Osmel Herrera López

Osmel Herrera López

Mayabeque, Cuba (*1988)
About Artist

Osmel Herrera López, born on 18 January 1988 in Melena del Sur, Mayabeque, is a Cuban visual artist specialising in painting. He studied at the Eduardo Abela Provincial Academy of Plastic Arts and later at the Higher Institute of Art in Havana, where he graduated in 2017. Her solid academic training has allowed her to develop a consistent body of work that has opened up a space for her on both national and international stages.

Herrera has had several solo exhibitions, including The other cheek and Utopias of the weary man (2025), as well as No Place (2023) and Reward (2017), presented in well-known galleries in Havana. Since his first exhibitions, such as Cavalry stuff in 2013, his work has revealed his own voice and a singular plastic search, with a visual discourse in constant evolution.

He has also participated in numerous group exhibitions, including high-visibility events such as the Havana Biennial (2015) and international shows such as Borderless in New York (2022) and 20/20: Contemporary Cuban Printmaking in Minnesota (2020). His presence in projects such as Post-it, Thirteen Stories + One and in institutional spaces such as the Ludwig Foundation or the Visual Arts Development Centre, denotes his active insertion in the Cuban contemporary art circuit.

Throughout his career, he has won several awards, including second prize in Post-it 9 (2022) and mentions in competitions such as the Belkys Ayón National Collagraphy Competition (2023) and provincial salons in Mayabeque. These awards are evidence of the rigour and solidity of his work, as well as the interest that his work awakens within the Cuban visual arts scene.

Curriculum

Art Education:

• 2012 - 2017: Higher Institute of Art, Faculty of Visual Arts, Havana, Cuba. Specialization: Painting.

• 2002 - 2006: Eduardo Abela Provincial Academy of Plastic Arts (APAP), San Antonio de los Baños, Havana, Cuba. Specialization: Painting.

Solo Exhibitions
• 2025: *The other cheek*, Artemorfosis Gallery, Vedado, Havana, Cuba. • 2025: *Utopias of the weary man*, Galiano Gallery, Havana, Cuba. • 2023: *No Place*, Gorría Gallery - Workshop, San Isidro #214, between Picota and Compostela streets, Old Havana, Cuba. • 2017: *Reward*, Luz y Oficios Gallery, Provincial Center for Plastic Arts and Design, Old Havana, Cuba. • 2016: *Lithic*, Printmaking Workshop at the Faculty of Visual Arts, ISA, Havana, Cuba. • 2013: *Cavalry stuff*, Casona Sur Gallery, Melena del Sur, Mayabeque, Cuba.
Group Exhibitions
• 2025: *Treatise on Architecture*, Villa Manuela Gallery, Vedado, Havana, Cuba. • 2023: *Post-it Re-presenta*, Cultural Center Línea y 18, Havana, Cuba. • 2022: *Post-it 9*, Galiano Gallery, Havana, Cuba. • 2022: *Borderless: Cuban Contemporary Printmakers*, Taller Boricua Gallery, 1680 Lexington Ave., NY, USA. • 2021: *Post-it 8*, Galiano Gallery, Havana, Cuba. • 2020: *20/20: Contemporary Cuban Printmaking*, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. • 2017: *Entre la ficción y la realidad*, Casa de Cultura de Plaza, Calzada y 8, Vedado, Havana, Cuba. • 2016: *Esto es lo que hay*, La Acacia Gallery, Miramar, Havana, Cuba (April 1 - 15). • 2016: *Trece Relatos + Uno*, Third Edition, Ludwig Foundation of Cuba, Vedado, Havana, Cuba. • 2015: *Argumentum a Silentio*, Espacio Abierto, Revolución y Cultura Magazine, Calle 4 between Línea and 11, Vedado, Havana, Cuba. • 2015: *Lejos del teclado*, collateral event of the XII Biennial of Havana, Casa María, Vedado, Havana. • 2015: *DOMO*, XII Biennial of Havana, ISA Faculty of Visual Arts, Havana. • 2015: *Sin oficio ni beneficio*, collateral event of the XII Biennial of Havana, La Moderna Gallery, Centro Habana, Havana. • 2014: *XXVI Arístides Fernández Provincial Salon*, Universal Art Gallery, Güines, Mayabeque. • 2014: *Club de los 27*, Casa del Joven Creador (CJC), San José de las Lajas, Mayabeque. • 2014: *Samsara*, Espacio Cero Salon, Ciego de Avila. • 2014: *El tercer hombre*, Visual Arts Development Center (CDAV), Havana. • 2014: *Intervención Bar La Victoria*, Bar La Victoria, corner of Luz y Oficios, Old Havana (December 6, 2014, from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM). • 2012: *Intromisión*, CDAV, Havana. • 2009: *De lo Lúdico e itinerante*, El Paso Gallery, Sancti Spíritus.
Prizes and Mentions
• 2023: Mention in the IV National Collagraphy Competition Belkys Ayón, Cienfuegos, Cuba. • 2022: Second Prize in the Post-it 9 Visual Arts Competition at Galiano Gallery, Havana, Cuba. • 2012: Award at the XXIII Arístides Fernández Provincial Salon at Universal Art Gallery, Güines, Mayabeque. • 2011: Award from the Council of Plastic Arts and Mention at the XXIII Arístides Fernández Provincial Salon at Universal Art Gallery, Güines, Mayabeque. • 2004: Mention in Drawing at the VII Drawing and Painting Combat Salon at Huron Azul Museum House, Arroyo Naranjo, Havana.