Onel Miguel

Onel Miguel was born in the city of Pinar del  Rio, Cuba on 12/06/1985. In 2004 he graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Humanities - Instructor of visual arts at the Escuela  of Instructors  of Arts, in 2010 he obtained a Bachelor's degree in Education - instructor  of plastic arts at the Universidad De Ciencias Pedagogicas Rafael Maria de Mendive in the city of Pinar del  Rio. Since 2001, he began to do volunteer work as a painting, drawing and papier-mâché teacher at the El Patio Community Cultural Project.  of Pelegrín , where he later formed part of the management team. Between 2008 and 2012, he taught crafts classes in Venezuela in underprivileged communities in Caracas. In 2016, at the invitation of Juan Carlos Rodriguez, director of the institution, he went to work at the Museo de Arte Contemporâ nea de Pinar del  Rio MAPRI as a collection specialist. The pair maintained their active artistic production, participating in various exhibitions and winning several awards .  In 2017, he came to live in Brazil, initially living in the interior of the state of Amazonas in riverside communities (Maraã, Tefe), receiving the experience of indigenous cultures and peoples . In 2019, he traveled to the state of Santa Catarina, where he currently resides and develops his research and artistic creation work .   

I am a pilgrim in this world, but I am part of a story still under construction. When we are born, we already have roots and essence that make us unique , and the legacy we leave depends on our fruits . Everything revolves around the seed we planted.    

I believe in the power of memories and everything they hold. They are the foundation of what we live today and will live tomorrow. I see them as alliances we make throughout our lives, and some of them need to be broken in order for us to move on.  

I have a gift and a calling; painting is my ritual. In it, life is a performance, and I paint moments, situations, both my own and others'. Sometimes I feel like an instrument being used to convey a message. I'm certain I'm being observed, measured, and evaluated.

My research comes from memories and the present, from solitude, from the collective, from sowing and harvesting, from the construction and deconstruction of reality, from the material to the spiritual. Our attitude toward life defines our purpose .