Circular Reflections

Artist Identity

CÁNDIDA RODRÍGUEZ PÉREZ

(Born September 29, 1959, Matanzas, Cuba — Resident of Miami, Florida since 1995)

Style Description

The artist transforms acrylic washes and mixed media into a turbulent psychological arena where the soul performs unanchored by constraints. Rather than reviving ancient mythologies, her figurative expressionism deploys dream-like allegorical environments to map the deep friction of opposing human impulses. Recurring motifs of ethereal figures and wandering centaurs drift across fluid textures like fragments of a long-remembered dream. This calculated juxtaposition balances clashing forces—the raw strength and vigor of the centaur meeting the quiet beauty of the ethereal form—to expose the dualities of our nature.

Confronting the heavy silence of emotional dislocation, the artist’s brushwork gives form to intangible landscapes of the mind, navigating a vast terrain of human consciousness to capture the enduring resilience of the inner self.

Biography & Artistic Evolution

Academic Foundations:

Born in Matanzas, Cuba, on September 29, 1959, she was drawn to the arts from an early age. She completed her foundational fine arts training at the Matanzas School of Fine Art, graduating in 1975. She then pursued higher studio education at Havana’s National Arts School (ENA), Cubanacán, in Havana, Cuba, from which she graduated in 1979.

Institutional Service & Parallel Disciplines:

Beside creating her original artwork, she built a diverse professional career in education, design, and conservation within Cuba. She worked as an art teacher from 1979 to 1981, and later operated as an illustrator and graphic designer for various prominent publications, including the magazine Cuba Internacional from 1981 to 1988. She then served as an art conservator and restorer at Cuba’s National Fine Arts Museum (Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes) in Havana from 1988 to 1994.

Exile, Translocation & Relocations:

She officially departed Cuba and arrived in the United States in January 1994. Her translocation path across the country began in Lowell, Massachusetts, where she initially resided. In November 1995, she relocated to Miami, Florida, where she has lived and maintained her creative practice ever since.

Current Status:

She currently resides and maintains her primary active home studio within the Miami, Florida metropolitan area. She continues to showcase her work in regional and international networks, balancing contemporary studio production with specialized visual art collaborations.

Teaching & Academic Appointments

1979–1981:
Fine Arts Instructor and Drawing Professor, Regional Art Education System, Havana, Cuba.

Notable Artwork Series & Motifs / Themes

The Centaur and the Ethereal Dualities:

A foundational, signature thematic block charting the psychological tension between opposing forces. Rather than serving as direct mythological retellings, this series leverages the muscular mass of the centaur against the delicate anatomy of the ethereal figures to mirror internal clashes between strength and quiet vulnerability.

Psychological Environments & Liquid Arenas:

A continuous conceptual series featuring expansive, turbulent abstract color washes. In these works, the traditional representation of fixed landscapes is bypassed in favor of fluid acrylic textures, transforming the canvas background into an unanchored mental stage where human emotions are explored.

The Vulnerable Silhouette:

A distinct portfolio tracking solitary, semi-abstract human figures caught in states of emotional transition. Using quick, gestural mark-making and fine ink lines, the works navigate the dualities of isolation and personal resilience to examine the internal psyche of the translocated subject.

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2009:
La bondad de los duendes, Zu Galeria Fine Arts, Miami, FL.

2009:
Un día, cuando las hadas parten, Zu Galeria Fine Arts, Miami, FL.

2009:
Un poco al lado de los días, Zu Galeria Fine Arts, Miami, FL.

2009:
Diosas, vírgenes o mártires, Miami, FL.

2001:
Atrapando Sueños, Galería de Arte Provincial, Matanzas, Cuba.

1993:
Transiciones, Museo Felipe S. Gutiérrez, Toluca, México.

1984:
Una Noche de Nostalgia por Matanzas, Casa Lealtad, Havana, Cuba.

Selected Collective Shows & Museum Surveys

2026:
Circular Reflections, Westchester Regional Library, Miami, FL.

2025:
Circular Reflections, St. Thomas University, Miami, FL.

2014:
Arte cubano actual, Galería de Arte Latinoamericano, Miami, FL.

2011:
Mujeres del arte, Centro Cultural Hispano, Miami, FL.

2007:
Artistas cubanos en la diáspora, Instituto Cultural de México, Miami, FL.

2001:
Salón de Invierno, Galería de Arte Provincial, Matanzas, Cuba.

1998:
Muestra Colectiva de Conservadores y Restauradores, Centro Nacional de Conservación, Ciudad de México, México.

1994:
Salón Nacional de Premiados, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, La Habana, Cuba.

1989:
III Bienal de La Habana (Colaterales), Galería de Arte ENA, Habana.

Regional Historical Exhibits (Cuba):

Her work was prominently featured in major national platforms on the island, including exhibitions at the Second Havana Biennial, various institutional galleries, and collections at Havana’s National Fine Arts Museum.

International Regional Surveys:

Her fine art portfolios have been showcased internationally at Galería Bodden in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and the Felipe S. Gutiérrez Museum in Toluca, Mexico.

United States Displays (Miami Metropolitan Area):

Since her relocation, her artwork has been exhibited primarily across regional South Florida venues, including curated showcases at the Centro Cultural Español, Albizu University, and the Milander Center for the Arts.

Selected Awards & Achievements

2021 January 3 – March 31):
Artist-in-Residence Fellowship, STOUTHOUSE Residency Program, Sebastian, FL.

2011:
Linden Lane Press Painting Prize, Linden Lane Press, Princeton, NJ.

1990:
First Prize (Graphic Design), Second Press Graphic Design Salon, Havana, Cuba.

1989:
First Prize (Graphic Design), First Press Graphic Design Salon, Havana, Cuba.

Selected Bibliography & Publications

2026:
Catálogo: Reflexiones Circulares [Curaduría: Miguel Rodez]. InCUBAdora, March 24, 2026.

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.

2011:
Dayre Abella, René. “Poetas y Pintores en la callecita de los tilos…” Linden Lane Press, December 12, 2011.

2010:
Soler Baró, Julio César. “Candidez entre hadas y centauros.” Art & Culture Essays, 2010.

2009:
Galeria Magazine. “Los Puntales de Zu Galería.” Fine Art Spotlights, December 3, 2009.

2009:
Iglesias, Elena. “Cándida paints her interior mythology.” El Nuevo Herald, Galería, April 23, 2009.

2009:
Dominicana en Miami. “Privilegio de Cándida Rodríguez se presenta en Wynwood.” Cultural Records, 2009.

2006:
Galería Bodden. Cándida Rodríguez: Dibujos y Pinturas. Fine Art Indexes, 2006.

2005:
Artelista. “Candida Rodriguez Perez Portfolio Analysis.” Contemporary Masters Directory, 2005.

2005:
MutualArt. “Candida Rodriguez: Auction Results and Historical Lots.” Auction Registries, 2005.

Institutional & Museum Collections

The National Museum of Fine Arts (Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes), Havana, Cuba

The Felipe S. Gutiérrez Museum Collection, Toluca, Mexico

The Linden Lane Press Permanent Registry, Princeton, NJ

The STOUTHOUSE Cultural Foundation Collection, Sebastian, FL

The Albizu University Contemporary Art Registry, Miami, FL

Artist’s Gallery