Art has the power to immortalize moments and reinterpret stories. In the case of Ariel Cabrera Montejo, an outstanding contemporary Cuban painter, this ability is manifested in every stroke of his brush, turning his stories into images that easily transcend time.
In his artworks, we find how naturally the figurative aspect of his characters is combined with an enveloping narrative, and even surrealistic on some occasions. His paintings present scenes that seem to have been captured in the middle of the action, with a precision and detail that give the impression of being old photographs, along with a mixture of pictorial techniques and more evident brushstrokes, which create a combination between a documentary simulation and the artistic.
Ariel Cabrera’s narrative power transcends the visible. His paintings are not only visual representations, but true narratives that blend emotion, historical context, and personal reflection. The viewer becomes an active participant, invited to interpret, and connect the dots between the figures and scenarios that appear on the canvas. Cabrera Montejo does not offer easy answers or closed narratives but leaves open spaces and invites us to question how history is told and who has the power to tell it.
His artworks stand out for the conjugation of the epic with the everyday; the modern with the ancient. In his paintings we see not only heroes, but also ordinary people, women and children, all part of the social and cultural fabric.
Ariel Cabrera’s technical mastery is undeniable. With a solid background in drawing and painting, his artwork reflects an academic heritage that respects classical conventions, but takes them to a new terrain. The use of light and shadows, the almost palpable textures and the precision in anatomical details recall the masters of the past, but the composition, the narrative, the use of his mastery for similar collages that add games of dimensionality to his works, are decidedly contemporary.
In his artworks, there is rarely a main character or scene. It is common to find a coexistence of facts, fictions, realities, stories, in each part of his compositions. Ariel Cabrera manages to keep each of these elements interesting and relevant.
