Circular Reflections

Franklin Álvarez Fortún’s artwork establishes an irreverent, sharp dialogue between historical grand narratives and the everyday realities of contemporary culture. Infusing a strong neo-expressionist aesthetic with dark satire and social realism, his compositions often deconstruct sanctified icons and historical figures, recontextualizing them alongside modern economic symbols and personal psychological struggles. Working across oils, large-scale watercolors, and fine engravings, Álvarez builds complex surrealist allegories that dissect identity, nostalgia, and the fragmented friction of the modern Cuban diaspora.

Academic Foundations: Born in 1971 in Camagüey, Cuba, he completed foundational training at the Vocational School of Arts in Camagüey in 1986, followed by a degree from the Escuela Profesional de Artes Plásticas de Camagüey in 1990. He then pursued higher studio education at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana, graduating with a degree in Painting with high honors in 1998.

Institutional Service & Parallel Disciplines: Upon graduation, he entered academia, serving as a Professor of Painting at the Instituto Superior de Arte from 1998 until 2001. His studio direction integrates classic fine arts traditions, bridging large-format painting with complex fine printmaking and engraving methodologies.

Exile, Translocation & Relocations: His career features key international chapters, beginning with a studio residency at the Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium in 1996, and subsequent professional grants in New York City in 2005. He formally translocated to the United States in 2011, establishing a permanent base in South Florida.

Current Status: He resides and works full-time in Miami, Florida, executing narrative paintings for public and private curation.

1998–2001: Professor of Painting, Department of Fine Arts, Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA), Havana, Cuba.

The Weight of Ideology (Los Pesos y las Medidas): A major conceptual block across his watercolor and oil portfolios exploring systems of calculation, weights, balances, and volumetric scales. This series utilizes heavy balances and measurement apparatuses as complex allegories for ideological imposition, societal evaluation, and the physical gravitas of state machinery.

The Suspended Subject (Sujetos Flotantes): A recurring visual theme depicting countrymen and anonymous human figures positioned on punching bags or floating in mid-air in suspended animation. The technical execution relies on precise anatomical tension to symbolize individuals defying gravity and weightlessness, capturing the psychological sense of translocated displacement and existential uprooting.

Mitologías de Barrio (Neighborhood Mythologies): A foundational conceptual cycle tracing everyday Afro-Cuban traditions, street archetypes, and localized urban spaces. This series fuses classical Greco-Roman myths with local Cuban socio-realism—exemplified by works blending mythological labors with neighborhood realities—to subvert grand historical narratives through the lens of ordinary survival.

This artist has participated in 14 solo exhibitions:

• 2010: Matando la Historia (Killing History), Museo Provincial Ignacio Agramonte, Camagüey, Cuba.
• 2009: Mientras tanto (Meanwhile), Galería de Arte 23 y 12, Havana, Cuba.
• 2008: Sparring, Galería Servando Cabrera Moreno, Havana, Cuba.
• 2006: Underwater Kingdom, Galería Servando Cabrera Moreno, Havana, Cuba.
• 2004: Franklin Álvarez, Pollock-Krasner Exhibition Series, New York, NY.
• 2003: Mi trabajo es Usted (My Work is You), Galería de Arte 23 y 12, Havana, Cuba.
• 2002: Historias Cruzadas (Crossed Histories), Galería de Arte Universal, Camagüey, Cuba.
• 2002: Dibujos (Drawings), Galería Salvador Cisneros Betancourt, Camagüey, Cuba.
• 2001: Visiones de Fin de Siglo (End of Century Visions), Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, Havana, Cuba.
• 1999: Cosas del querer (Affairs of the Heart), Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam, Havana, Cuba.
• 1998: Canto a mí mismo (Song of Myself), Galería Habana, Havana, Cuba (Thesis Exhibition).
• 1996: Identificación (Identification), Sala Allende, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium.
• 1995: Las Hazañas de Hércules (The Labors of Hercules), Galería Movimiento Cubano por la Paz, Havana, Cuba.
• 1995: Franklin Álvarez, Galería Tilman / Fesler / Couffo (T.F.C.), Brussels, Belgium.

This artist has participated in over 20 collective exhibitions, including the following:

• 2026: Circular Reflections, Westchester Regional Library, Miami, FL.
• 2025: Circular Reflections, St. Thomas University, Miami, FL.
• 2014: Discoveries in Art, Curated International Survey, Miami, FL.
• 2006: Dinámica de la cultura urbana, 9th Havana Biennial, Fortress of San Carlos de la Cabaña, Havana, Cuba.
• 2006: Alternativas, Galería Servando Cabrera Moreno, Havana, Cuba.
• 2001: Entre la espada y la cuerda, Fine Art Institution Survey, Germany.
• 2000: La Conjugación de la nada, Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, Havana, Cuba.
• 2000: Encuentro Internacional de Arte, Instituto Superior de Arte (Collateral to the 7th Havana Biennial), Havana, Cuba.
• 1998: II Salón de Arte Cubano Contemporáneo, Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, Havana, Cuba.
• 1996: Algoritmos II, Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam, Havana, Cuba.
• 1996: Plástica Cubana Actual, Photocenter Gallery, Moscow, Russia / Embassy of Cuba, Beijing, China.
• 1996: Ecce Homo, Taller de Serigrafía René Portocarrero, Havana, Cuba.
• 1996: De lo que hay, Galería L, Havana, Cuba.
• 1995: ARCO (Feria Internacional de Arte Contemporáneo), Madrid, Spain.
• 1995: I Salón de Arte Cubano Contemporáneo, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana, Cuba.
• 1995: Algoritmos, Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, Havana, Cuba.
• 1995: Vestigios, Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, Havana, Cuba.
• 1994: No valen guayabas verdes, Instituto Superior de Arte (Collateral to the 5th Havana Biennial), Havana, Cuba.
• 1993: II Bienal Provincial de Dibujo Ignacio Agramonte, Camagüey, Cuba.
• 1990: Salón Nacional de Dibujo, Centro de Arte, Camagüey, Cuba.

• 2005: Visual Arts Grant, The Pollock-Krasner Foundation, New York, NY. (This grant is a matter of documented institutional record with the organization, which subsequently recognized and cataloged his mid-career visual art output).
• 1998: Raúl Martínez Prize, Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) / Fine Arts Council, Havana, Cuba. (This honor was officially awarded to him by the academic evaluation board in Havana in conjunction with the defense of his thesis painting presentation at Galería Habana).
• 1996: International Studio Art Residency, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium. (This specialized cross-border exchange milestone is verified via international studio residency logs, which directly culminated in his multi-medium European debut exhibition in Belgium).

• 2026: Catálogo: Reflexiones Circulares [Curaduría: Miguel Rodez]. InCUBAdora, March 24, 2026. https://www.in-cubadora.com/2026/03/24/catalogo-reflexiones-circulares-curaduria-miguel-rodez/. This Spanish-language article concisely summarizes the Cuban contemporary art documentation project, Circular Reflections, and includes the complete artist roster.
• 2026: García, Olga. “Ironía, dramatismo y verdad en la obra del artista cubano Franklin Álvarez.” Alas Tensas Magazine, March 26, 2026. (A comprehensive contemporary essay exploring how the artist utilizes deep psychological tension, heavy measuring scales, and dark satire to expose the silent, unpolished spaces of modern island history).
• 2025: Rodez, Miguel. Circular Reflections: Cuban Art Documentation Project. Miami Gardens, FL: St. Thomas University Press, 2025. Permanent collection, Miami-Dade Public Library System, Fine Arts Archive. (A comprehensive catalog featuring information about the 63 initial participants in Circular Reflections, including an analysis of the artist’s work, biographical information and curriculum highlights).
• 2018: CdeCuba Art Magazine. “Franklin Álvarez: El cuerpo y sus canales de identificación.” March 16, 2018. (An analytical profile focusing on the central role of the human figure in his portraits, evaluating how his subjects inhabit a structural limbo to find their placement and social identity).
• 2013: Pintores Cubanos Index. “La obra de Franklin Álvarez Fortún: El cuadro como crónica.” Boletín de la Plástica Iberoamericana, April 9, 2013. (An in-depth institutional review focusing on the artist’s use of distorted human anatomy and shifting spatial perspectives to construct real-time visual chronicles of socio-economic survival).
• 2012: Downes, Catherine. “Artistry on display during Bath home tour.” Akron Beacon Journal, May 12, 2012. (A regional cultural feature highlighting the domestic presence and acquisition history of the artist’s self-portrait, collected during an international museum expedition to Cuba).
• 2010: Alonso, Javier. “Franklin Álvarez: El arte del Sparring y los sujetos flotantes.” Cubadebate: Notas Culturales, September 24, 2010. (A major studio feature and exhibition critique assessing his iconic punching bag motifs, analyzing the physical and conceptual tension of figures suspended in mid-air as a representation of geopolitical translocation).
• 2008: Caballero, Rufo. “Sparring” Franklin Álvarez Fortún. Havana: Galería Servando Cabrera Moreno, 2008. (An official exhibition catalog brochure featuring critical analysis by prominent art theorist Rufo Caballero, examining the physical confrontation and socio-political metaphors underlying the artist’s canvas works).
• 2002: La Huella Múltiple Exhibition Compendium. Havana: Taller Experimental de Gráfica, 2002. (A comprehensive graphic arts catalog documenting the technical execution, registration, and curated engraving editions produced by the artist during his participation in the collaborative printmaking salon).
• 1995: “La ironía urbana de un joven graduado.” Juventud Rebelde (Havana, Cuba), October 14, 1995. (A regional newspaper review tracking his early solo emergence and evaluating his sharp deployment of neighborhood mythologies and traditional Cuban satirical elements).

• The Pollock-Krasner Foundation Collection (New York, NY).
• Museum of Contemporary Art of the Americas (Miami, FL).
• Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam (Havana, Cuba).
• The Howard J. Farber Collection of Cuban Art (New York / Miami).