Contemporary Figurative Painting | Miami, USA
Andrés Retamero is a Cuban visual artist based in Miami whose practice spans more than three decades. Working primarily in oil on canvas, he explores identity, individuality, and the human condition through figurative painting.
Artistic Approach
Retamero’s work examines the relationship between the individual and the social structures that shape everyday life. His paintings draw attention to tensions between personal freedom and collective expectations, exploring how power, cultural conventions, and circulating images influence our understanding of ourselves and others.
The human figure is central to his visual language. Through expressive gestures, symbolic imagery, and unexpected situations, Retamero invites viewers to reconsider familiar roles and perspectives. In works such as Point of View, the contrast between vulnerable human skin and formal business attire becomes a reflection on conformity, resistance, and the possibility of seeing differently.
Selected Exhibitions
Retamero’s exhibition history includes solo and group presentations across the United States, the Caribbean, and Europe. Selected highlights from 1998 to 2026 include:
· 2026: Cuban Painting: A Selection of Masters and Students, Viñas-Gil Collection, Municipal Museum of Albacete, Spain.
· 2025: Woman and Flowers, Jack Meier Gallery, Houston, Texas.
· 2022: Pop Feeling, Carmen Montilla Gallery, Havana, Cuba.
· 2010: 90 Miles Away, World Art Gallery, Key West, Florida.
· 2004: Lobos del Mar, Guayasamín Foundation, Havana, Cuba.
· 2001: The Power of Dreaming, Museum of the Americas, Puerto Rico.
Publications
Retamero’s work is featured in Pintura Cubana II: Selección de maestros y alumnos (Spain, 2025), an anthology of Cuban painting that includes a selection of twenty of his works, accompanied by critical commentary from art historian Dr. Carina Pino-Santos.
Among the paintings reproduced and catalogued in the publication are Probability and Shelter, both included in AVRA Gallery’s selection.
