Ernest - Sosiego Marino

Ernest M. is a young Cuban artist trained in the city of Manzanillo, Granma, in eastern Cuba. He currently lives and works in Havana, where he continues developing a steady pictorial production and an artistic trajectory largely focused on researching the human figure and its relationship with the aquatic environment.

In recent years, the artist has developed a series dedicated to immersion, water, and the human figure, turning these elements into one of the most recognizable features of his pictorial language. Women suspended beneath the surface, faces pierced by reflections, fish, movements of the hair, optical distortions, bubbles, and changes of light repeatedly appear in his compositions, not as mere decorative resources, but as part of an ever more defined visual universe.

One of the most interesting aspects of his painting is precisely the treatment of water as a pictorial and psychological element. Ernest manages to render the water’s surface, reflections, and light-induced distortions with brushstrokes that oscillate between figuration, expressive realism, and moments close to hyperrealism. However, his intention does not seem to be limited to faithfully reproducing a scene: he uses those distortions to transform the face and the human body, creating images that sit between the real, the dreamlike, and the introspective.

His palette is clearly dominated by deep blues, turquoise, greens, and marine tones, frequently contrasted with reds, ochres, oranges, and warm hues applied to the skin, the fish, the flowers, or the reflections. This chromatic opposition gives the works a strong visual presence and makes the figure emerge from the aquatic background even when it appears completely integrated into it.

Also characteristic is the way the artist handles composition. In many of his paintings, the flotation line crosses directly through the face or body of the character, dividing the image into two realities. In others, the viewer observes the scene completely submerged. That choice creates a sense of silence, suspension, and isolation that recurs in his output. Water thus becomes a boundary, a refuge, and a space of transformation.

Within the series there are compositions of a more intimate and contemplative character, while others present a looser, gestural, and expressive painting. This variety allows us to observe the evolution of an artist who continually experiments within a recognizable theme without being limited to a single formula.

Another notable aspect is the materiality of the works. The photographs allow us to appreciate the overall structure of the compositions and their chromatic richness, but the painting takes on a considerably greater dimension when viewed in person, where the variations in brushwork, color overlays, texture, and the small changes in light with which depth is built can be better perceived.

The repetition of certain elements —the female figure, the fish, the partially submerged face, the floating hair, the surface reflections, and the intense blue of the water— is helping to shape a recognizable artistic identity. In a young creator, this coherence is especially meaningful, as it demonstrates the willingness to build a sustained body of work rather than isolated pieces.

Ernest currently maintains an active artistic production and continues to develop his career through exhibitions and projects both in Cuba and in Spain and other international contexts. His works have progressively found buyers and collectors outside Cuba and are currently part of private collections and galleries in various countries in Europe and Latin America.

His paintings are also regularly offered at Catawiki auctions, where his work has been well received by the public and collectors.

Acquiring a work by Ernest means approaching the work of a young Cuban artist who is still growing, but who already possesses elements especially valuable within an emerging trajectory: a clearly identifiable theme, continuity in his pictorial research, growing mastery of color and water representation, and, above all, the pursuit of a distinctive visual identity.

His aquatic series currently represents one of the most personal strands of his production and stands as a good example of how a seemingly everyday motif can be transformed, through painting, into a reflection on the body, identity, silence, beauty, and perception.

Water does not function only as a backdrop in Ernest’s work: it acts as a second language that fragments, transforms, and reconstructs the human figure.

Artwork by the artist Ernest made in high-quality professional oil on canvas.
Dimension 60 x 80 cm of painting.
Original edition.
Shipping will be carried out via United Parcel Service (UPS) for Spain and Europe, and via FedEx for the rest of the world.
The work will be rolled and protected by multiple layers of packaging, bubble wrap, and placed in a sturdy tube.
Once the work is paid for, three days are required for packaging and delivery processing with the shipping company.
The piece will reach you after ten days, depending on the destination country.
This lot contains AI-generated visuals. Please consult the original photographs to verify the real condition of the work.

This captivating oil on canvas work delves into figurative hyperrealism and contemporary art to capture the serene immersion of a woman underwater. The composition stands out for a masterful handling of light, where the solar caustic effect projects a complex network of golden glints across the face, neck, and torso of the protagonist, who floats with closed eyes in an attitude of deep peace. At the top, the water surface dynamically distorts the light, while tiny air bubbles floating and several tropical fish swimming around add life and movement to the scene. The vibrant color palette dominates the plane with deep turquoise blues and cyan, creating an impeccable contrast with the warm tones of the skin and the red and gold details of the fish, achieving an atmosphere of stillness, organic communion, and enveloping marine beauty.