Ian Mont (Puerto Padre, Cuba, 1972) Visual artist with focus on painting and photography. Writer, poet and novelist, with several awards in different genres. He received an education in fine arts in a number of professional institutions such as the Escuela Profesional de Artes Plásticas and the Escuela de Instructores de Arte. From 2001 to 2006 he studied photography at the Instituto Superior de Arte.
He had several solo exhibitions in Cuba, but in 2006 when he visited Spain on a scholarship from the Carolina Foundation, he decided to stay and not return to the island. Thus began his journey as an immigrant, first in Madrid and then 2007 in Barcelona.
Drawing and photography, as well as literature, took a back seat as the main objective was to survive, avoid being deported from the country and achieve residence, which happened in 2009.
From 2006 to 2017 he worked in a number of different jobs. He wrote and painted sporadically, until in 2018 he returned to painting and began to work systematically. The change of format and the use of industrial material have allowed him to develop a particular approach to painting. A mixture of abstract expressionism with figurative dyes, underlined by a passion for materials that manifests itself from the base to the volume of the painting.
Despite holding several solo exhibitions, these were done at the regional and local level. Most of the pre-2006 work is lost and the surviving work is owned by a few friends and private collectors. That is why 2018 has been a new beginning, starting from scratch in a moment where silence and the ups and downs of exile have kept him away from institutions, competitions and promotional circuits.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2004 “La nada y el reino” / “The void and the kingdom” – Photography– Museum Amalia Simoni, Camagüey, Cuba.
1999 “Zonas de vacío” / “Airless zones” – Photography – Museum A. Simoni, Camagüey, Cuba.
1994 “Cuerpos y más cuerpos” / “Bodies, so many bodies” – Painting – Gallery J.M.Ochoa, Puerto Padre, Cuba.
1993 “Nombrar el silencio” / “Naming the silence” – Installations – Gallery J.M.Ochoa, Puerto Padre, Cuba.
1991 “Límites” / “Limits” – Painting and sculpture – Gallery J.M.Ochoa, Puerto Padre, Cuba.
AWARDS
Visual arts:
Award of the National Small Format Exhibition, 2000, Nueva Paz, La Habana, Cuba.
Local award at the town exhibition, 2000, Puerto Padre, Cuba.
International Biennial Sculpture Award, 1999, Las Tunas, Cuba.
Regional Landscape Award, 1996, Caisimú, Las Tunas, Cuba.
Literature:
- Mention in fiction at the national contest of the National Union of Cuban Writers and Artists (UNEAC) 2005
- Young Latin-American Literature award, granted by the organization of Foreign Writers and Translators (MEET) of Saint Nazaire, France, for the short story book “Paisaje antes del alba” / “Paysage avant l’aube”, 2004.
- “Bustos Domeq” award for poetry and fiction at the Cuban International Book Fair, 2003.
- Mention in fiction at the “Alejo Carpentier” National Literature Award, 2001.
- National short story award “La oveja negra”, 1995.
- Regional poetry award “Portus Patris”, 1994.
- Regional poetry and fiction award “Miguel Bruzón”, 1994.
- National essay award “Letra y solfa”, 1991.
