Leandro Soto Explained

Leandro Soto (born Leandro Soto Ortiz; March 13, 1956 – July 3, 2022) was a Cuban-American multidisciplinary visual/installation and performance artist. He was also a set and costume designer for theater and film.^[1] Soto studied at Escuela Nacional de Arte National Art Schools (Cuba) and Instituto Superior de Arte, University of Havana. As an educator he taught and lectured at various Higher Education institutions in the U.S. and abroad. Soto also founded a creative workshop, El Tesoro de Tamulte, in Tabasco, Mexico, from which professional artists emerged. ^[2]

Biography

Soto was born on March 13, 1956, in Cienfuegos, Cuba, where he also spent his early life.^[3]

Soto was one of the leading figures of the influential “Volumen Uno”, an artistic movement that changed the course of Cuban Art in the decade of the 1980s, in which he was the first artist in his generation to work with the Afro-Cuban heritage.^{[4] [5]} He was also credited with being the first performance and installation artist on the island.^[6]

In his performances and the visual/installation art which emerged from his performances, Soto responded to the postmodern coordinates of implosion and satire, often subverting the inceptions of culturally accepted notions of high/kitsch, traditional/pop, global/local, and profane/sacred art forms. Throughout his artistic career, he demonstrated an interest in religion, ritual, and the mythology of indigenous people.^[7]

Soto died July 3, 2022, in California.^[8]

Selected solo exhibitions

• 2023 Creation in the Moment without Past: the legacy of a remarkable man. The Department of Cultural Studies: Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination, University of the West Indies, Barbados, West Indies ^[9]
• 2018 Crónicas visuales. Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. Havana, Cuba (current catalog, ISBN no. pending)^{[10] [11] [12] [13]}
• 2015 hacia todas partes ir II. (Everywhere I go) La Acacia Art Gallery, Havana, Cuba.^{[14] [15]}
• 2013 Carpentier in Barbados. Errol Barrow Center for Creative Imagination Art Gallery. University of The West Indies. Barbados, West Indies.^[16]
• 2012 Leandro Soto: Open Windows to the Caribbean. Museum of Finest Cuban Art. Vienna, Austria.^[17]
• 2011 Cuba in the Southwest: The Art of Leandro Soto. Sangre de Cristo Art Center: Hoag Gallery. Pueblo, Colorado.^[18]
• 2006 Leandro Soto Recent Works. Paulina Miller Art Gallery. Phoenix, Arizona^[19]
• 1997 A Glance over the Garden. Big Orbit Gallery. Buffalo, New York^[20]
• 1992 Resonancias de la selva (Resonances of the jungle). Galería Nina Menocal, México D.F.^[21]
• 1984 Retablo familiar (Family altarpiece). Casa de la Cultura. Plaza Gallery and Art Center. Havana, Cuba.

Selected group exhibitions

• 2019 Sacbé, Camino de Intercambio (White Road, Exchange Path). Casa del Benemérito de las Américas Benito Juárez, Old Havana, Cuba.^{[22] [23]}
• 2017 Adiós Utopía: Art in Cuba Since 1950. The Museum of Fine Arts. Houston, Texas^[24]
• 2014 Drapetomania, The 8th Floor, New York, NY ^[25]
• 2011 Ajiaco: Stirrings of the Cuban Soul. Newark Museum, Newark, New Jersey.^{[26] [27]}
• 2008 Cuba! Art and History from 1868 through Today. Musee des Beaux Arts de Montreal, Quebec^[28]
• 2004 Confluencias: Leandro Soto and Raoul Deal. Walker's Point Center for the Arts, Milwaukee, Wisconsin ^[29]
• 1998 Ceremonial Lands. Buffalo Arts Studios. Buffalo, New York.^[30]
• 1997 Breaking Barriers. Museum of Fine Arts of Ft. Lauderdale. Florida.^[31]
• 1987 Prague Quadrennial of Stage Design, Prague, Czech Republic^[32]
• 1989 Kitsch. Third Havana Biennial. Galiano-Concordia Art Center. Havana, Cuba.^[33]
• 1981 Volumen Uno. International Art Center. Havana, Cuba

Selected collections

Soto's work is held in a number of institutional collections, including:

• The CIFO Collection, Miami. FL.^[34]
• MOCA. Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami. FL.^[35]
• Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana, Cuba
• Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theater Research Institute. Ohio State University. Columbus, Ohio ^[36]
• Museum of Finest Cuban Art, Vienna, Austria
• Dr. Arturo and Lisa Mosquera, Private Collection of Contemporary Art, Miami, FL^[37]
• Mount Holyoke College Art Museum. South Hadley Mass.^[38]

Selected publications

• • Book: O'Reilly-Herrera. Andrea. Remembering Cuba: legacy of a diaspora. 2001. University of Texas Press. Austin. 0292731477. 245. 1st. Testimony of an Artist.
• Book: Fusco. Coco. Corpus delecti: performance art of the Americas. limited. 1999. Routledge. New York. 9780415194549. 266. 1st. Performance in Cuba in the 1980s.
• Book: González-Pérez. Armando. Presencia negra: teatro cubano de la diáspora (Antología Crítica). 1999. Editorial Betania. Madrid. 8480171111. chapter E-Motions/E-Motions. es.

Further reading

• Book: Silva. Ana. Art in Cuba Since 1950. 2017. Cisneros Fontanals Foundation. Miami, Madrid. 9780692820735.
• Valencia. Marelys. Performatividad y plástica: El cruzamiento artístico en la obra de Leandro Soto durante la década "contaminada" de los 80s en Cuba. Latin American Theatre Review. 21 August 2016. 49. 2. 69–89. 10.1353/ltr.2016.0014. 193514226. es. 2161-0576.
• Fuentes. Rubén . 2015. INFLUENCIAS ZEN DE LAS PINTURAS MONOCROMAS ORIENTALES EN OBRAS DE LOS ARTISTAS CUBANOS TOMÁS SÁNCHEZ, LEANDRO SOTO, Y RUBÉN FUENTES. Ph.D.. Universitat Politécnica de Valencia. Spain. es. ^[39]
• Book: González-Pérez. Armando. Afro-Cuban theatre of the diaspora : critical essays. 2013. Ediciones la Gota de Agua . 978-0981930336. First.
• "De Palo pa' Rumba:" An Interview with Leandro Soto, by Isabel Alvarez-Borland (2007). Afro-Hispanic Review,^[40] republished by Cross Works, College of the Holy Cross ^[41]
• Book: Veigas. José . etal . Memoria : artes visuales cubanas del siglo XX. 2004. California/International Arts Foundation. Los Angeles, CA, USA. 9780917571121. es.

External links

• The Leandro Soto papers consist primarily of original drawings of set and costume designs, audiovisual materials, posters, and photographs of productions and exhibitions documenting the work of visual and performance artist Leandro Soto. While the collection also includes correspondence, clippings, press releases, manuscripts, and theater and exhibitions programs, the bulk of materials relate to Soto's artistic production in the United States since 1992. Leandro Soto papers are available through the University of Miami Libraries Digital Collections portal.
• Creator page for Leandro Soto Ortiz in the Cuban Theater Digital Archive.
• Artist File : Miscellaneous Uncataloged Material
• leandrosoto.com

Notes and References

1. Web site: Soto . Leandro . Leandro Soto Papers, Cuban Heritage Collection, University Of Miami Libraries . University of Miami Libraries . 26 September 2023 . Coral Gables, FL.
2. Book: Soto . Leandro . tesoro-de-tamulte-arte-desde-el-tropico . 2003 . Editorial Orbis Press, Phoenix. Ariz. . Phoenix, Arizona . 58678600 . 1st . 26 September 2023.
3. News: Amitabh . Sharma . November 23, 2014 . Leandro Soto - Where spirituality meets art . Jamaica Gleaner . Kingston, Jamaica . 30 April 2018.
4. Book: Weiss. Rachel. To and from utopia in the new Cuban art. 2011. University of Minnesota Press. Minneapolis. 978-0816665150. 1st.
5. Book: Camnitzer. Luis. New art of Cuba. 2003. University of Texas Press. Austin. 978-0292705173. Nouv. éd. révisée.. registration.
6. Book: Fusco. Coco. Corpus delecti : performance art of the Americas. 1999. Routledge. New York. 978-0415194549. 1st.
7. Blanc, Giulio, "Review on Leandro Soto", Miami: Art Nexus, October 1994, pp 108-9
8. Web site: 2022-07-04 . Lamentan fallecimiento del artista cubano Leandro Soto . 2022-07-04 . OnCubaNews . es.
9. News: Soto . Leandro . Creation in the Moment without Past . 22 September 2023 . September 6–26, 2023.
10. Soto. Leandro. Leandro Soto on World Cultures, Cubanidad, and His Show in Havana. Cuban Art News. April 11, 2018. 26 September 2023.
11. Alberdi Benítez. Virginia. La aventura humana de Leandro Soto. Granma.cu. March 26, 2018. 5 May 2018. es.
12. Leon. Ana. Las 'Crónicas visuales' de Leandro Soto Cubanet. Cubanet. 19 March 2018. 6 May 2018. es-ES.
13. Mata . Jorge . The chronicles of Leandro Soto . Diario de Cuba . April 17, 2018 . es.
14. Gago. Beatriz. Mapping Leandro Soto. Art OnCuba. March 1, 2016.
15. Nuñez Leyva . Yanelys . Leandro Soto's New Exhibition at Havana's La Acacia Gallery . Havana Times . November 18, 2015 . 3 August 2019.
16. News: Carpentier in Barbados. 29 April 2018. What's On In Barbados. Barbados.org. March 25, 2013.
17. Web site: Museum of finest Cuban Arts. www.cubanarts.org. Vienna, Austria. de.
18. Cuba in the Southwest: The Art of Leandro Soto . Cuba Transnational . 2011 . 7 August 2019.
19. News: Paulina Miller Studio and Gallery. Arizona Republic. September 18, 2003.
20. Obbatala in the Snow: A recasting of Afro-Cuban archetypes . Hopscotch: A Cultural Review . 2001 . 2 . 2 . 92 . 7 August 2019.
21. Tibol. Raquel. Vorágine y voracidad en Leandro Soto. Revista Proceso. February 15, 1992. es. April 28, 2018.
22. Web site: Ferrer . Estela . Sacbe, a path for art . The UNEAC . UNION OF WRITERS AND ARTISTS OF CUBA . 24 July 2019.
23. de la Hoz . Pedro . Lucas de Gálvez: laberinto y confluencia . PorEsto! . June 24, 2019 . 7 August 2019.
24. Web site: Adiós Utopia. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. 28 April 2018.
25. Web site: Soto . Leandro . Drapetomania . The 8th Floor . 25 July 2019.
26. News: SCHWENDENER . MARTHA . Myths, Legends and Cuban Culture . The New York Times . 4 August 2019 . July 29, 2011.
27. Friswell . Richard . Postmodern Cuban Art on Display at New Jersey Museum . Artes Magazine . June 24, 2011 . 1307 . 4 August 2019.
28. Book: Bondil. Nathalie. Cuba : art and history, from 1868 to today. 2008. Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. [Montréal]. 978-3791340197. Illustrated. registration.
29. Web site: Documents of 20-century Latin American and Latino Art . International Center for the Arts of the Americas . Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (Texas) . 7 August 2019.
30. News: McGinnis . Mara . Exhibit By Soto is On Display At Buffalo Arts Studios . 7 August 2019 . University at Buffalo . April 14, 1998.
31. Carol. Damian. Santis. Jorge. Breaking Barriers: Selections from the Museum of Art's Permanent Contemporary Cuban Collection. Cataog. 1998. Museum of Fine Arts. Ft. Lauderdale. 37859856.
32. Web site: Quadriennale. Pražské. PQ 79 PQ. services.pq.cz. 6 May 2018.
33. Book: Weiss. Rachel. Camnitzer. Luis. Fusco. Coco. Making art global. the third Havana Biennial 1989. 2011. Afterall Books. London. 978-3865609939. 1st.
34. Web site: Past exhibitions . 5 August 2019.
35. Web site: Leandro Soto . 27 June 2013 . Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami . 4 May 2018.
36. Web site: 2002 TRI Encore Report . 5 August 2019.
37. Web site: Mosquera Catalog. Issuu. 8 October 2010 . 6 May 2018. en.
38. Web site: Main Gate of Mount Holyoke College. Collections Database: Five Colleges and Historic Deerfield Museum Consortium. Mount Holyoke College Art Museum. 4 May 2018.
39. Influencias Zen de las Pinturas Monocromas Orientales en Obras de los Artistas Cubanos Tomás Sánchez, Leandro Soto, y Rubén Fuentes. 10.4995/Thesis/10251/53631. 2015. Fuentes González. Rubén. Universitat Politècnica de València. Tesis doctoral. free.
40. Alvarez-Borland . Isabel . "De Palo pa' Rumba:" An Interview with Leandro Soto . Afro-Hispanic Review . Spring 2007 . 26 . 1 . 167–178 . 23055256 .
41. Alvarez-Borland . Isabel . "De Palo pa' Rumba:" An Interview with Leandro Soto . Cross Works . 2007 . 8 August 2019 . College of the Holy Cross.