Tucson Museum of Art to Exhibit 70 Plus Works of Carlos Estévez

First Major Mid-Career Survey in US by Cuban-born Artist

TUCSON, ARIZONA — The Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block (TMA) presents the first significant mid-career survey by artist Carlos Estévez in Carlos Estévez: Entelechy, Works from 1992 to 2018, January 26 – May 5, 2019 in the James J. and Louise R. Glasser Galleries. This personal and reflective exhibit explores 25 years of work, with more than 70 paintings, drawings, installations and sculptures by Estévez, considered one of the most prominent Cuban artists of the late 20th century.

“This TMA exhibition is one of the most important of my career,” Estévez said about Entelechy. “I am unveiling my inner universe, thoughts, and dreams, hoping viewers can find answers or pose questions about their own experiences through the magic of art.” The exhibition title Entelechy, is derived from the Greek entelecheia, which references the concept of the dynamic transformation of an idea into a reality. The TMA retrospective reveals the artist’s decades-long interest in the link between human spirituality and the infinity of human experience.

Carlos Estévez was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1969. He graduated from the University of Arts (ISA), Havana, Cuba, and received the Grand Prize in the First Salon of Contemporary Cuban Art in Havana, Cuba, in 1995. Living all of his life in post-Revolutionary Cuba, Estévez sought both artistic and personal freedom. After years of extensive travel, Estévez left Cuba with his young family and moved to Miami in 2004.

The exhibition draws upon Estévez’s works from 1992 to 2018 and is guest-curated by Dr. Carol Damian, former Professor of Art and Art History and former Director and Chief Curator at the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum at Florida International University. A specialist in the art of Latin America and the Caribbean, she is the author of several books, catalogs, and articles. Damian lectures and has curated numerous exhibitions throughout the country.

“Carlos Estévez is a unique artist with an extraordinary intellect, amazing creativity, and quest for knowledge,” Damian said. “An intrepid traveler and collector, Estévez has, over 25 years, produced a series of works across a diversity of media, from meticulous drawings of cityscapes and mechanical creatures of his own invention to paintings, whimsical assemblages, sculpture, and anything else that drives his imagination.”

Tucson Museum of Art will be offering special events in addition to the Friday, January 25, 2019 preview, 6-8 pm, for invited guests and TMA members:

  • Artist/Curator Conversation + Book Signing, Saturday, January 26, 2019, 1 p.m., free with museum admission: Estévez and exhibition curator Dr. Carol Damian will discuss Estévez’s artistic career. Estévez and Damian will sign copies of Carlos Estévez: Entelechy.
  • TMA@CCP: Special screening of Ana Mendieta: Fuego De Tierra – Tuesday, February 5, 2019, 6 p.m., free and open to the public: The Center for Creative Photography (CCP) at The University of Arizona hosts a special screening of the 1987 film, Ana Mendieta: Fuego De Tierra by Kate Horsfield, Nereida García-Ferraz, and Branda Miller. The film is a portrait of famed Cuban American artist Ana Mendieta, highlighting her work and tragic end.
  • TMA Leadership Circle Lecture Series – In Conversation: Nereida Garcia-Ferraz and Dr. Maribel Alvarez, Wednesday, February 13, 2019, 6 p.m., free and open to the public: Nereida García-Ferraz, an internationally recognized Cuban American artist, and Dr. Maribel Alvarez, Executive Director of the Southwest Folklife Center at the University of Arizona, discuss Garcia-Ferraz’s studio practice, life for Cuban artists living on the island, and the making of the film, Fuego De Tierra.

Carlos Estévez: Entelechy, Works from 1992 to 2018 is presented by the Kautz Family Foundation, James and Jocelyn Stoller, and the Tucson Museum of Art Latin American Art Patrons, with additional support by Ed and Cristine Hansen and Chris and Suzanne Armstrong.

Generous support of the 95th Anniversary exhibition season at the Tucson Museum of Art is provided by the Connie Hillman Family Foundation, James J. and Louise R. Glasser, and Jon and Linda Ender, with additional support by RBC Wealth Management: Richard A. Schaefer, Vance L. Falbaum, Bobby Present, Doug Mance, Tim Dunne, and Linda Immerman-Stoffers, and AC Hotel Tucson Downtown.