Cristian Mesa Velazquez - Deriva
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Artist Cristian Mesa Velázquez; Title Deriva; Oil on canvas, 62 × 43 cm, 2026; hand-signed; Original edition; in excellent condition; origin Spain; subject: Portrait; colours multicolour (yellow, blue, white, gray, purple, orange).
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Description from the seller
Deriva
Oil on canvas · 62 x 43 cm · 2026
One figure floats face up underwater, the head near the surface where light filters through vegetation and disintegrates into greens and golds. The body descends diagonally toward the viewer, wrapped in a field of turquoise and green that darkens toward violet at the bottom of the canvas, as if the depth itself were changing temperature.
There is no swimming gesture or active stroke: the arm drops loose, facial features dissolve in the fragmented surface light. Cristian Mesa Velázquez works here with a more passive variation of his central theme—the body suspended in water—closer to the surrender of Confidence in Floating, but without the inward solitude of that piece: here the body does not fold in on itself, it yields to the current.
The execution matches this idea: the brushwork is looser and more atmospheric than in pieces like Liberty in Blue, with the background resolved almost as fields of color that merge with one another, while the face and torso retain just enough definition to anchor the figure without tipping into photographic detail. The result is an image that is read first by its chromatic temperature and only then by its figuration.
Technique: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 62 x 43 cm
100% handmade by the artist
Includes certificate of authenticity
Shipped unstretched (removed from the frame) for maximum safety in transport
Her series of submerged swimmers has been the subject of a comparative academic analysis with J. E. Millais and Samantha French, published in August 2026 in Aletheia – A Journal of Literary and Linguistic Studies.
Cristian Mesa Velázquez
Las Tunas, Cuba (1994). Resides and works in Valencia, Spain.
Studies
2013- Middle Level in Plastic Arts. Professional Academy of Plastic Arts, Las Tunas, Cuba.
Selected solo/group exhibitions (selection)
2010. Nicolás Guillén Iconographic Salon. UNEAC, Las Tunas, Cuba
2010. Exhibition “Vástagos”. Provincial Centre of Plastic Arts, Las Tunas, Cuba.
2011. Martiano Salon. Sculpture Workshop Gallery, Las Tunas, Cuba.
2011. Exhibition “Lithographs”. UNEAC, Las Tunas, Cuba.
2011. Exhibition “Final Integral Exercise”. Professional Academy of Plastic Arts, Las Tunas, Cuba.
2012. Martiano Salon. Cultural Center Huellas, Las Tunas, Cuba.
2012. Exhibition “La Víspera”. Provincial Centre of Plastic Arts, Las Tunas, Cuba.
2013. Salon “Guernica”. AHS, Las Tunas, Cuba.
2013. Salon “Plastic in April”. Provincial Centre of Plastic Arts, Las Tunas, Cuba.
2013. Collective Expo “Art, a Social Image”. Provincial Centre of Plastic Arts, Las Tunas, Cuba.
2016. First Plastic Arts Salon. Guáimaro Art Gallery, Camagüey, Cuba.
2016. Collective Expo, Aires de Cubanía. Casa del Alba cultural, Havana, Cuba.
2017. III Edition Plastic Arts Salon, Guáimaro, Camagüey, Cuba.
2017. Collective Expo, One in a Hundred, Rita Longa Sculpture Workshop Gallery, Las Tunas, Cuba.
2017. Review of itinerant collective expo, Aires de Cubanía, Iberian American and Caribbean Magazine “Arte por Excelencias” Year VII/NO.32/2017/Quarterly. Page: 18.
2018. Salon “Plastic in April” Provincial Center for Plastic Arts, Las Tunas, Cuba.
2019. Collective Miniature Expo “Painting, Noble Lady of the Spirit” Ciego de Ávila, Cuba.
2019. Collective Expo “Osmosis” AHS, Las Tunas, Cuba.
2020. Tribute Expo to Anette Delgado, Havana, Cuba.
2020 Luxembourg International Arts Fair 2020
2020 City of Light Paris International Fair 2020
2021 Germany International Fair of Plastic Arts 2021
2021 France International Fair of Plastic Arts 2021
Collections
Private collections worldwide (France, Italy, Netherlands, China, Germany, United States, Mexico, Spain) among other important collections in galleries and art centers
Seller's Story
About the Artist
Cristian Mesa Velázquez (Las Tunas, Cuba, 1994) is a contemporary Cuban painter currently living and working in Valencia, Spain.
Trained at the Professional Academy of Plastic Arts in Las Tunas, Mesa Velázquez has developed a personal pictorial language that combines solid technical realism with a strong symbolic and emotional charge. His work explores themes such as the human body, sensuality, nature, and light, always with a marked chromatic and textural sensitivity.
From a very young age, his talent was recognized in Cuba, where he participated in numerous national salons and collective exhibitions. Since 2020, his career has taken an important international leap, participating in major art fairs in Luxembourg, Paris, Germany, and France. His works have been acquired by private collectors in more than eight countries, including France, Italy, the Netherlands, China, Germany, the United States, Mexico, and Spain.
His painting is characterized by excellent craftsmanship, an expressive handling of oil, and a unique ability to transform the everyday into images full of poetry, desire, and vitality. His series of figures in water, fruits and hands, as well as his bird portraits, stand out for their visual power and their capacity to emotionally connect with the viewer.
Today, his work is part of important private collections around the world and continues to establish itself as one of the most interesting voices of contemporary Cuban realism in Europe.
Translated by Google TranslateDeriva
Oil on canvas · 62 x 43 cm · 2026
One figure floats face up underwater, the head near the surface where light filters through vegetation and disintegrates into greens and golds. The body descends diagonally toward the viewer, wrapped in a field of turquoise and green that darkens toward violet at the bottom of the canvas, as if the depth itself were changing temperature.
There is no swimming gesture or active stroke: the arm drops loose, facial features dissolve in the fragmented surface light. Cristian Mesa Velázquez works here with a more passive variation of his central theme—the body suspended in water—closer to the surrender of Confidence in Floating, but without the inward solitude of that piece: here the body does not fold in on itself, it yields to the current.
The execution matches this idea: the brushwork is looser and more atmospheric than in pieces like Liberty in Blue, with the background resolved almost as fields of color that merge with one another, while the face and torso retain just enough definition to anchor the figure without tipping into photographic detail. The result is an image that is read first by its chromatic temperature and only then by its figuration.
Technique: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 62 x 43 cm
100% handmade by the artist
Includes certificate of authenticity
Shipped unstretched (removed from the frame) for maximum safety in transport
Her series of submerged swimmers has been the subject of a comparative academic analysis with J. E. Millais and Samantha French, published in August 2026 in Aletheia – A Journal of Literary and Linguistic Studies.
Cristian Mesa Velázquez
Las Tunas, Cuba (1994). Resides and works in Valencia, Spain.
Studies
2013- Middle Level in Plastic Arts. Professional Academy of Plastic Arts, Las Tunas, Cuba.
Selected solo/group exhibitions (selection)
2010. Nicolás Guillén Iconographic Salon. UNEAC, Las Tunas, Cuba
2010. Exhibition “Vástagos”. Provincial Centre of Plastic Arts, Las Tunas, Cuba.
2011. Martiano Salon. Sculpture Workshop Gallery, Las Tunas, Cuba.
2011. Exhibition “Lithographs”. UNEAC, Las Tunas, Cuba.
2011. Exhibition “Final Integral Exercise”. Professional Academy of Plastic Arts, Las Tunas, Cuba.
2012. Martiano Salon. Cultural Center Huellas, Las Tunas, Cuba.
2012. Exhibition “La Víspera”. Provincial Centre of Plastic Arts, Las Tunas, Cuba.
2013. Salon “Guernica”. AHS, Las Tunas, Cuba.
2013. Salon “Plastic in April”. Provincial Centre of Plastic Arts, Las Tunas, Cuba.
2013. Collective Expo “Art, a Social Image”. Provincial Centre of Plastic Arts, Las Tunas, Cuba.
2016. First Plastic Arts Salon. Guáimaro Art Gallery, Camagüey, Cuba.
2016. Collective Expo, Aires de Cubanía. Casa del Alba cultural, Havana, Cuba.
2017. III Edition Plastic Arts Salon, Guáimaro, Camagüey, Cuba.
2017. Collective Expo, One in a Hundred, Rita Longa Sculpture Workshop Gallery, Las Tunas, Cuba.
2017. Review of itinerant collective expo, Aires de Cubanía, Iberian American and Caribbean Magazine “Arte por Excelencias” Year VII/NO.32/2017/Quarterly. Page: 18.
2018. Salon “Plastic in April” Provincial Center for Plastic Arts, Las Tunas, Cuba.
2019. Collective Miniature Expo “Painting, Noble Lady of the Spirit” Ciego de Ávila, Cuba.
2019. Collective Expo “Osmosis” AHS, Las Tunas, Cuba.
2020. Tribute Expo to Anette Delgado, Havana, Cuba.
2020 Luxembourg International Arts Fair 2020
2020 City of Light Paris International Fair 2020
2021 Germany International Fair of Plastic Arts 2021
2021 France International Fair of Plastic Arts 2021
Collections
Private collections worldwide (France, Italy, Netherlands, China, Germany, United States, Mexico, Spain) among other important collections in galleries and art centers
Seller's Story
About the Artist
Cristian Mesa Velázquez (Las Tunas, Cuba, 1994) is a contemporary Cuban painter currently living and working in Valencia, Spain.
Trained at the Professional Academy of Plastic Arts in Las Tunas, Mesa Velázquez has developed a personal pictorial language that combines solid technical realism with a strong symbolic and emotional charge. His work explores themes such as the human body, sensuality, nature, and light, always with a marked chromatic and textural sensitivity.
From a very young age, his talent was recognized in Cuba, where he participated in numerous national salons and collective exhibitions. Since 2020, his career has taken an important international leap, participating in major art fairs in Luxembourg, Paris, Germany, and France. His works have been acquired by private collectors in more than eight countries, including France, Italy, the Netherlands, China, Germany, the United States, Mexico, and Spain.
His painting is characterized by excellent craftsmanship, an expressive handling of oil, and a unique ability to transform the everyday into images full of poetry, desire, and vitality. His series of figures in water, fruits and hands, as well as his bird portraits, stand out for their visual power and their capacity to emotionally connect with the viewer.
Today, his work is part of important private collections around the world and continues to establish itself as one of the most interesting voices of contemporary Cuban realism in Europe.
Translated by Google TranslateDetails
Sold with frame
No
Sold by
Direct from the artist
Edition
Original
Artist
Cristian Mesa Velazquez
Title of artwork
Deriva
Technique
Oil painting
Signature
Hand signed
Country of origin
Spain
Year
2026
Colour
Blue, Grey, Multicolour, Orange, Purple, White, Yellow
Condition
Excellent condition
Height
62 cm
Width
43 cm
Depiction/theme
Portrait
Style
Contemporary
Period
2020+
