Estética distópica en la pintura del artista cubano Vicente Hernández: el ojo de la tormenta

Abstract

Dystopian narrative has been heavily exploited in the field of literature, in contrast to the attention received in the field of visual arts. In relation to this, the purpose of this essay is to highlight, from a critical perspective on the Cuban socio-cultural reality, the characteristic elements of dystopia in Vicente Hernández's pictorial work. After a theorical-contextual tour through the relationships between the dystopian construct and Cuban reality, the essay analyses four representative paintings of the Cuban artist’s dystopian aesthetics, to conclude on the painter post-apocalyptic gaze as a dystopian story about Cuba. In this way, the consideration of Vicente Hernández’s visual universe expects to contribute to the promotion of interest in dystopia in the visual arts and to the development of critical thinking, at a time when the banal spectacle and political correctness constitute a very pronounced part of Cuban culture.