Leon is deeply honored to host the first US solo exhibition of an extraordinary young Cuban artist, Miguel Osorio. Having recently emigrated to Colorado, escaping persecution in his home country of Cuba because of his HIV status, Osorio is poised to share his unique, uncompromising, and highly crafted art in an exhibition titled, “Filaments,” opening at Leon on Saturday, August 10th, at 7pm. The exhibition will be on view through Saturday, September 14th.
Artist Bio
Miguel Lázaro Osorio Martínez was born on November 11, 1993 in La Habana, Cuba, where he lived until 2022. Born into a home in which he was raised by his mother Yolanda dela Caridad Martinez Palenzuela and grandmother Matilde Palenzuela Lezcano, he always received unconditional support regarding his inclination for art since he was a child. His interest in art was evident, constantly participating in drawing and visual arts competitions during primary and secondary school. Because of this profound interest, his mother decided to enroll him in various visual art workshops from an early age. In his adolescence he attended the Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes – San Alejandro, from which he graduated with a gold degree (with honors). After graduating from the academy, he worked as an art teacher, specializing in engraving for seven years. During this time, he studied at an art university in Cuba, Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA). Throughout his studies, he carried out various group and personal exhibitions, winning several art competitions such as the International Contemporary Art Competition Post-it in its eighth edition, winning first place with the artwork Dermis After Rorschach in 2021. In the middle of development of his artistic career, of several projects related to his work, and the presentation of his NODO thesis at the university of visual arts, he left the country for political and social reasons in July of 2022. He is currently living in Colorado, USA. He recently participated in a group exhibition in Fort Collins at the 3 Square Art gallery, and this “Filaments” exhibition at Leon marks his first U.S Solo Exhibition.
Artist Statement
Historically, human sexuality has been in permanent conflict with the so-called “lateral sexualities”; conflicts that have created various turning points throughout time. Numerous individuals have dedicated their lives to studying it, understanding it, challenging it, questioning it, limiting it, judging it, stigmatizing it, and even censoring it out of fear of the different and unknown. They have catalogued and condemned otherness, or simply alternative expressions of sexuality, that exist outside the socially accepted norms established throughout history. In this context, please allow me to explain how my artistic work is nourished by all these conflicts, since my relationship with sexuality has been impacting and informing my way of being and thinking, as well as how I operate and engage within society. Since my childhood, sexuality has been a “Pillar of Salt,” since I have taken from it bitter, harsh, challenging experiences that have changed my conception of life and, at the same time, have allowed me to evolve as a human being. From the limited experience that I have accumulated at the age of 30, I have perceived how the notion of sexuality has been mutating over time and at an exponential rate with each passing generation. The limits of sexuality are becoming more diffused as years go by, and the ambiguity of sexuality, as well as the fluidity of gender expression, is actively being postulated within the social paradigm of our time.
We find ourselves living in a universe in which we are exposed to an overwhelming and chaotic society in which the issue of sexuality is treated, almost always, as a catalyst for conflicts and misunderstandings. My exhibition “FILAMENTS,” is intended to be a letter of introduction to my personal research into the topic of sexuality, shared with this new artistic community here in Colorado, where I now find myself living. The title refers to the fibers of our being, that identify us, and are present as constant threads weaving among our thoughts and actions. The same threads that, when gathered and twisted, forge the basis of my work, its link to human sexuality, and its tangled relationship with HIV. Since its emergence, HIV has become a frightening spectre and an enormous existential conflict for those afflicted with it or affected by it, because it stigmatize the gay community through fear of the unknown. The pieces in my exhibition speak from personal pain, doubt and uncertainty, but also in solidarity with the pain of others, of those who are different, of what is taboo, of what is systematically rejected and not respected. These artworks, emerging from both the personal and the collective, intertwine each experience, thought, and feeling, and are intrinsic to the social prejudice to which we are exposed regarding gender identity, the ambiguity of the sexes, sexual orientation, and interpersonal relationships. All these concerns are constant in my art, like an echo that repeats itself incessantly, infinitely, attempting to question, reflect, and perpetuate my art over time. With each work, I aim to get to know myself more intimately, and delve deeper into my being, while at the same time, materializing each thought into art that authentically expresses my aspirations and visions of utopia.