Esterio Segura was born in Santiago, Cuba and now lives and works in Miami and Havana. His work include painting, sculpture and installation, which he makes use of humorous imagery to address socially and politically charged themes from Cuban history and his immigration to the US. He has been exhibited in the US, Latin America, and Europe.
Segura has become equally known for his drawings, paintings, and, more recently, prints. Segura’s compositions are witty and wry combinations of recognizable and iconic images borrowed from mythology, popular imagery, religious art, and art history, particularly from the Counter-Reformation, the Spanish Baroque, and the work of Caravaggio. Recurring themes in his work include eroticism, religious rituals, and the use of symbols. Recently, he has also incorporated text elements into his works. Text and titles have always been highly important for Segura, who believes that “titles are my thoughts getting concrete,” saying they offer the viewer an entry point into the work.
Esterio Segura has had a sustained presence in the international art circuits. In the last 30 years he has systematically exhibited his work in significant institutions from the United States, such as Kendall Art Center, the Rubin Foundation, PPOW Gallery, the Bronx Museum, Queens Museum, Art in General Gallery and Times Square. Also, pieces of Esterio are part of renowned public art collections, such as the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), the Bronx Museum, the Cisneros Fontanals Collection, the Jorge Pérez Collection, the Susie and Mithcel Rice Collection, the Arizona University Art Collection and, more, recently, the National Gallery in Washington. Furthermore, he has been included in over 100 private art collections all over the country.
Esterio Segura express himself through different media, his ideas are transformed into paintings, sculptures, installations and photographs. His work deals with complex topic such as the relationship between history and the individual. In the last years he has been lecturer and tutor in the Superior Art Institute of Havana, the National Fine Arts Academy San Alejandro and the University of Tampa; and his sculptures from the series Tropical West, formed part of the Oscar nominated movie Strawberry and Chocolate.
“Crowded with fantastic ideas and strong images, Segura’s work resonates with the angst of the Cuban people. Yet it is resolved in such a poetic way that the resilient beauty and creativity of life on the island is made clear.” (Kathy Zimmerer, 2002).
