José Emilio Fuentes Fonseca (born 1974 in Niquero, Granma, Cuba), known professionally as JEFF, is a Cuban visual artist and sculptor. His work encompasses sculpture, installation, painting and drawing, and is characterized by the use of industrial and recycled materials, as well as representations of animals, everyday objects and elements associated with childhood. His work has been exhibited in Cuba, Spain, Italy, the United States, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Mexico, Portugal, Albania, Canada and other countries. https://jeffartplus.com/es A significant part of JEFF’s sculptural practice involves the use of metals, including recycled iron, stainless steel and what he refers to as inflated metal (metal inflado). This technique became particularly prominent in his work during the 2000s. One of his best-known projects is Memoria y Memory, a group of twelve metal elephants presented during the 10th Havana Biennial https://oncubanews.com/opinion/columnas/de-otro-costal/jose-emilio-fuentes-fonseca-jeff-artista/
Biography
Early life and education Fuentes Fonseca was born in Niquero, in the present-day province of Granma, in 1974. At the age of seven he moved to Güira de Melena, in what was then Havana Province, and later settled in Havana. In a 2024 interview, he recalled that during his childhood children often had to make their own toys, an experience he has associated with the development of his imagination and his subsequent interest in objects and forms. https://oncubanews.com/opinion/columnas/de-otro-costal/jose-emilio-fuentes-fonseca-jeff-artista/ His introduction to formal art education began in Güira de Melena after artist Néstor Morales recognized his aptitude for drawing and helped prepare him for entrance examinations. Fuentes Fonseca studied at the Juan Pablo Duarte Elementary School of Visual Arts, subsequently at the National School of Arts (ENA), and later at the Higher Institute of Art (ISA) in Havana. His curriculum vitae records studies at the elementary art school beginning in 1991, at ENA beginning in 1996, and at ISA beginning in 2003. https://jeffartplus.com/es At ENA he specialized in sculpture and later studied painting at ISA. This combination of training contributed to the hybrid character of his subsequent practice, in which sculpture, installation and painting coexist.https://oncubanews.com/opinion/columnas/de-otro-costal/jose-emilio-fuentes-fonseca-jeff-artista/
Early work and S.O.S. During the first years of his career, JEFF developed installations, sculptures, drawings and performances addressing childhood, memory and the transition into adulthood. In 2003 he presented S.O.S., a project developed as his graduation thesis at ISA and presented in several venues in Cuba and Spain. The project included an exhibition at the Ángel Romero Gallery in Madrid, a performance at the Amadeo Roldán Theatre, an installation and drawing exhibition at the Wifredo Lam Contemporary Art Center, and an action at Casa-Taller La Lealtad. According to the artist, the project centered on the symbolic image of a child reaching the end of his educational stage and being symbolically buried in a white coffin. https://oncubanews.com/opinion/columnas/de-otro-costal/jose-emilio-fuentes-fonseca-jeff-artista/ The experience of S.O.S. contributed to JEFF's emergence on the international art scene and established a recurring characteristic of his work: the use of childhood imagery to address experiences and concerns associated with adult life.
Recycled materials and installations During the first decade of the 21st century, the artist developed installations and sculptures using discarded and recycled materials and metals. In 2004–2005 he participated in the New Installations: Artists in Residence Cuba program at Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh, United States. For the residency he presented the installations Pensamiento and Sentimiento, made primarily from rusted steel. Pensamiento took the form of a house containing water and a small metal boat, while Sentimiento was conceived as a larger boat containing a small house. Mattress Factory described the work as an adaptation of forms associated with children's toys into a discourse intended for adult viewers. https://mattress.org/exhibition/sentimiento/ The use of found objects and industrial materials remained a recurring feature of his practice. His later production includes sculptures made from recycled and formed iron, embossed stainless steel and other metallic materials. https://jeffartplus.com/es
Inflated metal Inflated metal is one of the most distinctive technical investigations JEFF's sculptural practice. The process allows him to create volumetric forms from metal sheets, producing sculptures whose appearance can suggest inflated or lightweight forms despite their industrial material. He has used this technique to represent animals, objects and forms associated with childhood and popular culture. His work forms part of a broader investigation into the transformation of industrial materials into recognizable and often playful forms. Inflated metal exists alongside recycled iron, embossed stainless steel, found objects, installation and painting within his practice.
Memoria y Memory and the elephants of the Havana Biennial In 2009, during the 10th Havana Biennial, JEFF presented Memoria y Memory, a sculptural project consisting of twelve metal elephants. The project was conceived as a moving intervention in Havana's urban environment.https://oncubanews.com/opinion/columnas/de-otro-costal/jose-emilio-fuentes-fonseca-jeff-artista/ The project began in Old Havana's Plaza Vieja. The elephants were subsequently moved through several emblematic locations in Havana, including the El Capitolio, the University of Havana, the Plaza de la Revolución, and the José Martí Anti-Imperialist Tribune, before being installed at the Miramar Business Center. The artist has explained that the project was connected to the elephant as a nomadic animal and to its symbolic association with family. The work attracted considerable public attention and became a recognizable feature of Havana's urban landscape, particularly for families and visitors who photographed themselves with the sculptures. https://oncubanews.com/opinion/columnas/de-otro-costal/jose-emilio-fuentes-fonseca-jeff-artista/ Memoria y Memory is one of JEFF's best-known public-art projects and exemplifies his interest in integrating sculpture with urban space and public participation.
Painting Although sculpture has occupied a central position in his practice, Fuentes Fonseca has also maintained a parallel career in painting. In 2023 he presented the solo exhibition 90 m x 10 A = JEFF at Galería Acacia in Havana. The title referred to the 90 linear meters of the exhibition space and to the approximately ten years that had elapsed since his previous solo painting exhibition.https://oncubanews.com/cartelera/cartelera-artes-visuales/expo-90-m-x-10-a-jeff/ The exhibition included large-format paintings and series addressing politics, society, everyday life and personal experience. Documentation relating to 90 m x 10 A = JEFF is preserved in the Latin American ephemera collections of Princeton University https://digital-collections.princeton.edu/i/90-m-x-10-jeff/item/295a7f3b-168d-459f-89ba-3f03e9f4e34a
Recent work and JEFF Art Plus During the 2020s, Fuentes Fonseca expanded his activities through an art and cultural space in the Vedado district of Havana. The project combines a studio, exhibition space and cultural activities and subsequently developed into the JEFF Art Plus gallery. https://oncubanews.com/opinion/columnas/de-otro-costal/jose-emilio-fuentes-fonseca-jeff-artista/ JEFF Art Plus has also developed a visual-arts creation grant intended to support artists in the production of exhibitions and artworks. https://jeffartplus.com/es
Collections A 2024 institutional catalogue states that works by Fuentes Fonseca are held in public and private collections in Cuba, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Mexico, in addition to their circulation through galleries and collections in other countries. The publicly available documentation does not currently provide sufficient institutional confirmation to establish a complete list of museums and collections holding individual works. Specific institutional holdings should therefore be added only when supported by documentation from the collection itself or another reliable independent source.
Awards and recognition Year Awards 1993 "Mencion en el Salon Prov. Eduardo Abela" 1996 Ludwig Foundation of Cuba (LFC) prize 1999 "A.H.S Antonia Eiriz’s prize" 2000 "La curaduria a la mejor curaduria del año" for "Con un pesar abstraido"
Collective exhibitions 1993 "Salon Provincial Aristides Fernandez Güines" 1994 "ENA una vez" (IV Bienal de La Habana) 1995 "Molino rojo" 1996 "Espuelas afiladas" 1998 "Festival del Performance Ana Mendieta" 1999 "La Epoca" "Con un mirar abstraido" "Pintura" 2000 "Con un pensar abstraido" "Lo que se sabe no se pregunta" "Intercambio sin ser conocido" "VII Bienal de la Habana" 2001 "Intercambio sin ser conocido" 2002 "De tal palo tal astilla"
Solo exhibitions 1994 "El Rostro Inocente" (The Innocent Face) 1996 "Paisaje a los 21 anos" (Landscape at 21) 1997 Performance "La zorra y el cuervo" 1998 "Cuidado con el niño" 2000 "Mama soy yo!" 2001 "Mucha Suerte"
Selected group exhibitions and international projects
• 1994 — ENA una vez, 4th Havana Biennial. • 1998 — Ana Mendieta Performance Festival. • 2000 — Con un pensar abstraído, 7th Havana Biennial. • 2003 — La nueva cosecha de La Habana, Los Angeles International Biennale Art Invitational, United States. • 2003 — Juntos, Tirana Biennale 2, Albania. • 2004–2005 — New Installations: Artists in Residence Cuba, Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh, United States. • 2005 — Habana 2005, Wolfsen Gallery, Aalborg, Denmark. • 2005 — Wunderkammer 11, Nina Menocal Gallery, Mexico City, Mexico. • 2005 — ARCO, Madrid, Spain. • 2008 — Sueños desarmados, Triennale Bovisa, Milan, Italy. • 2010 — Portugalarte 10, 1st Biennial of Portugal, Lisbon. • 2011 — Cuban Visions, Metropolitan Pavilion, New York, United States. • 2015 — Summer in Havana, Octavia Art Gallery, New Orleans, United States. • 2015 — Christmas Exhibition, Thielsen Gallery, London, Ontario, Canada. • 2017 — Art Knows No Boundaries: Cuban Art in the US, Octavia Art Gallery, New Orleans, United States. • 2022 — Cuba Revisited, Ferrara Showman Gallery, New Orleans, United States.
References
External links
JEFF Art Plus — official website Interview with José Emilio Fuentes Fonseca by Alex Fleites, OnCubaNews, 2024 José Emilio Fuentes Fonseca — Mattress Factory 90 m x 10 A = JEFF — Princeton University Digital Collections Art Knows No Boundaries: Cuban Art in the US — Octavia Art Gallery