Mario Carreno Morales
"Like so many other artists, I studied at San Alejandro, but when I left for Spain in 1931, I wasn't able to dedicate myself immediately to painting. Graphic design allowed me to earn a living in those difficult years which were a prelude to the Spanish Civil War. In 1935, I left for Mexico, where I met and worked with the great muralists. But it was in Paris, between 1937 and 1939 that I began to exhibit with some success. The artistic environment was excellent; my circle was the same as that of Picasso and Lam. During the 40's I moved to New York and began to do abstract painting, which was in vogue at the time. I would often return to Cuba. In 1957, I came to Chile, at the urging of someone who was already a great friend, Pablo Neruda. He was always in awe of Cuba, of its climate, its beaches, its seashells (especially the polimitas). For me Chile was a sort of paradise, in contrast to the overly fastpaced reality of New York. I realized that it offered a different kind of life, more attuned to the rhythm of human beings, and that's what compelled me most strongly to stay. When I returned to Paris in 1962, I found a great preoccupation, a terrible anguish over the possibilities of an atomic war. For a long time, I was traumatized by a fear that pervaded all of Europe. From this experience emerged the series The Petrified World, my protest against war, against human suffering. In recent years I have had a great desire to feel the warmth of Cuba, to be in Cuba, and this has led me again to the theme of 'Antillanas.' I have not returned to Cuba since 1957."
Morales was born on May 24th, 1913 in Havana, Cuba and finished his career with surrealism in Santiago de Chile, Chile on December 20, 1999.
By Deanna Gee
