Kendall Art Cultural Center

Aldo Menéndez

Aldo Menéndez (b. Cienfuegos, Cuba, 1948-2020) A multifaceted artist and intellectual, in conjunction with the Master Samuel Feijóo, Aldo started very early in the 60s in Performance. And as if all this was not enough, Menéndez was part of the well-known Cuban poster boom of the 60’s - 70’s. Since 1968 when he made his first personal exhibition, there are innumerable individual and collective shows in which he participated in, in Cuba and other countries. He was also one of the pioneers of photorealism on the island (1973-80). He was the founder of the legendary Rene Portocarrero Silkscreen Print atelier of Havana (1973), and also considered to be a prominent journalist and a promoter of the arts. In 1972, five years after leaving the Cubanacan National Art School, his paintings and drawings were incorporated into the permanent collection of the National Museum of Fine Arts of Havana. In 1973 he founded the magazine Revolución y Cultura, which he  artistically wrote for and directed for 9 years. In the 1980’s he was an adviser to the Wifredo Lam Center and the National Museum, and at the same time, was a prominent figure in Contested art (alternative). In 1987, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Cuba awarded him the National Order of Cuban Culture. Aldo left his Cuba in 1990, moving to Spain and subsequently to the United States in 1995 where he lived until his death. He was fully devoted to his work, which is highly esteemed in both countries and has been exhibited in notable institutions such as the Arts Pavilion at the Universal Expo/Sevilla; the Centro Cultural de la Villa in Madrid; Casa de América, Madrid; La Tertulia Museum, Cali, Colombia, Museo Linares, Mexico and the Museum of Latin American Art of California, among others. He received countless awards and participated in international fairs such as: Art Miami and Art America. he was also a founding member of the Biennial Interactional Wifredo Lam in Havana and Screen Printers International Meeting of Havana. Aldo Menéndez was also a prominent art critic for the newspaper El Nuevo Herald, Art Districts, Art Pulse, Art Nexus and Art on Cuba magazines, among others. He died in 2020 due to health complications, leaving behind a prominent artistic legacy.