Bio
Hander Lara is a Cuban-American artist who was born in Havana in 1984. He studied at the San Alejandro Academy of Fine Arts and the University of the Arts of Cuba, graduating from both with high honors. His awards include the First Prize in the European Union Art Competition and a Scholarship at the Royal University of Arts (Kungl. Konsthögskolan) in Stockholm, Sweden. He was a professor of the Faculty of Visual Arts of the University of Arts of Cuba from 2009 until the end of 2018, being head of its Sculpture Department from 2012 to 2016. From 2022 to 2024 he taught at the Miami Arts Charter School. His work moves between sculpture, installation, photography, painting and drawing. He has participated in around ninety collective exhibitions and sixteen solo shows, and his works have been exhibited in countries such as: Cuba, Mexico, Colombia, Honduras, Antigua & Barbuda, Belgium, Spain, England, United States, Austria, Sweden and Iceland. Some of the venues where his work has been shown are: OK Biennale Cuvée, Austria; XI and XII Havana Biennial; Central American Biennial of Tegucigalpa, Honduras; The National Museum of Fine Arts of Cuba; Teoloyucan Museum, Mexico; Konstnärsgården Gallery, Sweden; Reykjavík International Film Festival, Iceland; Art on Paper + 1, Brussels, Belgium; Contemporary Art Museum of Tampa; The Cultural Center Of Spain in Miami; Wifredo Lam Contemporary Art Center, Havana; Art Madrid Contemporary Art Fair, Spain; Ludwig Foundation, Havana; Phototec of Cuba; Katzen Museum of the American University of Washington DC; Development Center of the Visual Arts, Havana; The One Minute Belgianopen, Belgium among others. He has imparted workshops and talks at different artistic and academic institutions in Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean and the United States. His works are part of private and institutional collections in different countries, such as the National Museum of Fine Arts of Cuba, the Teoloyucan Museum in Mexico and The Oneminute Belgian Open in Belgium.
Statement
My work explores identity as a territory where personal memory, culture, and representation converge. Through various media and visual strategies, I investigate how the experience of place—understood both as a physical space loaded with historical and symbolic meanings and as an intimate realm of memories and emotions—shapes our perception of belonging and of ourselves. I explore identity through the tension between the individual and the collective, between the past and the present, articulating a visual narrative that connects the personal with the cultural, the concrete with the abstract. In this way, my work proposes a reflection on how history and culture influence the way we remember and represent ourselves, on the pursuit of identity as a tool for self-discovery, using the act of creation as a means to reconfigure the constant dialogue between what is lived and what is imagined.
Curriculum Vitae
Hander Lara Figueroa
Havana 1984, Cuba
Studies
2010 – 2011 – Postdegree in Symbolic Production. University of Arts of Cuba.
2004 – 2009 – Bachelor in Fine Arts. University of Arts of Cuba.
2008 – Art Scholarship. Royal University of Arts (Kungl. Konsthögskolan), Stockholm, Sweden.
1999 – 2003 – San Alejandro Fine Arts Academy. Havana City.
1996 – Course of Art History Panorama. Art History Department of the Arts & Letters
Faculty of the Havana Unversity and the Association of Visual Artists of the
National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC).
General data
– His work moves in different media such as sculpture, installation, photography, painting and drawing.
– He has participated in around ninety collectives exhibitions and sixteen solo shows, and his works have been exhibited in countries like: Cuba, Mexico, Colombia,
Honduras, Antigua & Barbuda, Belgium, Spain, England, United States, Austria, Sweden and Iceland.
- His works have been exhibited in museums, biennials, international festivals and art fairs, galleries, foundations, art salons and cultural centers.
– He is a member of the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC).
– From 2009 to 2020 he worked as a professor of the Visual Arts Faculty at the University of Arts of Cuba.
– From 2012 to 2016 he was Head of the Sculpture Department of the Visual Arts Faculty of that institution.
- From 2022 to 2024 he worked as a Visual Arts teacher at the Miami Arts Charter School. Wynwood, Miami.
Imparted lectures and workshops
– Burg Giebichenstein Kunsthochschule Halle, Germany.
– The Royal University of Fine Arts (Kungl. Konsthögskolan), Stockholm, Sweden.
– The Jönköping Museet. Jönköping, Sweden.
– Teoloyucan Museum. Mexico State, Mexico.
– University of Arts of Cuba. Havana, Cuba.
– Development Center of The Visual Arts. Havana, Cuba.
– Lucio – Angela Art Space. Tultepec, Mexico.
- The Art Shack. Miami, USA.
Solo shows
2024 - “Nothing is abstract anymore”. Pan American Art Projects Gallery. Miami, USA.
2019 - Open Studio. THLara Studio. Collateral XIII Havana Biennial. Havana.
2018 – “Shaping the eternal from a hotel room”. Room E12, Heritage Hotel. St. John´s, Antigua & Barbuda.
2017 – “Conquering the face of God”. Teoloyucan Museum. Mexico.
2016 – “Open studio”. THLara Estudio. Havana City.
– “Conquering the face of God”. Galiano Gallery. Havana.
2015 – “Don´t play with history”. Rubén Martínez Villena Gallery. Plaza de Armas, Old Havana. Havana.
– “Art in theory”. Zona Franca. XII Havana Biennial. San Carlos de La Cabaña Fortress. Havana.
2014 – “Twice is better than once”. With Tomás Lara. Konstnärsgården Gallery. Jönköping, Sweden.
2012 – “The place of all things”. XI Havana Biennial. San Carlos de La Cabaña Fortress. Havana.
2011 – “Land-escapes”. Rubén Martínez Villena Gallery. Plaza de Armas, Old Havana. Havana.
2009 – “10 & 2”. San Pancho Cultural Center. Nayarit, Mexico.
2007 – “Beyond appearances”. Center of Visual Arts and Desing Luz y Oficios. Havana.
2006 – “Of short stories and big spaces”. IX Havana Biennial. Talía Gallery. Havana.
2005 – “Cosmologies”. Library of the University of Arts (ISA). Havana.
2003 – “When reflection become form”. 23 & 12 Gallery. Havana.
Scholarships & Prizes
2008 – Royal University of Fine Arts (Kungl. Konsthögskolan). Stockholm, Sweden.
2007 – First Prize of the European Union Art Competition. “Cuba & Europe. Visions”.
2007 – Mention in the Photography Competition “Laces to the sea” summoned by The Neatherlands Embassy in Cuba.
2007 – Antonio Grediaga Art Casting Scholarship. School-workshop of Artistic Casting Antonio
Grediaga. Havana City.
Collective shows
2024 - Friends Of Laundromat. Laundromat Art Space. Miami.
2024 - How to return to a place that is not there. Thomas Nickles Project. New York.
2024 - Spring Fling. Locust Projects. Miami, USA.
2024 - HuMan Nature. Laundromat Art Space. Miami, USA.
2023 - 2024 - “Text / Image”. Pan American Art Projects Gallery. Miami, USA.
2023 - “HB Muesta de Arte Cubano Contemporáneo”. Galería Servando. La Habana.
2023 - Meter La Habana en Guanabacoa. Corral Falso 259. Havana.
2022 - The Miami Dogs & Cats Walkway. The Bayfront Park. Miami, USA.
2022 - Eloquence of silence. Contemporary Cuban Sculpture. National Museum of Fine Arts of Cuba.
2018 - From the idea to the form. René Valdés Cedeño Gallery. Santiago de Cuba.
2018– “Panorama”. 10th Edition. Summer Hall. Mariano Rodriguez Gallery. Havana.
2017 – “From the idea to the form”. Orígenes Gallery. Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso. Havana.
2017 – “Of the size of the world”. Spanish-American Center of Culture. Havana.
2017 – “Endurance: Cuban Artists Today”. Collectionair. England.
2017 – “Cueterías Art Festival”. 7th Edition. Lucio – Angela Art Space. Tultepec, Mexico.
2016 – “Panorama”. 9th Edition. Summer Hall. Mariano Rodriguez Gallery. Havana.
2016 – “Cueterías Art Festival”. 6th Edition. Lucio – Angela Art Space. Tultepec, Mexico.
2015 – “Me, myself and I”. Antonia Eiriz Gallery. La Madriguera. Havana.
2015 – “Footnote”. Espacio Abierto Gallery. Havana.
2015 – Post-it 3. Contemporary Cuban Art Show. Arte-Facto Gallery. Havana.
2015 – “2009Deriva2013. XII Havana Biennial. Félix Varela Cultural Center. Havana.
2015 – “Panorama”. 7th Edition. Summer Hall. Mariano Rodriguez Gallery.. Havana.
2014 – City Hall 2014. The death of the last Wolf. Luz y Oficios Gallery. Havana.
2014– Reykjavík International Film Festival (RIFF). Deep Blue: Somewhere deep down lies the secret to a new beginning. One Minute Series. Loft Hostelfrom (27th
Sept – 5th Oct), Kópavogslaug (30th Sept) and Vesturbaejarlaug (1st Oct). Iceland.
2014 – “Occupaying, Building, Thinking: Poetic and Discursive Perspectives on Contemporary Cuban Videoart (1990 – 2010)”. Contemporary Creation Center (CCCO).
Cádiz, Spain.
2014 – “Three parts for a dialogue”. Espacio Abierto Gallery. Havana.
2013 – “Post-it”. Collage Habana Gallery. Havana.
2013 – Art on Paper + 1. Art Fair of Brussels. White Hotel. Belgium.
2013 – La Vasija Biennial 2013. Hispanicamerican Center of Culture. Havana.
2013 – OK Biennale Cuvée. Ok Center for Contemporary Art. Linz, Austria.
2013– “Occupaying, Building, Thinking: Poetic and Discursive Perspectives on Contemporary Cuban Videoart (1990 – 2010)”. Contemporary Art Museum of Tampa. United States.
2013 – “Still racket”. National Museum of the Ceramic. Havana.
2012 – “Subjective”. House of Culture of Plaza. Havana.
2012 – “Light to your own chemistry V”. Photographic November. Phototec of Cuba. Havana.
2012 – “Thinking from the landscape”. Osvaldo Guayasamín Gallery. Havana.
2012 – “Occupaying, Building, Thinking: Poetic and Discursive Perspectives on Contemporary Cuban Videoart (1990 – 2010)”. The Cultural Center Of Spain in Miami.
United States.
2012 – Cuban Art collection of the CubaPLUS Magazine. 6th Anniversary. Vedado Hall of the National Hotel of Cuba. Havana.
2012 – “Artfulling Uniting Extraordinary. Cuban artworks with extraordinary life”. BNP Paribas Fortis. Brussels, Belgium.
2011 – “Pink noise”. La Moderna Gallery. Havana.
2011 – Cuban Art collection of the CubaPLUS Magazine. 5th Anniversary. Vedado Hall of the National Hotel of Cuba. Havana.
2011 – “Ya sé leer”. Contemporary Art Center Wifredo Lam. Havana.
2011 – “Occupaying, Building, Thinking: Poetic and Discursive Perspectives on Contemporary Cuban Videoart (1990 – 2010). As part of the event “Cuban Music, Art
and Literature After the Fall of the Berlin Wall”. Carleton College. Minneapolis, United States.
2011 – Art Madrid ´11. 6th Contemporary Art Fair. Crystal Pavilion, Casa de Campo. Madrid, Spain.
2010 – “Sight make faith”. San Alejandro Fine Arts Academy Gallery. Havana City.
2010 – “Light to your own chemistry III”. Photographic November. Ludwig Foundation. Havana.
2010 – “The extreme of the bullet. A Decade of Cuban Contemporary Art”. Cuba Pavilion. Havana.
2010 – “Multiple option. Contemporary Cuban Art”. Benito Juárez International Airport. Mexico DF, Mexico.
2010 – “10 & 2”. Contemporary Cuban Photography. Punto Cero Gallery. Mexico DF, Mexico.
2010 – “Intertwining cultures”. Art & Fashion. Edition 2010. National Museum of Fine Arts. Havana.
2010– “Multiple option. Contemporary Cuban Art”. Arte San Juan Foundation. Guadalajara, Mexico.
2010 – “10 & 2”. Contemporary Cuban Photography. Guadalajara Galeries. Guadalajara, Mexico.
2009 – “Black is a color”. Collective exhibition of Contemporary Cuban Art. San Juan Foundation. Gadalajara, Mexico.
2009 – “Light to your own chemistry II”. Photographic November. Phototec of Cuba. Havana.
2009 – “Build in”. X Havana Biennial collateral exhibition. Servando Cabrera Gallery. La Copa. Havana.
2009 – “Change and out”. X Havana Biennial collateral exhibition. Visual Arts Faculty of University of Arts (ISA). Havana.
2008 – “Isla in Continente. Contemporary Cuban Art”. Central American Biennial of Tegucigalpa. Art National Gallery FUNDARTE. Plaza La Merced, Tegucigalpa,
Honduras.
2008 – XIX Art Hall. Katzen Museum of the American University of Washington DC. United States.
2008 – V Contemporary Cuban Art Hall. Development Center of the Visual Arts. Havana.
2008 – “Glocalizados”. International Festival of Culture of Boyacá. Rafael Taveras Gallery. Tunja, Colombia.
2008 – “Grove. The body is bodies”. International Festival of Contemporary Art in Guanajuato. Jesús Gallardo Art Gallery. León, Mexico.
2008 – “Toma 9”. Development Center of the Visual Arts. Havana.
2008 – “Stalker”. Visual Arts Faculty of University of Arts (ISA). Havana.
2008 – ABC International Event of Performance and Audiovisual. Circus Project 5th Edition. House of Poetry. Havana.
2008 – “2008culturas.com”. International event organized through Internet by the State Society of Cultural Commemorations, appointed to the Culture Ministry of
Spain, with motive of the European Year of the Intercultural Dialogue.
2008 – Art Casting Sculpture Symposium. School-workshop of Artistic Casting Antonio Grediaga. Havana.
2007 – “Laces to the sea”. Works exhibition of the Photoraphy Competition summoned by The Neatherlands Embassy in Cuba. Mr. Embassador residence. Havana.
2007 – “The One Minute Belgianopen”. Audiovisual Festival organized by the TOM Amsterdam and the Belgianopen. Gante, Belgium.
2007 – Cuban Art Show. Guanajuato Art Gallery. León, Mexico.
2007 – Young Cuban Artists. San Juan Art Foundation. Guadalajara, Mexico.
2007 – IX Digital Art Hall. Pablo de la Torriente Brau Center. Havana.
2007 – “Cuba & Europe. Visions”. Exhibition of the rewarded works and finalists of the European Union Art Competition. Residence of the Cultural Adviser of
Germany in Havana. Havana.
2007 – “Built situation”. Art Faculty of the University of Arts (ISA). Havana.
2007 – “Travelling. Reality & Fiction”. International Event of Performance and Audivisuals. Circus Project 4th Edition. Actualidades Cinema. Havana.
2006 – “H2Oro”. House of Poetry. Havana.
2006 – City Hall ´06. Center of Fine Arts and Design Luz y Oficios. Havana.
2006 – “To shoot and to shoot well”. IX Havana Biennial collateral exhibition. Intervention in the shoot training field in Vedado. Havana.
2006 – “IX in the carpentry”. IX Havana Biennial collateral exhibition. University of Arts (ISA). Havana.
2006 – “Transient sculpture”. IX Havana Biennial collateral exhibition. Workshop of the National Advisory Counsel for the Development of the Enviromental and
Monumental Sculpture (CODEMA). Havana.
2005 – V Installations Hall Juan Francisco Elso. Mariano Rodríguez Gallery. Panamerican Villege. Havana.
2005 – “SIZE: XXL”. Mariano Rodríguez Gallery. Panamerican Village. Havana.
2003 – “Naturarte”. Documental exhibition of the Ephemeral Workshop. Wifredo Lam Contemporary Art Center. Havana.
2003 – “Naturarte”. Ephemeral Workshop. Dos Hermanas Camping Base. Viñales Valley. Pinar del Río.
2001 – “Academic 2001”. House of Poetry. Havana.
2000 – XII Mirta Cerra´s Hall. Mirta Cerra Gallery. Havana.
2000 – Summer Hall. Bejucal Art Gallery. Havana.
Collections
- National Museum of Fine Arts of Cuba
- The One Minute Belgianopen. Belgium
- Teoloyucan Museum. Mexico.
- Germany Embassy in Cuba
- Arte San Juan Foundation. Mexico
- CubaPLUS Magazine. Canada - Cuba
- C de Cuba Magazine. Spain
- Art OnCuba Magazine. Cuba - USA
- Private collections in: Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Belgium, Germany, Sweden and United States.