Luis Miguel Valdés Morales

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Born in Cuba and based in Mexico since 1991, Luis Miguel is one of the artists who has most supported both the creation and dissemination of printmaking in Mexico, Cuba, and other countries, and has also developed in painting and sculpture.

From 1961 to 1965 he studied at the School Workshop of Visual Arts in Pinar del Río, Cuba, where he completed courses in Painting, Drawing, Printmaking, and Sculpture.

From 1965 to 1969 he was a student at the National School of Art in Havana, Cuba, specializing in Painting and Printmaking. And from 1983 to 1984 he resided in Paris, France, having received a scholarship to work at the prestigious "Atelier 17" of Stanley William Hayter, which was also attended by Pablo Picasso and Francisco Toledo.

Since 1970, Luis Miguel Valdés has held numerous solo exhibitions among which the following stand out: "La Siempre Habana: Paintings" at Galería Habana in Havana (Cuba); "Paintings and Prints" at the National Polytechnic Institute of Mexico City (Mexico); "The Flow. Painting" at Agora Gallery-Soho in New York (U.S.A); "From Saffron to Lily. Digital Retrospective" at the IV Digital Art Salon at the Chaplin Cinema Gallery in Havana (Cuba).

His knowledge, skill, and quality as an artist have led him to exhibit at the Embassy of Cuba in Mexico, at Casa del Lago of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in Mexico City, at the Varna Biennial Gallery in Bulgaria, at Galería Bernd in Berlin, Germany, as well as at the National Museum in Havana, Cuba, among many other exhibitions.

The collective exhibitions in which Luis Miguel Valdés has participated are countless. As a representative of Cuban visual arts, his work has become known around the world: Cuba, Mexico, United States, Italy, France, Spain, Algeria, Syria, Romania, Bulgaria, Germany, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Colombia, Poland, Finland, Ethiopia, Nicaragua, Yugoslavia, Japan, Iraq, and Canada, among others.

The awards that the artist has won throughout his career are also numerous. As a selection of them are: the Adam Montparnasse Collective Prize at the Salon of May in Paris in 1968; the Painting and Drawing Prize at the National Salon of Visual Arts of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) in 1984; he receives Honorable Mention at UNEAC Salon 1990 for the installation "From My Window You Can See" Graphic Art and Computerized Video in Havana, Cuba; First Prize at the V Meeting of Scientific Research on Art in 1989 for a work on "The Application of Computing as an Artistic Tool" at the Higher Institute of Art in Havana. He also obtained in 1982 the Special Prize from UNESCO at the International Exhibition of Book Art in Leipzig, Germany. Luis Miguel Valdés has been awarded First Prizes in Printmaking and Lithography at various national and international salons.

As part of his interest in promoting and disseminating printmaking, Luis Miguel Valdés, together with Mexican poet Cuitláhuac Rangel, founded in the year 2000 the Graphics Workshop "La Siempre Habana" in Mexico City, which in 2005 expanded by opening the Gallery La Siempre Habana in order to provide graphic arts with an exhibition and dissemination space. Thanks to his excellent direction, the Workshop is recognized for its outstanding quality; artists such as Raúl Anguiano, Vicente Rojo, José Luis Cuevas, Sergio Hernández, Fabelo, Nelson Domínguez, Choco, Kcho, Demián Flores, and Víctor Guadalajara have worked in it.

Likewise, the artist has taught drawing and printmaking courses both practical and theoretical at Casa Lamm Cultural Center. He has been director of design and digital graphics in various companies and from 1983 to 1986 was Vice President for Latin America of the International Association of Visual Arts (AIAP) of UNESCO.

He was part of the faculty of professors and artists who founded in 1976 the Higher Institute of Art in Havana, Cuba, where he was Head of the Printmaking Department and achieved the highest teaching position of Full Professor at that academic institution. The Ministry of Culture of Cuba awarded him in 2003 the Medal for National Culture.

It is important to note that Luis Miguel Valdés since 1987, in addition to using the various printmaking techniques, has developed in the application of new technologies to visual arts.

As a creator and as an educator he has been invited to participate in numerous exhibitions, competitions, and scientific events. Luis Miguel Valdés is a prolific artist whose work bears a solid structure of years of study, experimentation, and technical and intellectual work. Added to this, he represents an important figure committed to the global artistic panorama thanks to his contribution to the art of printmaking.