A Cuban contemporary artist, Alejandro Campins creates large-scale canvases that draw on history, architecture and the collective memory of his home country. These hauntingly evocative, atmospheric paintings inhabit a metaphysical space between reality and fiction.

Born in 1981 in Manzanillo, Cuba, Campins currently lives and works in Havana. He studied at the Professional Academy of Fine Arts El Alba in the city of Holguin (2000) and the University of the Arts (ISA) in Havana (2009). He exhibited in a range of venues, including the Jorge M. Pérez Collection, El Espacio 23, Miami, Elba Benítez Gallery, Madrid, the 13th Havana Biennale, Havana, 58th Venice Biennale, Venice, (Cuban Pavilion), Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam, Havana, Hispanic American Culture Center, Havana, Sean Kelly Gallery, NY, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis and The Museum of Fine Arts (MFAH), Houston. Some of his works are in collections such as National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana; Voorlinden Museum, Wassenaar; Pizzuti Collection, Columbus, Ohio; Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP), Paris; Daros - Latinamerica Collection Zurich; Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM); Ella Cisneros Fontanals Collection; AMA Foundations.

In his work, the artist explores the idea of impermanence and how it manifests itself in nature and its relationship with architecture. He depicts neglected concrete buildings in Cuba, tightly framing them within a landscape of brooding color.

Featured image: Alejandro Campins - Series Lethargy, 2017 (detail). Gelatin silver print. 8 3/10 × 8 3/10 in. 21 × 21 cm. This is part of a limited edition set. Photo courtesy Mai 36 Galerie