Carlos Quintana Cuba, b. 1966
26.7 x 17.1 x 17.1 cm
Further images
Carlos Quintana's "Untitled" ceramic sculpture interrogates the stratified psyche through a totemic stacking of human heads, where the azure-glazed superior form—its surface crazed like fractured ice, mouth agape in silent exclamation—perches atop a pallid, wounded base etched with visceral smears of ochre and crimson, evoking the eruption of suppressed anguish from subterranean layers of consciousness. This vertical dialectic disrupts monolithic notions of selfhood, symbolizing the precarious overlay of rational facade upon primal turmoil, where the upper head's ethereal detachment confronts the lower's raw vulnerability, probing themes of psychic bifurcation and cultural amnesia in a post-colonial framework. Extending conceptually to motifs of hybrid resilience, the assemblage posits identity as an unstable edifice, where ceramic fragility mirrors the alchemical tension between disintegration and defiant coalescence, challenging viewers to unearth the unspoken dialogues between elevation and erosion within the human condition.
Exhibitions
“Pieza Única,” Galería Taller Gorría, Havana, Cuba, December 2016 – January 2017 (Large-scale installation incorporating Quintana's sculptural armatures and ceramic heads; related body of work).
“Carlos Quintana: New Works,” Magnan Metz Gallery, New York, New York, United States, November 10 – December 20, 2017 (Installation of 100 ceramic heads/skulls exhibited alongside new paintings).
“In Finito,” Palazzo Loredan, Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, Venice, Italy, May 11 – July 29, 2019 (Major site-specific installation featuring Quintana's ceramic-head sculptures, branch constructions, and mixed-media environment).
“The Diamond's Shadow,” Pan American Art Projects, Miami, Florida, United States, September 21 – November 14, 2019 (Featured paintings and sculptural works from Quintana's ceramic-head body, including examples from the Untitled (Various) series).
“Sombra y Sustancia. Volumen I,” Galería Habana, Havana, Cuba, October 26, 2023 (Included Quintana's evolving ceramic-head installation vocabulary within a large mixed-media exhibition).
Literature
“Carlos Quintana – Selected Works,” : page 298