Circular Reflections

The artist builds a sanctuary of memory and longing through paintings that refuse to be ignored. A combination of earthy textures, vibrant colors, and fluid lines serves as the vehicle to deliver an energetic impact, awakening distorted facial profiles from a dream cycle. The compositions shatter the heavy silence of societal alienation, mapping the psychological geography of a homeland through intimate gestures. Ultimately, technical mastery dissolves into pure emotion, capturing the fragile, enduring beauty of human resilience.

• Academic Foundations: Born in Santa Clara, Villa Clara, Cuba in 1977. He completed his initial, foundational fine arts training at the Elementary School of Art “Olga Alonso” in Santa Clara, graduating in 1992. This was followed by middle-level studio training in visual arts at the Professional School of Arts “Oscar Fernández Morera” in Trinidad, Sancti Spíritus, from which he graduated in 1998. He then pursued higher studio education at the Arts University of Cuba, Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) in Havana, graduating with a specialization in Painting in 2006.
• Institutional Service & Parallel Disciplines: While centered fundamentally on canvas painting, his practice incorporates occasional parallel explorations into sculpture, performance, and multi-media installation. He notably balances traditional oils and acrylics on canvas with experimental three-dimensional textures, utilizing these parallel approaches to challenge the boundaries of contemporary physiological portraiture.
• Exile, Translocation & Relocations: Maintaining a dedicated production base within the island, his international career progression tracks through prominent creative residencies abroad. He completed a temporary developmental chapter in Vienna, Austria in 2012 as an artist-in-residence under the Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture (BMUKK). This was followed by European studio exhibitions in Winterthur and Zurich, Switzerland in 2015, and an international residency fellowship under the Ministry of Culture of China at the Xiaozuo Art Museum in Beijing in 2018.
• Current Status: He currently maintains his primary physical home and active working studio base in Havana, Cuba. From this location, he remains widely engaged in global contemporary art markets, commercial art fairs, and ongoing international gallery collaborations.

• 2012: Visiting Studio Lecturer and Resident Workshop Mentor, Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture (BMUKK), Vienna, Austria.
• 2018: Guest Master Instructor and Painter Consultant, Ministry of Culture International Creator Exchange Program / Xiaozuo Art Museum, Beijing, China.

• The Provocative Portrait / Rostros: A lifelong, cornerstone thematic block tracking macro-focused, tightly cropped human close-ups. Rather than pursuing commercial likenesses, the artist co-opts traditional oil figurative techniques to depict heavily textured, anonymous faces that serve as psychological maps of anxiety and existential weight.
• The Ephemeral Gesture: A conceptual thread focusing on short-lived expressions, shifting glances, and transient emotional flashes frozen within dense physical media. This series leverages hyperrealistic detail in the painted pupils while contrasting them against broad, sweeping, heavily blurred brushstrokes that challenge the static boundaries of classical painting.
• The Human Condition Under Chaos: A distinct conceptual block evaluating survival, resilience, and the internal life of the individual navigating restrictive socio-political realities. It emphasizes the thick buildup of oil layers and heavy impasto texturing to underscore a visceral tension between what is structurally concealed and what ultimately surfaces.

This artist has participated in numerous solo exhibitions, including the following:

• 2022: Niels Reyes: Concurrent Surveys, Maxima Gallery / Black Pony Gallery, Havana, Cuba / Online on Artsy.
• 2020: The Essence of Youth / La esencia de la juventud, Black Pony Gallery, Online.
• 2019: Óleo, Galería Artis 718, Havana, Cuba. (Collateral to the XIII Havana Biennial).
• 2017: Têtes, NG Art Gallery, Panama City, Panama.
• 2016: Antropoceno, Galería Artis 718, Havana, Cuba.
• 2016: Rostros Inestables, NG Art Gallery, Panama City, Panama.
• 2015: Convergencia, Galería El Reino de este Mundo, Biblioteca Nacional de Cuba José Martí, Havana, Cuba.
• 2015: Psicotropical, Knoerle and Baettig Gallery, Winterthur/Zurich, Switzerland.
• 2014: Schófen, Casa Wilton, Havana, Cuba.
• 2012: Caminando por el fango (Mud Walking), Ve.Sch Art Space, Vienna, Austria.
• 2012: Pasan las nubes (Passing Clouds), Galería Servando Cabrera, Havana, Cuba.
• 2009: Obnubilium, Galería Luz y Suárez del Villar, Madrid, Spain.

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

• 2026: Circular Reflections, Westchester Regional Library, Miami, FL.
• 2025: Stand By, Zapata Gallery, Miami, FL.
• 2021: Instancias del YO, Nave 1, Fábrica de Arte Cubano (FAC), Havana, Cuba.
• 2021: Salón Guernica, Galería Servando Cabrera Moreno, Havana, Cuba.
• 2021: Salón Habana, Centro Provincial de Artes Plásticas y Diseño, Havana, Cuba.
• 2019: HB, Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso / Collage Habana / Taller Ensamble, XIII Bienal de La Habana, Havana, Cuba.
• 2019: Artífice, Atelier NG Havana, Havana, Cuba.
• 2018: Síndrome de la estepa, Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, Havana.
• 2015: Pintura Fresca II, Galería Habana, Havana, Cuba.
• 2015: Las Riveras del Aqueronte, Museo Farmacia Johnson, Havana, Cuba.
• 2015: HB, Pabexpo, Colateral a la XII Bienal de La Habana, Havana, Cuba.
• 2014: Ahora 12, Galería Artis 718, Havana, Cuba.
• 2014: El silencio que precede la tormenta, Casa de México, Havana, Cuba.
• 2014: Post-It 1, Galería Galiano, Havana, Cuba.
• 2010: 12th Cairo Biennial, Ministry of Culture Fine Arts Sector, Cairo, Egypt.
• 2010: Sueños Abiertos, Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wilfredo Lam, Havana.
• 2009: Art Madrid Fair, Pabellón de Cristal, Galería Servando Cabrera, Madrid.
• 2008: Proyecto Hidden, Galería Luz y Oficios, Havana, Cuba.
• 2007: Marina 255, Edificio Marina Public Art Project, Havana, Cuba.

• 2018 (September – November): International Artist Residency, Ministry of Culture of China / Xiaozuo Art Museum, Beijing / Fujian, China.
• 2014: Grand Prize, Post-it Contemporary Art Contest (First Edition), National Council of Plastic Arts (CNAP) / Fondo Cubano de Bienes Culturales, Havana, Cuba.
• 2012 (October – December): Artist Residency, KulturKontakt Austria (KKA) / Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture (BMUKK), Vienna, Austria.
• 2002: First Prize, Provincial Salon of Visual Arts, Santa Clara, Villa Clara, Cuba.

• 2026: Catálogo: ReflexionesCirculares [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, Yenia. Maxima Art Essays (2026): “Niels Reyes Cadalso: something more in portrait” – A critical commentary evaluating his success in portraiture, noting how his technique transcends standard figurative expectations to evoke shared memories and direct human connection.
• 2024: Vega Cabrera, Danilo. El Sr Corchea Art Reviews (2024): “Niels Reyes Cadalso, el peso de una bota y la cosa en sí” – A detailed conceptual analysis exploring how the artist’s focus on tight facial profiling, human gazes, and underlying everyday visual weight subverts the traditional Cuban theater of representation.
• 2022: Peña López, Yoannet. Tribuna de La Habana (2022): “Regreso de Niels Reyes a un no lugar” – A review tracking his return to physical gallery walls following major abstract experiments, highlighting the unsettling, energetic blend of primitive and postmodern aesthetics embedded in his paint textures.
• 2020: Toranzo Castillo, Teresa. Artcrónica (2020): “Niels Reyes: Trascender desde la pintura” – A deep historical feature capturing the painter’s early academic rise and foundational theories regarding how transient, ephemeral facial expressions structurally capture permanent cultural conditions.

• The National Council of Plastic Arts (CNAP), Havana, Cuba.
• The Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation Collection, New York, NY.
• The Brownstone Foundation Collection, Paris, France.
• The Xiaozuo Art Museum Collection, Fujian, China.
• The China Arts and Entertainment Group Collections, Ministry of Culture, Beijing, China.
• The Los Carbonell Foundation Registry, Panama City, Panama.