Felipe Jimenez

- Painter - Sculptor - Muralist -

SANTA CLARA, CUBA

I am one of many in a generation of Cubans who, in the midst of our adolescence, came of age trapped by two dictatorships...Fulgencio Batista's and Fidel Castro's. Ambushed by both, we fought against both like Quijotes. Then suddenly we found ourselves roaming the four corners of the earth, stranded in the outlands, like shipwrecked sailors yearning for the land we were forced to leave behind, for an essence lost in time.

My first teacher in the field of art was not only from my hometown, he was part of my family. It was my uncle Rafael Jiménez, who nurtured my first brushstrokes...until the hurricane swept everything away. Afterwards I would follow my own course, finally finding myself in this vast school that they have labeled "expressionism" and to which I have been loyal in my sculptures, paintings and murals...first in Cuba and later abroad, in exile, where I have now lived 37 years.

Hence, I consider myself an artist of the exodus, of the diaspora, of that extraordinary wellspring of Cuban culture which has been dispersed--and at times lost-- throughout the planet. In my case, I was first in Ecuador, then in Puerto Rico and the United States (which I have always perceived as two separate entities, two different countries). It was in Puerto Rico where I truly became an artist, in the professional sense of the word. It was there that I met magnificent teachers, who would also become my friends: Rolando López Dirube, John Balosi, Antonio Gantes, Cundo Bermúdez, Alfonso Arana, Victor Piedra, Alejandro Sanchez-Felipe, among many others. There was the extraordinary sculptor Alfredo Lozano, who, in more ways than one--and perhaps because I was the youngest in the group--treated me like a son.

I became a founding member of the Art Students League of San Juan. Later I taught at the University of Puerto Rico, as well as in several other schools of that beloved, tiny Caribbean Island. I also taught in the city of Miami in the United States.

I have never been able to forget my Cuba, nor my birthplace, the city of Santa Clara, with its people, its customs and its moments (moments???)...I will continue working in my art as long as I'm alive, since that is the best and the most beautiful way to preserve the ongoing, ever expanding growth, and facing the inexorable and unavoidable reality of being a human being who loves his family, humanity, and fights...will eternally fight for freedom and justice..."

Note: The works presented are not in chronological order nor do they comprise the totality of the works of the author.

( Some of the images are larger than can be viewed on these pages. In order to see them in larger format, click on the individual images. Click the "Back" button to return to each page. )

Awards

"Power Point" Presentation

Ceramic works in recreational areas and swimming pools

Sculpture

Genesis of Life

Maternity with Carnations

Portraits

Gallery 1

Gallery 2

Gallery 3

Gallery 4

Gallery 5