Ileana Mulet Batista
1952. Holguin, Cuba
Painter • Draftsman • Designer • Writer
"Creating imaginary cities is my greatest passion"
Ileana Mulet Batista
1952. Cuba
Painter, Draftsman, Designer, and Writer
About
She graduated in Visual Arts from the Academy of Fine Arts of San Alejandro, specializing in Interior Design and Costume Design for Cuban Television. A member of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) in the fields of Plastic Arts, Cinema, Radio and TV, and Literature, Mulet is also part of Loinus / Rejoinsnous, an international organization of poets.
Recognized as the "Painter of Havana," she creates imaginative worlds that resemble the city and its intricacies. Over her career, she has held more than forty solo exhibitions in Cuba, Mexico, Spain, Jamaica, Italy, Uruguay, the United States, and Colombia, and has participated in nearly sixty group shows both nationally and internationally.
Ileana Mulet has participated in the fairs of ARCO Madrid, the International Contemporary Art Fair in Marbella and Art Basel. In the year 2000 she made the preliminary project and founded the first School of Fine Arts in Arauca, Colombia, a project that she carried out in coordination with the Governor Don Gustavo Castellanos. Her works are in private collections in Spain, the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Sweden, Nigeria, Guatemala, Slovakia, Turkey, Argentina, Jamaica, Uruguay, to name a few; and in the collections of the Camagüey Museum, the Dance Museum of Havana, Colonial Art Museum and the City Museum, Old Havana, Cuba, Permanent Hall University of Houston, Texas, USA.
Mulet has demonstrated her intransigent position in the face of the hostility that the medium showed towards the language of landscape in its beginnings. She was nurtured by an open, spontaneous, expressionist language and charged with the historical theme of the old and colonial city. Today, she is considered the initiator of this current in Cuba and a guiding figure for the new generations dealing with the subject that seemed forgotten; landscape.
Career
Distinctions
2018. Nominated for the National Prize for Plastic Arts.
2015. Distinction awarded by the University of Houston, Texas, USA, during the
artist's visit to the university. She gave lectures and master classes as part
of her installation.
2011. Manos Award, a distinction granted by the Cuban Fund of Cultural Assets.
2008. Caracol Award granted by the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) for the production of scenery and costumes for the staging of Cuadros de una
exposición, directed by Cuba’s prima ballerina assoluta, Alicia Alonso (scene of the witches). Presented at the Havana International Ballet Festival.
2000. Diploma of Recognition for her meritorious and outstanding contributions to Cuban culture, granted by the Ministry of Culture. In this same year, she fulfilled
one of her greatest dreams by founding the first School of Fine Arts in Arauca,
Colombia, a project carried out in coordination with the state governor, Don Gustavo Castellanos.
1994. Finalist in the IX Ibero-American Biennial of Art, drawing category, at the
Museum of Fine Arts, Federal District, Mexico. Exhibited her work at the Museum
of Fine Arts in Mexico City.
1994. Finalist in the IX Biennial of Art at the Museum of the Palace of Fine Arts in
Mexico City. Also a finalist in the Casa de las Américas Contest, poetry category, Havana, Cuba.
1993. Awarded by the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Cuba, a distinction given to artists who excelled nationally and internationally during the year.
Personal Exhibitions
2019. "Huellas sobre la ciudad" (Traces on the City) to honor the City of Havana. This includes an exhibition with 70 artists, a 450-page book, and artistic activities. The artist presented the book Sobre la tierra húmeda (On the Damp Earth), a collection of stories about the city, and Armisticio (Armistice) is in progress, featuring images created specifically for the book and a prologue by writer Reina María.
2016. Exhibition "Huellas sobre la ciudad" (Traces on the City), in two spaces: large-format canvases displayed on exterior fences and oil paintings on canvas in the temporary room at the Museo Castillo de la Real Fuerza, Havana, Cuba.
2015. Exhibition "Litoral" (Coastline), a collateral event to the Havana Biennial at the Hotel Telégrafo gallery, and from December to April 2015 at El Templete, Old Havana, featuring poems dedicated to José Martí. The artist also visited Texas, USA, receiving a distinction from the University of Houston, where lectures and master classes were held.
2013. Exhibition tour through various galleries in Italy. Participation in the Sesto San Giovanni Festival, Milan, Italy, with a painting and poetry exhibition at the Spazio Contemporaneo Carlos Talamucci.
2013. Presentation of the book ¿Quién golpea las puertas? (Who Knocks at the Doors?) San Carlos de la Cabaña, Havana Book Fair, Cuba.
2012. Exhibition of oil paintings, sculptures, and poems titled Murmullo que así trueno (Whisper Like Thunder) at the 11th Havana Biennial and the International Poetry Festival of Havana at the Palacio de Lombillo, Cuba.
2012. Exhibition of paintings Murmullo que así trueno (Whisper Like Thunder) and presentation of the book ¿Quién golpea las puertas? (Who Knocks at the Doors?) Montevideo Book Fair, Uruguay.
2011. Two exhibitions at the Hotel Telégrafo and the Hostal Los Frailes in connection with the launch of the Plato Colección Habana (Havana Collection Plate), sponsored by the Historian’s Office and the Trevol Collection of Seville, Spain.
2010. Exhibition Cielo (Sky), featuring paintings and poetry, at the Dulce María Loynaz Center, Havana, accompanied by a poetry recital.
2009. Exhibition Cuerpos (Bodies), featuring paintings on large canvases, installations, and performances. A collateral exhibition to the 10th Havana Biennial at the Galería Arte Malecón, Cuba.
2009. Exhibition Bodies at the Gómez Mulet Gallery, Miami, an extension of Cuerpos, and participation in the Art Basel fair in Miami.
2009. Exhibition Habana Mía (My Havana), featuring oil paintings and installations at the Museo de Arte Colonial, Havana, Cuba.
2008. Exhibition El beso de la salamandra (The Salamander's Kiss), featuring poems and paintings at Casa de la Poesía, Old Havana, Cuba. Participation in the Marbella Fair and a tour of Spain.
2007. Exhibition Viaje al infinito (Journey to Infinity), featuring paintings, collages, and sculptures at the José Martí Memorial, Plaza de la Revolución, Havana, Cuba.
2006. Exhibition Puntadas (Stitches), featuring paintings, collages, and handmade paper at the Cohíba Gallery, Havana, Cuba.
2006. Exhibition Cielo, viento, mar (Sky, Wind, Sea), featuring paintings, installations, and performances at the Galiano Gallery, Havana, Cuba.
2003. Exhibition Puertas (Doors), featuring paintings at La Acacia Gallery, Havana, Cuba.
2001. Exhibition Al fuego de la espátula (By the Fire of the Palette Knife) at the Havana Gallery, followed by a tour of several U.S. cities, including Chicago, Illinois.
2000. Exhibition De la Habana a la Arauca (From Havana to Arauca) at the School of Fine Arts in Arauca, Colombia, where the artist founded the school.
2000. Exhibition Amo la piedra (I Love the Stone) at the Palace of the Captains General, a collateral event to the Havana Biennial.
2000. Exhibition La ciudad está despierta (The City is Awake) at the Hotel Habana Libre Tryp, in coordination with the Cuban Fund of Cultural Assets and the Proyecto Sur.
1998. Exhibition Azul (Blue), featuring poems and paintings at Casa Carmen Montilla during the International Restorers Meeting in Havana, Cuba.
1998. Exhibition Nuestros pies estuvieron dentro de tus puertas (Our Feet Were Within Your Gates), marking the arrival of the Pope to Havana, at the International Press Center, Havana, Cuba.
1997. Exhibition Desde mi Habana (From My Havana) at the Schools of Fine Arts of Barranquilla and Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.
1997. Exhibition Pedazo de Muro (Piece of Wall) at Casa de Carmen Montilla, Havana, Cuba.
1996. Exhibition La felicidad es un duende (Happiness is a Goblin) at the International Press Center, Havana, Cuba.
1996. Exhibition Rostros (Faces) at La Acacia Gallery, Havana, Cuba.
1996. Exhibition La llama que encienden los duendes (The Flame Ignited by Goblins) at the Colonial Hall, Havana, Cuba.
1995. Exhibition La ciudad poema (The City Poem) in Lagos, Nigeria.
1995. Exhibition Lluvias (Rains) at the Orígenes Gallery, Gran Teatro de La Habana, Cuba.
1994. Exhibition Pintar La Habana (Painting Havana) at the City Museum, Palace of the Captains General, Havana, Cuba.
1993. Exhibition Entre Columnas y Arcadas (Between Columns and Arcades) at the Cuban Embassy in Mexico City, Mexico.
1991. Exhibition Raíces de Mallorca en la Cuba de hoy (Mallorca Roots in Today’s Cuba) at the Sala Art Calviat, Casino de Mallorca, Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
1989. Exhibition Recorrido por la Habana Colonial (Tour Through Colonial Havana) at the Etcheva Gallery, Bilbao, Spain.
1985. Exhibition Ciudades, días y noches (Cities, Days and Nights) at the Museo de Arte Colonial, Havana, Cuba.
1984. Exhibition De lo real a lo onírico (From the Real to the Oneiric) at Calzada y 8 Gallery and 23 y 12 Gallery, Havana, Cuba.
Collective Exhibitions
2013. Arte Cuba Oggi. Museo Rocca Sanvitale, Fontanellato, Parma, Italy.
2007. Exposición Desde la piel de Eva con los ojos de Adán. Casa de México, Havana, Cuba.
2006. 5x5, La Jiribilla en el pincel. 5th anniversary of La Jiribilla. A collective
exhibition of paintings, drawings, and sculptures featuring twenty-five invited
artists. Memorial José Martí, Havana, Cuba.
2004. Arte cubano: pinturas y otras manifestaciones. Arco del Triunfo, Paris, France.
2001. Artistas de Cuba. Exhibition of paintings at the Hot House Cultural Center,
Chicago, Illinois, USA. Also participated in Arte en Cuba, an itinerant painting exhibition in several U.S. cities, including Port of Call, Warwick, New York.
1999. Pintores contemporáneos cubanos. Itinerant exhibition presented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba in Greece, Turkey, Slovakia, and
Turkey.
1999. Pintores cubanos contemporáneos. Exhibition of paintings at the Piraeus Municipal Gallery, inaugurated by the Mayor of the city.
1999. Exhibition in the lobby of the Hilton Hotel in Athens during the Cultural and Gastronomic Festival.
1999. Gallery of the Cultural Center of the Government of Kaphalonia Island.
1999. Exhibition at the Museum of the University of Athens in Plaka (the old part of the city), Turkey.
1999. Exhibition at the Country Club of the Tobacco Smoker's Circle and the Casa del Habano, Istanbul.
1999. Slovakia: Exhibition in the halls of the Cuban Embassy, Bratislava.
1999. Imaginaciones cubanas. Exhibition of paintings at the Girona City Hall, Spain.
1999. Homenaje a la Danza. Exhibition of paintings at Galería Habana, a tribute to
the National Ballet of Cuba, Havana, Cuba.
In studio
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