José Gómez Fresquet

Cuban graphic artist. Incorporated into the artistic vanguard of interior Cuba, he was a designer, draftsman, and art director of various magazines, having carried out different national and international exhibitions.

Committed to Cuba's revolutionary movement, he was awarded the National Prize for Plastic Arts in 2005.

Some of his works, such as the silkscreen The Model and the Vietnamese Woman, have been widely known for representing critiques against United States imperialism.

He is one of the most talented Cuban graphic artists, author of an extensive avant-garde body of work characterized by experimentation and commitment to ideals of social justice.

Over almost five decades, Frémez has worked as a draftsman, designer, and art director of numerous Cuban publications, including the magazines Temas and Artecubano.

His extensive career stands out for his trajectory as a humorous draftsman in the newspapers Revolución, La Calle, and Pitirre. Considered by critics an emblematic figure of Cuban and Latin American silkscreen printing, Frémez began working with engraving technique in the late 1960s.

José Gómez Fresquet has earned more than 20 recognitions in his country, including the Distinction for National Culture, and has won international awards and exhibited in more than 20 countries.

Among his works is the silkscreen The Model and the Vietnamese Woman, which has become a symbol of anti-imperialist resistance, and Miss Liberty 2000, a poster that accompanied the call for the creation of an intellectual front against the aggressive policy of the North American Administration of George W. Bush.

The annual 2005 award for Plastic Arts was presented on December 15, 2005 at the National Museum of Fine Arts, awarded by a jury presided over by painter and draftsman Roberto Fabelo.

Awards and Distinctions
1960 Award. First National Humor Salon, Havana.
1965 First Prize. Political Drawing. National Humor Salon, Havana.
1972 First Prize. Set of Posters. International Women's Congress, Chile.
1975 Award. Engraving. July 26 Competition, Havana.
1976 Award. Drawing. National Salon, Havana.
1979 Award. Printed Experiment. Best Photomechanical Engraving. Grand Prize for Best Set. Víctor Manuel Triennial of Engraving, Havana.
1981 Award. Girón Salon, Havana.
1984 UNEAC Award. First Biennial, Havana. Order for National Culture.
1987 Award. Engraving Meeting, Havana.
2005 National Prize for Plastic Arts.

Personal Exhibitions
1965- "Children's Illustrations". House of Cuban Culture, Prague, Czechoslovakia.
1969- "Guerrero-Frémez". Hotel Habana Libre Gallery, Havana/ Maison de Jeunesse et de la Culture, Geneva, Switzerland.
1970 Catholic University, Chile.
1971 Librería Galería Internazionale, Rome, Italy.
1975 "Song of Red October". Museum of the Revolution, Moscow, USSR.
1976 "Prints by Frémez". Galería Habana, Cuba.
1980 "Engravings". Museum of History, Rostock.
1981 "Engravings". National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana. Galería Gradiva, Zacatecas, Mexico.
1982 "Engravings". Galería Elegante, Germany. Galería Habana.
1984 "Prints of Cuba". Traveling Exhibition.
1986 "Frémez Before and After". Galería Servando Cabrera Moreno, Havana.
1977 House of Culture of Cuajimalpa de Morelos, Mexico.
1994 "Frémez: Today as Yesterday". Galería Imago, Gran Teatro de la Habana.
2002 "Other Pleasures". Center for Development of Visual Arts, Havana. "The Blessed Ciborium". Galería Servando Cabrera, Playa, Havana.
2003 "Eros and Thanatos". Galería Servando Cabrera Moreno, ICAIC, Havana.