal Residency, Banff Centre for the Arts, Alberta, Canada.
2001
National Curatorship Award, National Council of Visual Arts, Havana [together with DUPP Gallery].
2000
UNESCO Award for the Arts, VII Havana Biennial, Cuba (2000) [together with DUPP Gallery Group].
New Pines Award, Essay and Artistic-Literary Criticism, Cuban Book Institute, Havana, Cuba.

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS/
Centre George Pompidou, Paris.
National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, US.
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence, US.
Walter Philip Gallery, Alberta, Canada.

PRIVATE COLLECTIONS (selection)
Beth Rudin DeWoody, NY, US; Sydney Levine, CA, US; Karen & Robert Duncan, Nebraska, US; James Rauchman & Paul Hertz, NY, US; John Friedman, NY, US; Luis Palomo, Miami, US; Jacqueline Shor, Sao Paolo, Brazil; Thomas Wiegand, California, US