In this installment of our Contemporary Artists Series, led and curated by Andrea O’Reilly Herrera, we delve into the work of Cuban-born photographer Carlos Cárdenes, whose lifelong pursuit of creative excellence and his ability to capture the extraordinary within the ordinary continue to set him apart as a visionary in the field.
The presentation will be followed by a Zoom Q&A with the audience.
FREE ACCESS
TO WATCH THE PRESENTATION, CLICK HERE ON THE SCHEDULED DATE AND TIME:
https://youtu.be/LYJ4GBVvufg
To participate in the Q&A via Zoom after the streaming, click here:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89526024766
This event is part of our CreateNYC Language Access Series on Cuban History, Art, and Literature. It will be held in English.
Cuban-born Carlos Manuel Cárdenes is a distinguished professional with over 35 years of expertise in advertising, commercial, and artistic photography. His extensive career has been marked by numerous exhibitions across the United States, showcasing his exceptional talent and unique photographic vision. His artistic foundation was shaped early in life through exposure to the film and television industry in his native Cuba, profoundly influencing his creative style. His work is characterized by a direct and immediate approach, masterfully balanced with dramatic lighting and thoughtful subject selection. Reflecting on his influences, Cárdenes credits his uncle, a prominent television and cinema director, for inspiring his artistic perspective: “I credit the influence of my uncle, a TV and cinema director, with priming my curiosity for the beauty in the novel and grand, as well as in the commonplace, and even the vulgar. Taking pictures may be an art, but seeing is everything.” Cárdenes’s educational background is equally impressive. He is a graduate of the Miami Photography College and holds an art degree from Miami-Dade College. Further honing his craft, he attended the prestigious Rochester Institute of Technology in New York and the Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, California. His commitment to photographic excellence led him to participate in the renowned Ansel Adams Workshops at Yosemite National Park in California, further solidifying his expertise in the art of visual storytelling. Mr. Cárdenes is an active member of the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) and the Professional Photographers’ Guild, affiliations that underscore his dedication to the photographic arts and professional community.
Andrea O’Reilly Herrera is Professor Emerita of Literature
and Women’s and Ethnic Studies at the University of
Colorado at Colorado Springs. In addition to being
published poet and literary critic, she is the author of a
number of critical works, including ReMembering Cuba:
Legacy of a Diaspora, the novel The Pearl of the Antilles,
the edited collection of essays Cuba: Idea of a Nation Displaced,
and the monograph Cuban Artists Across the Diaspora:
Setting the Tent Against the House. Her play, The Presence of
Absence (a Cuban nocturne), was selected as a semi-finalist in the Moondance International Film Festival and Literary Competition, and a finalist in the prestigious Latina/o Theatre Commons (LTC) Carnaval of New Latina/o Work; and presented as a staged reading at Su Teatro Cultural and Performing Arts Center in Denver. The CCCNY will be presenting the play in 2026.
This event is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York State Legislature.
With the promotional cooperation of Rialta, 14yMedio and Diario de Cuba
