Julio Cesar Peña
Peña, Julio Cesar, Holguín, Cuba. 1969 Julio Cesar Peña, is a well-known Cuban engraver with almost self-taught training who has particularized his work with the recurrent use of skulls, not as an ode to death but quite the opposite, his skulls are his everyday beings loaded with humor, with vices. and customs, according to the author himself; << …My works are not about death. They are about life. They are about the act of seeing ourselves. They are like seeing life through an x-ray. We are all the same anatomically: what makes us different is the costume that is imposed on us when we are born.>> Peñita’s Work, as it is recognized, reaches its splendor in 1997 with the mention received at the event for young engravers Latin Americans, organized by Casa de las Américas, then he began to work at the Experimental de Gráfica workshop in Havana, received the La Joven Estampa Award in 1999 and then in 2001 he was internationally recognized with the Grand Prize at the Engraving Triennial of the Japanese city of Kanagawa
Awards and Mentions
1997 – La Joven Estampa Mention.
1997 – Mention at the Engraving Meeting.
First Prize in the Botanical Garden Landscape Hall.
1998 – Mention XIII “Eduardo Abela Villareal” Plastic Arts Hall.
Mention of Plastic Arts in Body Art. Her Car Gallery.
XII Engraving Prize. Arístides Fernández Plastic Arts Hall.
1999 – Mention of the II Territorial Hall S.O.S La Salud. Quivican.
1999 – La Joven Estampa Award. House of the Americas.
2001 – Mention Engraving Meeting 2001, Wifredo Contemporary Art Center
Lam, Havana, Cuba.
Mention. XIII San Juan Biennial of Latin American Engraving and
Caribbean. San Juan Puerto Rico.
Big prize. International Print Triennial in Kanagawa 2001. Kanagawa, Japan
2002-Second Prize. First Painting Competition. Habana Club Rum Museum, La
Havana Cuba.
Raúl Gómez Garcia Distinction. Ministry of Culture, Cuba
2007 First Prize award in the category of Works on paper Works on paper, MOLAA
Awards, second Annual Juried Competition, October, 2007. Museum of Latin
American Art, long beach, CA. USA.
2008 Fourth best work in the First Competition, Convened by the Olympic Committee
International, At the Beijing Olympics, China
Group Exhibitions
1991
•I Teodoro Ramos Blanco Sculpture and Drawing Hall. Havana City.
1995
•Cuban Engravings Expo. Rogelio Nogueras Gallery-Bookstore. Havana City
•Cuban prints. Museum of Contemporary Art Extremadura and Ibero-American, Badajof, Spain.
•Second Konfese “Friendship” Hall. Galiano Gallery.
•The Young Stamp. Latin American Gallery. House of the Americas.
•The Young Image of Havana in Guadalajara. Ajitic Center for Fine Arts. Guadalajara Mexico.
1996
• II Latin American Miniprint Exhibition in Rosario. Santa Fe. Argentina.
•City Hall collateral exhibition. Imago Gallery.
•Fayad Jamis Prize for Plastic Arts. Emir Abdel Kadel Gallery. Arab Union of Cuba.
1997
• IX Arístides Fernández Plastic Arts Hall. Universal Art Gallery. Guines, Cuba.
•III Konfese Hall. Guayasamin House.
•Images for a meeting. Imago Gallery. Donation for the XIV Festival of Youth and Students. GTH García Lorca. Cuba.
•Spring Auction. GTH García Lorca. Cuba.
•Between paintings, drawings and scares. Africa House.
•What could have been and was not. Amelia Peláez Gallery.
•Engraving Meeting 97′. Visual Arts Development Center. Cuba.
•Winter auction. Imago Gallery.
•The Young Stamp. Latin American Gallery. House of the Americas. Cuba.
•Spring auction. GTH. Imago Gallery.
•Spell. Africa House.
•“That Te.” Galiano Gallery.
•Meeting of La Salud Landscapers. S.O.S.
•“March 13th Room”. College extension. Havana. Cuba.
•IxI Amelia Peláez Gallery.
•First Landscape Hall. National Botanical Garden.
•First Garden Landscape Room at the University Extension. Havana. Cuba.
•XIII “Eduardo Abela Villareal” Plastic Arts Hall. Eduardo Abela Gallery.
•Coast to coast. GTH Imago Gallery.
•International Print Triennial in Kanagawa. Japan.
•International Miniprint Exhibition. Muncunill Terrassa Room. Spain.
•Body Art Exhibition. Her-Car Gallery.
•Small Format XXX Anniversary Show. University Extension Gallery.
•IV Konfese Hall. Galiano Gallery. Cuba.
•Engraving Exhibition. Experimental Graphics Workshop. Havana. Cuba.
Fall Auction. Imago Gallery.
•XII Arístides Fernández Plastic Arts Hall. Universal Gallery. Guines.
V Erotic Art Hall. Panamericano Resolt.
•III Latin American Miniprint Exhibition in Rosario. Santa Fe. Argentina.
•II Territorial Hall of S.O.S La Salud. Quivican.
•Roberto Diago Room. Vigía Gallery. Matanzas.
•Cadaqués International Miniprint. ADOGI. Fort Gallery Workshop. Barcelona. Spain.
•Manitoba Printmakers Association. Pan Am Print Exhibition. XIII Pan Games, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Canada.
•XIII Máximo Ramos Ferrol Engraving Prize.
•6 walls. FEU Student House. University of Havana.
•Rubén Martínez Villena Library. University of Havana.
•Wingfield Arts & Music Festival. Wingfield England.
•La Joven Estampa Award. House of the Americas.
•37th Anniversary of TEGH.
•Gallery “L’ETANG D’ ART. Bages. France.
•XII PMA National Competition in action. Center for the Development of the Visual Arts, Havana City.
•Spring Auction. GTH.
•38th Anniversary of the TEG.
•Fayad Jamis Prize for Plastic Arts. Emir Abdel Kadel Gallery. Arab Union
from Cuba. Cuba.
•De Valigia in Cuba. Provincial Center of Plastic Arts and Design. Cuba.
•Humanitarian Auction to benefit the Pediatric Ward of the Oncology Hospital of Havana.
House of the Americas.
•VII Havana Biennial.
•Cuba Collaborative Mural. The world of Art in Havana. Cuba Pavilion. Omnium. Grobal Art
Society. VII Havana Biennial.
•Havana Graphics Workshop in Cienfuegos. Hundred fires.
•IV Latin American Exhibition and 1st International Mininprint in Rosario 2000” Santa Fe.
Argentina.
•VII Biennial 1st International Gravura Amadora 2000 Amadora Culture Factory. Portugal.
2001
•TEGH Engraving Exhibition. Council of State, Havana.
•II Erotic Art Salon. Acacia Gallery. Cuba.
•Erotic Art Hall. Fayad Jamis Gallery.
•The Multiple Footprint. Medaid. Org/Art. Gallery 106. Austin, USA.
•Engraving Meeting 2001. Wifredo Lam Contemporary Art Center, Havana. Cuba.
•Cadaqués International Miniprint. ADOGI. Fort Gallery Workshop. Barcelona.
Spain.
•Wingfield Arts & Music Festival. Wingfield England.
•Gallery “L’ETANG D’ ART. Bages. France.
•XIII San Juan Biennial of Latin American and Caribbean Engraving.Old
Navy Arsenal. San Juan Puerto Rico.
•International Print Triennial in •Kanagawa 2001. Kanagawa Prefectural Gallery. Kanagawa-Ken, Japan.
•VISUARTE 2001, Cienfuegos, Cuba
2002
•THREE = 3, Havana Experimental Graphics Workshop.
2003
•Expo simultaneously with the I World Domino Championship, March, 2003
2004
•Caribbean Art Auction (Arts for Peace) AOBD Fine Art Center of Caguas, Puerto Rico.
•Cuban Prints –Koussevitzky Art Gallery. Berkshire Community College Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
•Benson Hall gallery, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence,