Ernest - Suspiro Sumergido

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 constant pictorial production and an artistic trajectory focused, to a large extent, on the investigation of 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, hair movements, optical distortions, bubbles, and changes in light repeatedly appear in his compositions, not as simple decorative resources, but as part of a visual universe that is increasingly defined.

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

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

Also characteristic is the way the artist handles composition. In many of his paintings, the flotation line traverses directly the face or body of the character, dividing the image into two realities. In others, the viewer observes the scene completely submerged. That choice generates a sense of silence, suspension, and isolation that appears repeatedly in his output. The 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 freer, gestural, and expressive painting. This variety allows us to observe the evolution of an artist who continuously experiments within a recognizable theme without being confined 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 acquires a considerably greater dimension when observed physically, where the variations in brushstroke, color superimpositions, texture, and small changes in light can be perceived more clearly, building the sense of depth.

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 significant, as it demonstrates the will to build a continued body of work rather than isolated pieces alone.

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 of Cuba and are currently part of private collections and galleries in different European and Latin American countries.

His paintings are also regularly offered at Catawiki auctions, where his work has received a favorable reception from the public and collectors.

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

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

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

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

This work presents a hyperrealistic and stylized portrait of a young woman immersed in an aquatic environment that conveys serenity and mystery. With the head slightly tilted backward, the figure seems to float in a state of contemplative weightlessness, while sunlight filters through the water’s surface, projecting intricate caustic patterns and warm highlights onto her face. The composition stands out for a vibrant contrast between the palette dominated by deep blues and the warmth of the skin, crimson lips, and the gold fish that swims by her side. The ascending bubbles, the gentle movement of hair beneath the water, and the wavy reflection at the top add dynamism and an ethereal atmosphere that invites the viewer to dive into a unique sensory experience.