Antonio Eligio Fernández (Tonel) was born in Havana and graduated with a degree in Art History from the University of Havana (1982). His work has been widely exhibited and included in the biennales of Havana, Sao Paulo, Venice and Berlin. He has participated in exhibitions in Cuba since 1973, and internationally since the early eighties. From the mid-seventies, he published illustrations and caricatures in the Cuban magazines DDT, Revolución y Cultura, El Caimán Barbudo, Moncada, and La Gaceta de Cuba, among others; as well as in La Garrapata and Por esto!, both from Mexico. He illustrated the children’s books Drum, Chavi, Drum! (2003) and Birthday in the Barrio (2004), published by Children’s Book Press, San Francisco, USA; as well as the volume Cuaderno de bitácora (2008), by Fernando Birri, published in
Córdoba, Spain, by Fundación Provincial de Artes Plásticas Rafael Botí and Casa de las Américas. He has designed posters for the National Institute of Tourism (INTUR) and the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry (ICAIC), as well as for the Trieste Latin American Film Festival, Italy, among other institutions.
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He worked with individual students as thesis supervisor at Havana’s Higher Institute of Arts from 1987 through 1997. He has also been a thesis tutor at the University of Havana’s Faculty of Arts and Literature. He was visiting artist and lecturer at Stanford University’s Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS), California; and in the Department of Art & Art History of the same university (2002 – 2003). He was awarded a Tinker Visiting Professorship, also at Stanford (2018 – 2019). He was adjunct professor at the Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada (2006 - 2007) and has been a sessional instructor at the same university from 2007 to the present. He has also taught at the San Francisco Art Institute, California (2001), and has been a visiting artist, engaging in studio visits and lecturing at San Francisco State University, California; Wayne State University, Michigan; Ringling College of Art and Design, Florida; University of Oregon, Eugene; Tulane University, Louisiana; among other educational institutions.
Photo credit: Josema Zamorano
Antonio Eligio Fernández (Tonel)
Born in Havana, Cuba, 1958.
Education: 1977-1982. Licenciatura in Art History, Faculty of Arts and Letters, The University of Havana, Cuba.
Exhibitions solo:
2022, Between the Moon and a Golf Ball. Massimo Ligreggi Gallery, Catania, Italy.
2018, Ajústate al tema (Stick to the Subject). National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.
2015, Commerce. (A parallel exhibition to the 12th Havana Biennial). Rubén Martínez Villena Gallery, Havana, Cuba.
2012, The Journey (Talking Walls). Factoría Habana Centre for Contemporary Art, Havana, Cuba.
2010, Nothing to Learn, Galería Habana, Havana, Cuba.
2009, The Parts Of Me That Sweat The Most When I Get Nervous, Morris and Helen Belkin Gallery in collaboration with the Walter C. Koerner Library, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
2009, Cosmos: Feeling the pull of gravity, Chelsea Gallery, Miami, U.S.A.
2008, Some Information is Now Available, Teck Gallery, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver.
2006, A Music of the Body, Paolo Maria Deanesi Gallery, Roveretto, Italy.
2003 A Conversation with “La primera carga...”, Galería La Casona, Havana, Cuba.
2002, Tonel, Gallery Paule Anglim, San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
2002, Taller Tonel, Espacio C de Arte Contemporáneo and Santander International Airport, Santander, Spain.
2001, Tonel. Lessons of Solitude, Art in General, New York, U.S.A.
2000, Tonel. Lessons of Solitude, Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
1997, Self-Portraits. Or Gallery, Vancouver.
1996, Tonel. Krings-Ernst Galerie, Cologne, Germany.
1995, Cuatro obras: las partes que más me sudan...(Four Works: The Parts of Me That Sweat the Most...). Fundación Ludwig de Cuba and National Center for Art Conservation (CENCREM), Havana, Cuba.
1995, Tonel. Centro Cultural de la Municipalidad de Miraflores, Lima, Peru.
1993, Tonel. Stadtische Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
1989, Yo lo que quiero es ser feliz (All I Want is to Be Happy). Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes-Castillo de la Real Fuerza, Havana, Cuba.
1986, Dibujos, acuarelas, etc. (Drawings, Watercolors, etc.). Museo Provincial de Villa Clara, Santa Clara, Cuba.
1983, El eterno verano (The Eternal Summer). Galería L, Havana, Cuba.
Exhibitions group:
2023, Revolutionary Romances? Global Art Histories in the GDR. Albertinum, Dresden, Germany.
2023, Art Collection of The University of Havana. Selected Works. Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana, Cuba.
2022, You Know Who You Are: Recent Acquisitions of Cuban Art from the Jorge M. Pérez Collection. El Espacio 23, Miami, Florida, U.S.A.
2022, Artissima. International Fair of Contemporary Art, Torino, Italy.
2022, Cuba introspettiva: pratiche intermediali e videoarte. Flash Back, Torino, Italy.
2022, War is Sweet to Those Who Have Never Experienced It. Fondazione MACC, Sardinia, Italy.
2020, The Recipe: Making Latin American Art in Canada, Oboro, Montreal, Canada.
2020, Liebesgrüße aus Havanna – Zeitgenössische kubanische Kunst im internationalen Kontext. Kunst- und Kultustiftung Opelvillen, Rüsselsheim, Germany.
2019, Cuba Introspettiva. La Nuova Pesa, Rome, Italy.
2019, Intersections. Collateral exhibition, XIII Havana Biennial. Factoría Habana, Havana, Cuba.
2018, Climate Change: Cuba/USA. University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum, Florida, USA.
2018, The Recipe: Making Latin American Art in Canada. Sur Gallery, Toronto, Canada.
2018, ¿Hasta cuándo las vacaciones? [How Much Longer on Vacation?]. Arsenal Habana, Havana, Cuba.
2017, Adiós Utopia: Dreams and Deceptions in Cuban Art Since 1950. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (March 5 – May 21), and Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (November 11, 2017 – March 18, 2018).
2017, Things Fall Apart. Galeria Centralis, Vera and Donald Blinken Open Society Archives, Budapest, Hungary.
2016, Cuba.Tatuare la storia. Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea, Milan, and ZAC – Zisa Zona Arti Contemporanee, Palermo, Italy.
2016, Things Fall Apart. Calvert 22 Foundation, London, UK / Iwalewahaus, Universität Bayreuth, Germany / Galeria Avenida da Índia, Lisbon, Portugal.
2016, On the Serious Side of History. Solo project with Paolo Maria Deanesi Gallery. ARCO-Madrid, International Art Fair, Madrid, Spain.
2015, Handmade Twitting. A web-based exhibition hosted by the Internet portal Revolico. Collateral to the 12th Havana Biennale.
2015, Ficción y Fantasía – Arte de Cuba. Casa Daros, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
2015, Welcome / Goodbye. Torrione Passari Arte Contemporanea, Bari, Italy.
2014, 8th Berlin Biennale. KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany.
2014, Diffractions of the Local – Part 2. Back Gallery Project, Vancouver, Canada.
2013, 55th Venice Biennale. The Perversion of Classicism: the Anarchy of the Stories. Cuban Pavilion at The National Archeological Museum, Venice, Italy.
2013, Zona Maco Sur – México Arte Contemporáneo. (Solo show with Galería Habana). Centro Banamex, Mexico D.F., Mexico.
2012, The Metaphors of Change (a collateral exhibition to the 11th Havana Biennial). Factoría Habana Centre for Contemporary Art, Havana, Cuba.
2011, The End of Money.Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
2011, Crisisss. América Latina: arte y confrontación. Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, Mexico.
2010, Six Artists, Two Cities. Art from Vancouver and Havana. Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, Havana, Cuba.
2008, Cuban Avant-Garde. Contemporary Cuban Art from the Farber Collection. Winnipeg Art Gallery.
2008, Cuba. Art and History from 1868 to today. Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal.
2008, Disturbing Narratives: Cuevas, Toledo, and Tonel, Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas, U.S.A.
2008, It is not neutral. (Latin American Artists from The Daros Collection). Tabakalera, San Sebástian, Spain.
2008, The Billboard Project (Seeing Peace). A public art installation project, San Francisco International Arts Festival (SFIAF), San Francisco, U.S.A.
2007, Face to face. The Daros Collections. Zürich, Switzerland.
2007, Killing Time. Exit Art, New York City, U.S.A.
2007, Waiting List. Mestna Galerija, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
2005, Crossings: A Gathering of Artists. Organized in conjunction with the Bayennale: Bay Area International Arts Festival. SomArts Cultural Center, San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
2003, Global Elegies: Art and Ofrendas for the Dead. Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, California, U.S.A.
2000, VII Bienal de La Habana (7th Havana Biennial). Centro Wifredo Lam, Havana, Cuba.
1998, Irony and Survival on the Utopian Island. Arizona State University Art Museum, Arizona, U.S.A.
1998, La Dirección de la Mirada. Stadthaus Zürich and Musée des Beaux Arts de La Chaux-de-Fonds (ProHelvetia), Zürich - La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland.
1997, Utopian Territories: New Art from Cuba. Morris & Helen Art Belkin Gallery, University of British Columbia, and Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver, Canada.
1996, Cuba Siglo XX. Modernidad y Sincretismo. Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno (CAAM), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria / Fundación La Caixa, Palma de Mallorca / Centro de Arte Santa Mónica, Barcelona, Spain.
1995, New Art from Cuba. Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle, Cumbria, U.K.
1994, 22nd Bienal Internacional de Sao Paulo. Parque Ibirapuera, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
1994, 5th Havana Biennial. Fortaleza de la Cabaña, Havana, Cuba.
1992, Von dort aus: Kuba. Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Aachen, Germany.
1992, La ronda cubana. Van Reekum Museum, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands.
1991, Los hijos de Guillermo Tell (The Children of William Tell). Museo de Artes Visuales Alejandro Otero, Caracas, Venezuela and Biblioteca Ángel Arango, Banco de la República, Bogotá, Colombia.
1990, Telarte. Fabrics by Cuban Artists. Amelie A. Wallace Gallery, State University of New York College at Old Westbury, New York, U.S.A.
1990, No man is an Island. Pori Taidemuseu, Pori, Finland.
1989, 3rd Havana Biennial. Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana, Cuba.
1989, Humor Cubano (Special Events Exhibitions). 20th Bienal Internacional de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
1987, Cinco artistas contemporáneos de Cuba (Five Contemporary Cuban Artists). Museo de Arte Costarricense, San José, Costa Rica.
1986, 2nd Havana Biennial. Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana, Cuba.
1986, Bienal Americana de Artes Gráficas (Latin-American Biennial of Graphic Arts). Museo de Arte Moderno La Tertulia, Cali, Colombia.
1985, Premio Internacional de Dibujo Joan Miró (Exhibition of The Joan Miró Internacional Drawing Award). Fundación Joan Miró, Barcelona, Spain.
1984, 1st Havana Biennial. Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana, Cuba.
1984, International Exhibition of Original Drawings. Museum of Modern Art Rijeka, Rijeka, Yugoslavia.
1982, Pintura joven cubana (Young Cuban Painting). Galería Rafaela Padilla de Zaragoza, Puebla, Mexico.
1973, Salón Nacional Juvenil de Artes Plásticas. Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana, Cuba.
Collections:
Ludwig Museum of International Art at The National Art Museum of China. Beijing, China.
Museo de Arte Moderno La Tertulia. Cali, Colombia.
Museo de Arte Costarricense. San José, Costa Rica.
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. Havana, Cuba.
Museo de Topes de Collantes. Sancti Spiritus, Cuba.
Gilbert Brownstone Foundation. Paris, France.
Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst. Aachen, Germany.
Van Reekum Museum. Apeldoorn, The Netherlands.
Daros Latinamerica AG. Zurich, Switzerland.
University of Northumbria at Newcastle, Department of Fine Arts. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, U.K.
Arizona State University Museum. Tempe, Arizona, U.S.A.
Museum of Art. Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.A.
Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art. The University of Texas at Austin, Texas, U.S.A.
Stanford University Libraries. Department of Special Collections, California, U.S.A.
Lehigh University Art Galleries. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
Howard and Patricia Farber Collection. New York, U.S.A.
The Donald and Shelley Rubin Collection of The Rubin Museum of Art. New York, U.S.A.
Jorge M. Pérez Collection, Miami, U.S.A.
Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (CIFO), Miami, U.S.A.
Awards:
2022, Concept to Realization Grant, Explore and Create Program.
Canada Council for the Arts, Canada.
2019, Edward Laroque Tinker Fellowship. Edward Laroque Tinker Visiting Professor at Stanford University, Center for Latin American Studies, Stanford, U.S.A.
2014, Project Grant. Canada Council for the Arts, Canada.
2003, Cuban Artists Fund Award. Cuban Artists Fund, New York, U.S.A.
1997, Senior Fellow, Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship in the Humanities. The Archer M. Huntington Art Gallery, The University of Texas at Austin, U.S.A.
1995, John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship (Painting and Installation Art). New York, U.S.A.
1992, Collective Award, Cuban entry. Primera Bienal de Pintura de Centroamérica y el Caribe (First Painting Biennial of Central America and the Caribbean), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
1991, Grant for research and art criticism. Cuban Union of Writers and Artists (UNEAC), Havana, Cuba.
1991, National Award for Art Criticism. Cuban section of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA). Havana, Cuba.
1984, “Rafael Blanco” Drawing Honorary Mention. Primera Bienal de La Habana (1st Havana Biennial), Havana, Cuba.
Writings about artist:
Antón, Héctor, “Antídoto contra los iceberg,” in Noticias de arte cubano. No 7, July 2003, 3.
Bertazzo, Diane, “Herencia / Héritage,” in Art cubain actuel. Montreal: Galerie de l’UQAM, April – May 1994, 6.
Camnitzer, Luis, New Art of Cuba. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1994, 222-225.
Harten, Jürgen, “Tonel O.K.,” in Tonel. Dusseldorf: Stadtische Kunsthalle, July 1993, unpaged.
Mauk, Ben, “What if Cuba had won the space race? A Review of Tonel’s Heroes of Baikonur (The Cosmos Book) (2009-2014)”. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20200806063704/https://believermag.com/logger/ben-mauk-on-tonel/
Moreno, Gean, “Cosmonauts at the 18th Hole: Tonel’s Recent Drawings,” in Art Papers. November / December 2009, 24-29.
Mosquera, Gerardo, “Yo lo que quiero es ser feliz,” in Yo lo que quiero es ser feliz. Havana: Museo Nacional-Castillo de la Real Fuerza, July 1989, unpaged.
__________ “The Infinite Island: Introduction to New Cuban Art,” in Contemporary Art from Cuba: Irony and Survival on the Utopian Island. Tempe: Arizona State University Art Museum, September-December 1998 and New York: Delano Greenidge Editions, 1998, 26-27.
__________ “The New Cuban Art,” in Erjavec, Aleš, ed. Postmodernism and the Postsocialist Condition: Politicized Art under Late Socialism. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2003, 232-233.
Princenthal, Nancy, “Tonel at Art in General,” in Art in America. October 2001, 162-163.
Rodríguez Enríquez, Hilda María. “Cartografía de un pensamiento. La obra de Tonel,” in La Gaceta de Cuba. July / August 2015, 32 – 35.
Sánchez, Osvaldo, “Sincretismo, postmodernismo y cultura de resistencia,” in Kuba o.k.: Actuelle Kunst aus Kuba. Dusseldorf: Stadtische Kunsthalle, April – May 1990, 23 & 25.
Smith, Roberta, “Tonel ‘Lessons of Solitude’,” in The New York Times, Friday, March 16, 2001, E37.
Valdés, Eugenio, “The Key and the Eye to the Keyhole: About Constructions and Utopias in Contemporary Cuban Art,” in Utopian Territories: New Art from Cuba. Vancouver: Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, March 1997, 22, 250-251.
Watson, Scott, “Form Against Content: The Project of a Revolutionary Cuban Art,” in Utopian Territories: New Art from Cuba. Vancouver: Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, March 1997, 15-16, 147.
Yumang, Jade. (2015, September). Serious Side of History. Tonel in Conversation with Jade Yumang. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20160204201917/http://www.artfilemagazine.com/Tonel
