Prestidigitator, acrylic on canvas, 65 x 55 cm, 2016

Darwin Estacio Martinez was born in 1982, in Manzanillo, Cuba; he graduated from the Professional Academy of Fine Arts “El Alba” in Holguin City and the Higher Institute of Arts in Havana. He worked as a professor at the National Fine Arts Academy, San Alejandro, from 2007 to 2023. He has had an extensive artistic career, having participated in exhibitions across Cuba and other countries worldwide. Images of his works have been included in several publications, and many of his artworks belong to private collections in and outside of the Island.

Artist Statement

My paintings and videos are intended to embody general ideas through fragments and details that allude to a chain of actions that are maintained only on a speculative and interpretive level. For me, nothing happens except what an observer can infer. Using the human figure removed from any individual reference helps me focus on personality archetypes. I use each figure as a type of human being. I want to achieve the effect I achieve in my painting in the medium of cinema, and paradoxically create what I have captured in film within my paintings.