Cesar Garcia

Being an artist is an endless soul-searching quest.

I create out of need and joy, which reflects in my work. I lose myself from all mundane feelings and then I find myself in a whole new inner world of symbols, figures, forms, color and expression of my ultimate intimacy.

I often think about the value of art in our culture. We tend to value things that are rare and have a style and personality of their own. As an artist, I am conscious of why I create art the way I do. I am looking for a meaningful way to represent not only the world I live in, but also the way I perceive my own inner soul. The art becomes not just about the artist, but also about the viewer.

I have been using chess pieces for some time as part of my iconography. The chess pieces all have different roles, associated with destiny, numerology, humanity. My work is always exploring our universe and the human soul.

Wisdom of the Truth, Cesar Garcia, 2022, mixed media on canvas.

Cesar Garcia was born in Havana, Cuba 1961 His first encounter with the arts was through his uncle, a Cuban artist who learned his trade at the world-renowned San Alejandro Academy of Arts in Havana, Cuba. Garcia moved to the United States in 1969 with his family and has never forgotten those creative moments he experienced as a child in his uncle’s studio; images that live and are always a part of him.

Garcia’s passion for the arts has always inhabited in his heart and soul, every minute of his life. His fascination with the great masters has helped him better understand the need to express himself in a totally different form. His creations are unique, and his effect is of a figurative nature in a surrealist style, which marks a panorama of complex creativity yet, simple presentation of form and composition. The work touches the inner soul of various cultures with all its broad influences.

The approach upon the painting’s surface is conceived after a process of inspiration from within. Garcia analyzes his feelings and state of mind that preoccupies the artistic arrangement of forms, inner language, and symbols. He describes his work as being the ultimate antithesis of classical form. Garcia creates with his soul and imagination and tells a story every single occasion.

Garcia’s work can be found in various public collections including National Museum of Catholic Art and History, Housatonic Museum of Art in Bridgeport, Connecticut, John Favalora Museum, St Thomas University, Miami FL. State of Florida Art Collection, Division of Cultural Affairs, Tallahassee, Florida, University of Miami (Casa Bacardi) Institute for Cuban and Cuban-America Studies, Coral Gables, Florida, University of Florida College of Fine Arts, Gainesville, Florida, Art in Public Places Program of the Village of Wellington, Florida and many other institutions, foundations and recognized collections.

Cesar Garcia is regarded as a Cuban American artist whose work is noteworthy of his generation.