Rafael Ángel Zarza González

He is a Cuban artist specialized in painting, engraving, graphic design, and illustration.

He graduated in painting and engraving from the School of Fine Arts of San Alejandro, and has been part of the Experimental Workshop of Graphics TEG since 1965 until 1996.

Rafael Zarza has maintained a leitmotiv that identifies and distinguishes him, filling his visual proposals with anthropomorphic figures, allowing the theme of bullfighting to prevail, through which he mocks characters and extreme attitudes, where the bull becomes a symbol of struggle and power.

Zarza's work is part of important public and private collections in the National Museum of Fine Arts and the House of the Americas (Havana, Cuba), in the Collection of Engravings in New York (USA), in Gallery of New Masters (Dresden, Germany), Collection of the Iraqi Cultural Centre (London, England), the Lahti Poster Museum (Lahti, Finland), among others.

Rafael studied painting and engraving between 1959 and 1963 at the School of Fine Arts of San Alejandro. Upon graduation, he became a member of the Experimental Workshop of Graphics TEG from 1965 until 1996 at Plaza de la Catedral, in Havana.

In 1982 he served as a juror at the UNEAC '82 Salon of Plastic Arts, at the National Museum of Fine Arts, in the Cuban capital.

Exhibitions
His most notable solo exhibitions are:
'Engravings and Drawings'. Galería Viva México, Caracas, Venezuela, in 1972
'Engravings and Posters of Rafael Zarza'. Exhibition Room, Arab Cultural Center, in Damascus, Syria, in 1980
In 1991 he exhibits his works under the title 'Posters by Cuban Graphic Artist Rafael Zarza' in Kladno, Slovenia.
Exhibition 'Tauropatía. Zarza. Graphic Work'. Galería Espuela de Plata, Center for the Development of Visual Arts, in Havana, Cuba. In 1995
'30 Years Is Nothing' (lithographs 1967-1998). Gallery of Engraving, Experimental Workshop of Graphics (TEG), in Havana, Cuba, in 1998
He has been part of many group exhibitions, among which stand out:

Free Exhibition of Fine Arts Students of Havana, in Havana, Cuba. In 1961
He participated in 1967 in Intergrafik '67. Internationale Grafik Ausstellung Altes Museum, in Berlin, Germany.
He was included in 1969 in 'Sixième Biennale de Paris'. Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France.
He participated in 1984 in the First Biennial of Havana, National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.
He was included in 1999 in La Huella Múltiple 1999. Center for the Development of Visual Arts/Center for Conservation, Restoration and Museology (CENCREM), Havana, Cuba.
Some of his works can also be found as part of notable collections such as:

Those of the House of the Americas, in Havana, Cuba
At the Center for Cuban Studies,
In the Collection of Engravings in New York, USA.
In Gallery of New Masters, Dresden, Germany.
We can also find them within the collection of the Iraqi Cultural Centre, London, England.
In the Lahti Poster Museum, Lahti, Finland.
In Cuba it is part of the important collection of the National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.
Awards
Among his most outstanding awards are:

Mention in 1968 in the Portinari Prize in Lithography. Exhibition of Havana '68, Latin American Gallery, House of the Americas, Havana, Cuba.
In 1982 he obtained the Honor Award for Plakat Second International Exhibition of Political Posters. The poster fights for peace, security and collaboration in Moscow, U.S.S.R.
In 1990 he received the "Majadahonda 1936" Award granted by the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC), Havana, Cuba.
National Prize for Plastic Arts 2020. Considered one of the highest exponents of graphic arts in the country.

Collections
Some of his works can be found as part of important collections such as those of the House of the Americas, in Havana, Cuba; at the Center for Cuban Studies, in New York, USA; in the Collection of Engravings, in Gallery of New Masters, Dresden, Germany. We can also find them within the collection of the Iraqi Cultural Centre, London, England, and in the Lahti Poster Museum, Lahti, Finland. In Cuba it is part of the important collection of the National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.