Elizabet Cerviño

Iron oxide on linen is indicative of the artist’s predilection for representing fragility, with the medium of iron oxide adding a dash of strength and harshness to the natural hues and delicate texture of stretched linen. The empty space on the surface is a place where things can emerge and have their own presence, whereas the iron oxide’s many different shades and manipulations of colour appear as shadows, stains or intrusions onto the surface of the work. 

Elizabet Cerviño (Manzanillo, Cuba, 1986) graduated from the Higher Institute of Art of Havana in 2009. She currently lives and works in Havana. 

Her artistic practice, which is approached from a spiritual, physical and contemplative position, tends towards fragility, with subtle gestures of ritual and craftsmanship where, in the realization, an action becomes impersonal. Emptiness is a natural entity within her practice, and her representation seeks purification. She takes refuge in this empty space as a primordial nature, where things appear and have their own existence. There is a tendency towards the non-representational.

She uses all means, for an idea requires a self-sufficient body to materialize. According to this, her work can take the form of performance, environment, installation, object (painting) etc. Or it may be a gesture that tries to say a word but remains a sound.

In 2015, she was invited to the 12th Havana Biennial, with the project "Peine de agua". 

Amongst her main solo exhibitions, we mention: Chasquidos, Pabellón Cuba, Havana (2019); Mónadas, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, Italy (2018); Pausa, La Columnata, Callao, Perú (2017); Ná, Galleria Continua, Havana (2017); Hoguera (performance), Residence Vermont Studio Center. Red Miller, Vermont (2015); Paisaje a 360º, Villa Manuela Gallery, Havana (2014); Hálitos, Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, Havana (2013); Epitafio, Pabellón Cuba, Havana, 2012; No existe un blanco en la niebla, Luz y Oficios Gallery, Havana (2009); Hay un cielo en la tierra. Río de tinta, Villa Manuela Gallery, Havana (2009); Inventario, Ludwig Foundation, Havana (2009); among others. 

Her work has been part of collective exhibitions at the National Museum of Fine Arts of Havana; Pérez Art Museum, Miami, USA; Cranbrook Museum, Bloomfiel Hills, Detroit, Michigan, USA; Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, Havana; Pabellón Cuba, Havana; Galleria Continua, Havana, Italy, France; Centro Hispanoamericano de Cultura, Havana; Norwegian Embassy in Cuba; Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation, New York, USA; Odeon Foundation, Bogotá, Colombia; Green Gallery, Dubai; South South, Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa; Acacia gallery; Galería Habana; Hoffman Gallery, Lewis & Clark College, Portland, USA; Robert Miller Gallery, New York, USA; House of Egorn Gallery, Berlin, Germany; RIAP 2014. 18 Édition, Rencontre Internationale D ́Art- Performance/Quebec, Canada; L'Écart Gallery, Lieu d Galería actuel RIPA, Canada; Le Grave Gallery - RIAP; WASPS artists`studios. Glasgow; Centre Culturel Fonds Saint-Jacques, Fort de France, Martinique; Espacio Aglutinador, Havana; Casa de México, Havana; among others.

She obtained the following scholarships and residencies: Real Academia Española, Rome, Italy (2017); Brever House, Rockefeller Center, The Rockefeller Brothers Fund (2017); Unlimited, Brooklyn, New York, Cuban Arts Fundation and The Rockefeller Brothers Fund (2017); Finalist 1st Edition of the International Cuban Art Award, Young Artist of the Year Category, Farber Foundation. Cuba-USA (2015); Nominated for the 2nd Edition of the Maretti Award, Cuba-Italy (2014); Henry Moore Foundation, I'm Cold Project, Glasglow, Scotia. UK; among others.