Jose Manuel Mayo Peña - Umbral de Inmersión

Jose Manuel Mayo Peña
Immersion Threshold, 2026
acrylic on canvas, 36 × 53 cm
Signed (lower right)
Includes certificate of authenticity issued and signed by the artist
There are moments when the world is completely transformed. In “Immersion Threshold,” Jose Manuel Mayo Peña captures with extraordinary force the exact instant when a woman crosses the boundary between two realities: air and water.
The work places us inside the ocean, sharing the diver’s gaze. Her face, framed by the mask and hair floating freely, looks straight at us while she extends her arm, as if inviting us to accompany her on that journey. The rising bubbles, the light filtering from the surface, and the sea bottom glimpsed in the depths create a vibrant, alive, deeply immersive atmosphere.
This painting is not just an underwater scene. It is a threshold. It represents that precise moment of surrender, of leaving behind what is known to venture into the unknown. The water envelops the body, sound disappears, gravity changes, and everything becomes slower, more intimate, more essential. The diver seems to be in a state of full presence, connected with the sea and with herself.
Mayo Peña masterfully conveys the beauty of the underwater world while also conveying the emotion of that first moment of immersion: the mix of awe, freedom, and a subtle vulnerability felt when crossing that invisible line. The light, color, and movement of the water are treated with a sensitivity that makes the viewer almost feel the freshness of the ocean and the light weight of the body floating.
“Immersion Threshold” is a work that invites contemplation and the desire for adventure. It speaks of the beauty of exploring new worlds, the connection with nature, and those moments when one feels completely alive.
A piece with great visual and emotional impact, ideal for collectors who seek contemporary figurative art with depth, atmosphere, and the ability to transport the viewer to another place.


JOSE MANUEL MAYO PEÑA

- Born in Las Tunas, Las Tunas Province, Cuba, (1976)
- Graduated in 1997 specializing in drawing and painting at the Escuela Profesional de Artes Plásticas in Las Tunas.
- Member of the Asociación Hermanos Saíz (A.H.S.)
- Member of the Unión de escritores y artistas (UNEAC)
- He has held the role of specialist and curator at Fayad Jamis and Guernica galleries in Las Tunas
- Joined artistic teaching in 2001 as a drawing professor.
- Currently an independent artist and professor at the Academy of Visual Arts in Las Tunas.
- Member of the Cátedra Martiana.

Collective Exhibitions and Events

· 2024

· 2023 Here We Are. Collective Exhibition. Fayad Jamis Gallery. Las Tunas. December.
2023 Small Format Sculpture Salon. José Antonio Díaz Peláez. Las Tunas. CPAP. CODEMA., Las Tunas. Gallery, Center for the Development of Plastic Arts. Las Tunas. November.
2023 UNEAC Salon. UNEAC Gallery. Las Tunas. October.
2023 Collective Expo. When I came into this world. Gallery. The Jungle of Nicolás Guillen Foundation. Las Tunas. September.
2023 Salon. Plastic Art in April. Gallery Provincial Council of Plastic Arts Las Tunas. April
2022 1st Abstract Art Salon Díaz Peláez. Belkis Ayón Gallery. Vedado. Havana. September.
2022 Collective Exhibition. Target Practice. 61st Anniversary. UNEAC Headquarters Gallery. August.
2022 Mayo Abstract. Virtual Collective Exhibition. 5th Abstract Art Workshop. La Cruzada Project. Uneac. Las Tunas. May.
2022 Collective Exhibition. Center for Visual Arts Development. Las Tunas. Result of the 5th Abstract Art Workshop. La Cruzada Project. May.
2022 Mayo Abstract Workshop Mayada Abstracto La Cruzada. UNEAC Gallery. Las Tunas. May
2022 Solo you and the moon. Collective Exhibition. Nicolás Guillen Foundation. Jungle Gallery. Las Tunas. April.
2022 The Freedom of Space. Virtual Collective Exhibition of Abstract Art. Belkis Ayón Gallery. Vedado, Havana. February–March.
2022 Return of Light. Homage to the master. Collective Exhibition. UNEAC Gallery. Las Tunas. January
2021 UNEAC Salon. UNEAC Gallery. Las Tunas. November.

2021 Collective Expo All the Hands. Jornada de la Cultura Nacional. Provincial Council of Plastic Arts. Las Tunas. October–November.
2021 Collective Exhibition of Cuban Painters Homage to Pedro de Oraá. Mayo Abstracto. UNEAC Gallery. Las Tunas. May.
2020 UNEAC 2020 Salon. For Cuban Culture Day. Provincial Gallery of Plastic Arts. Las Tunas. October.
2020 Collective Expo Woman- Light. Decimarte. Gallery From a Deep Lookout. Las Tunas. March.
2020 Erotic Art Salon. UNEAC Las Tunas Gallery. February.
2020 Light in the Soul Exhibition. 167th Anniversary of José Martí’s Birth. UNEAC Gallery. Las Tunas. January.
2019 UNEAC Salon Las Tunas. Homage to Cuban Culture Day. UNEAC Gallery. Las Tunas. October.
2019 National Meeting of Abstract Art. Imán IV. Collage Habana Gallery. August. Havana.
2019 Abstract Confluence. Collective Exhibition. IV Abstract Art Workshop. La Cruzada Project. Provincial Arts Gallery Las Tunas. May–June.
2019 Digital Art Salon. Dedicated to the 9th UNEAC Congress. UNEAC Gallery. Las Tunas. April.
2018 Collective Exhibition Osmosis II. AHS. Youth Creators Project. Guernica Gallery. Las Tunas. November–December.
2018 National Exhibition of Abstract Art. Imán 3. Fausto Cristo Hall. UNEAC. Holguín. November.
2018 UNEAC Salon. Glints of Identity. Las Tunas. UNEAC Gallery. October.
2018 Collective Exhibition. Osmosis. Youth Creators Project. Guernica Gallery. AHS. August–September. Las Tunas.
2018 Abstract Art. National Salon. Collective Exhibition. “Gestural Suggestions.” La Confronta Gallery. UNEAC Provincial Committee. Santiago de Cuba. May.
2018 Abstract Art (May Abstract) La Cruzada Project. Fayad Jamís Gallery. Collective Expo. Las Tunas.
2018 April Plastic Art Salon. Provincial Council of Plastic Arts. Las Tunas. April.
2018 Digital Art Salon. Dedicated to the 30th edition of the Provincial Art Salon Plastic Art in April. UNEAC Gallery. April. Las Tunas.
2018 Collective Exhibition. Abstracts at Home. Project: “La Cruzada.” March–April. Las Tunas.
2018 Abstract Art Salon. Expressions of Abstracts. La Cruzada Project. UNEAC Gallery. March. Las Tunas.
2018 About the Purple. Erotic Art Salon. Board of the UNEAC Provincial Committee Gallery. February–March. Las Tunas.
2017 Winter Salon, Fayad Jamís Gallery. Las Tunas.
2017 Imán II project La Cruzada, Lario Gallery, Camagüe y.
2017 Homage, UNEAC Gallery, Las Tunas.
2017 Cuban contemporary artists, Rocca Aldobrandesca-Piacastagnaio. Italy
2017 Imán La Cruzada project, Cuba National Theatre Gallery. Havana.
2016 Collective Exhibition Abstract Painters Fayad Jamís Gallery. Las Tunas.
2016 Abstract Regenerations. Art Center. Las Tunas.
2016 Cuba pearl of the Caribbean. Rocca Medieval Passignano. Italy.
2016 Tuna Brava Collective Exhibition Guernica Gallery Las Tunas.
2016 30th Anniversary Salon. Guernica Gallery Las Tunas.
2016 Inmersion III Woodcut. Fayad Jamís Gallery. Las Tunas.
2015 Cuba how lovely Cuba is. Città di La Pieve Umbria Italy
2014 Collective Exhibition 100 Abstract Painters. Casa Cultural del Alba. Havana
2014 Collective Exhibition A Color for Clemen Greember Project LA CRUZADA. UNEAC, Las Tunas.
2014 Collective Exhibition for the 45th anniversary of artistic education in Las Tunas. Provincial Center of Plastic Arts. Las Tunas
2013 Collective painting exhibition ´ LA CRUZADA ´. Provincial Center of Plastic Arts. Las Tunas.
2012 April Plastic Art Salon. Provincial Center of Plastic Arts. Las Tunas.
2011 Strictly Collective. Exhibition for UNEAC’s 50th Anniversary. Provincial Center of Plastic Arts. Las Tunas.
2011 Cuban Tribute. Provincial Museum. Las Tunas.
2011 Expo “4x4” Jungle Gallery, Huellas Cultural Center, Las Tunas.
2011 Retrospective Graduates of the Las Tunas Art School, Tunas Theater
2010 II Eastern Salon, Emilio Bacardí Museum, Santiago de Cuba.
2009 Summer Salon UNEAC, Las Tunas.
2008 II Erotic Art Salon (With the Light Grace of Nudity). UNEAC, Las Tunas.
2008 I Eastern Salon, Emilio Bacardí Museum, Santiago de Cuba.
2008 Collective Photography Exhibition (SOBRE-EXPOSICIÓN). UNEAC, Las Tunas.
2008 Photography Event, UNEAC, Pto. Padre, Las Tunas.
2007 Ceramic event, deck design. Las Tunas.
2007 Arte Cuba Exhibition, Valencia, Spain.
2007 Cuban Art Exhibition, Italy.
2007 Drammen and Cuba Exhibition, Drammen Theatre, Norway.
2007 I Erotic Art Salon UNEAC, Las Tunas.
2007 COLLECTIVE abstract art expo ´ LA CRUZADA ´ under Cultural Huellas project.
2006 UNEAC Salon Las Tunas.
2006 Artists from Las Tunas exhibition in Germany.
2006 Collective Expo for UNEAC admission ´ UNEAC of Las Tunas ´.

2006 Collective Exhibition ” My City ” for the 210th anniversary of Las Tunas.
2006 Expo ” Artists of the Cultural Goods Fund ” Fayad Jamis Gallery.
2006 Collective Expo of UNEAC members in celebration of Culture Week in Las Tunas.
2006 UNEAC Salon of Las Tunas.

2006 Collective exhibition of abstract art, Havana.
2006 Fourth Abstract Art Event ´ La Cruzada ´ Holguín Art Center
2006 Salon of 2005 awardees
2006 Third Abstract Art Event ‘La Cruzada’ UNEAC Guantánamo
2006 I Abstract Art Workshop ‘Abstract Spirit’ Sancti Spíritus
2005 Miniatures Salon.
2005 Plástica in April Salon.
2005 I Abstract Art Event “La Cruzada” (UNEAC Manzanillo).
2005 Display of Las Tunas plastic arts.
2005 II Abstract Art Event “La Cruzada” (UNEAC Las Tunas).
2004 UNEAC Salon.
2004 2003 Awardees Salon.
2003 Salon “Lucilo León Águila”.
2003 Salon “Carlos Enríquez”.
2002 UNEAC Salon.
2002 Fayad Jamis Salon.
2001 Plastic Arts in April Salon (Provincial culture award).
2000 City Young Salon “Guernica”.
2000 XVII Salon “Plastic in April”.
2000 Retrospective of Las Tunas plastic arts.
2000 Sculptural Fountain Project. (Group A.S).
2000 Four sculptures for “Villa Cobarrubias” (Group A.S).
1999 X Edition Fayad Jamís Salon “Awarded by AHS”.
1999 Awardees Salon.
1999 City Young Salon “Guernica”.
1999 XVI Plastic in April.
1999 Tuneros exhibit in Moa.
1999 Eco Art Event.
1998 XV Plastic in April Salon.
1998 Tenth mural Salon.
1998 Plastic Tunera.
1998 Youth Stamp Exhibit.
1998 A.H.S exhibits “Convenient Space”.
1998 City Young Salon “Guernica”.
1998 V Territorial José A. Díaz Peláez Salon.
1998 VIII José Martínez Ochoa Salon.
1997 VII José Martínez Ochoa Salon.
1997 National Salon Tenth Mural, Las Tunas.
1995 Exhibition of 12 Students from the Professional School of Plastic Arts.
1994-1995 February 14 Salon.
1993 Students of the Professional School of Plastic Arts exhibit.

Awards and Honors

2011 Award Salon “Plastic in April” Las Tunas.
2005 II UNEAC Salon Prize.
2003 III “Carlos Enríquez” Salon Prize
2001 Plastic Arts in April Salon (Provincial culture award).
2000 Special Mention for Sculptural Fountain project. (Group A.S).
2000 Prize, Four sculptures for “Villa Cobarrubias” (Group A.S).
1999 X Edition Fayad Jamís Salon Prize “Awarded by AHS”.
1998 Prize City Young Salon “Guernica”.
1998 Mention, V Territorial José A. Díaz Peláez Salon.
1998 Prize VIII José Martínez Ochoa Salon.
1997 Mention, VII José Martínez Ochoa.

Solo and Joint Exhibitions

2017 Miniatures. Museum of the Constitution. Guáimaro. Camagüey.
2006 Bipersonal Exhibition ´Notes of Citizens´ with artist Vladimir Santiago. UNAAIC, Las Tunas.
2006 Bipersonal Exhibition “Different Common II” with Yamila Coma Vargas. Puerto Padre Gallery
2006 Bipersonal Exhibition “Different Common” with Yamila Coma Vargas. England Hotel, Havana.
2006 Personal Exhibition ‘Intimate Inequality (Guest Artist: Yoángel Batista)
2005 Tripersonal Exhibition “=3” (with Yamila Coma and Helier Batista).
2000 Bipersonal Exhibition “We are not responsible” with Leosvanis Mayo.
1998 Bipersonal Exhibition (Worlds) with Ángel Peña.
1998 Personal Exhibition “Piety is called Delilah”.
1997 Personal Exhibition “Friezes of Life”.
1997 “Pages” ISPJAE, Havana.
1997 Personal Exhibition at the Puerto Padre Museum.
2017 Creates the sprouts workshop of cucalambé at the Martíres del 28 de diciembre school
2015 Interview for Radio Victoria, Las Tunas
2015 Interview for Tunas Visión Cultural News.
2015 Participates as Producer together with painter Yamila Comas Vargas in a ceramic mural for the municipality of Jobabo, Las Tunas.
2013 Conference inaugural abstract art workshop. UNEAC, Las Tunas.
2013 His work is part of the collection at marimbartgallery gallery in Quebec, Canada
2013 Acts as a juror in selecting works for the Escaramujo Salon of the José Martí Brigade.
2011 Interview for Radio Victoria, Las Tunas
2004 Participates as Producer with painter Yamila Comas Vargas in a pictorial mural at the Toma de Las Tunas Primary School, Las Tunas.
2003 Participates as producer with Yamila Coma Vargas and Jesús Vega Faura in two monumental sculptures at the Marcelo Salado Primary School, Colombia.
2002 Participates as producer with Yamila Coma Vargas and Jesús Vega Faura in three mural paintings at the Jesús Argüelles Primary School, Las Tunas.
2001 Jury member at the municipal salon “Carlos Enríquez” in Amancio Rodríguez
1999 Interview for the “Quehacer” Tunas Visión program
1999 Jury member in the 9th José Martines Ochoa Salon
1998 Interview for Radio Victoria, Las Tunas
He has illustrated poems and décimas for various writers from Las Tunas, the works have been published by the Sanlope publishing house in Las Tunas
- 2000 “Cánticas de escarnio” by Osmani Eduardo
- 2000 “Sombras” by Frank Castel
- 1998 “La piedad se llama Dalila” by Julio A Molinet
His work is in private collections in Cuba, USA, Spain, Norway, Italy, England, Puerto Rico and France.