Cristian Mesa Velazquez - Abrazo Propio
06
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22
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18
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Selected by Maurizio Buquicchio
Holds a master's degree in film and visual arts; experienced curator, writer, and researcher.
Gallery Estimate € 600 - € 750
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Cristian Mesa Velazquez presents Abrazo Propio, an oil on canvas Realism artwork, original edition from 2025, 82 × 53 cm, hand-signed and in excellent condition, shipped unframed from Spain with a certificate of authenticity.
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Description from the seller
Self Embrace
Oil on canvas · 82 x 53 cm · 2026
The composition is split by the water line, and that division disorients the eye at first glance. Above, on the surface, warm blocks of skin and dark hair appear resolved almost as abstraction, with no visible face. Below, under the water, the figure is defined clearly, wrapped in a sober black swimsuit that slices the canvas with the most severe color note in the entire scene.
The gesture is the real center of the work. One hand closes over the other at the level of the clavicle and neck, in a self-embrace more than a swim. The fingers do not grip anything, because there is no pool edge or handle. They hold themselves, and the gesture reads as protection rather than movement. The dark hair spills into loose strands that the water parts in different directions, each with a long, undulating brushstroke, while a reddish-brown lock peeks out beside the neck.
The modeling of the skin is where the piece works with the most nuance. Over the arm and shoulder, layers of ochre, sienna, and pink overlap in short brushstrokes that follow the curve of the muscle and capture the light drawing that the surface projects onto the body. The water is resolved with broader blotches of blue and green, and the background is speckled with greens and turquoises. The surface line is marked by a splash of white foam that separates two registers of brushwork: skin built with detail, water resolved with gesture.
It is a deliberately ambiguous composition. It is not clear whether the figure is protecting herself, arranging her hair, or floating inward. That ambiguity, combined with the almost abstract cropping of the upper band, brings it closer to a pictorial fragment than to a narrative scene.
Technique: oil on canvas
Measurements: 82 x 53 cm
Artwork 100% handmade by the artist
Includes certificate of authenticity
Shipped unframed for maximum security in transit
Images with frame are for guidance only; the frame is not included in the sale
A valid tracking number is provided to monitor the order’s journey and it typically takes 2-7 days depending on the destination via UPS, FEDEX, and CORREOS EXPRESS
The paint colors may differ slightly from the photos due to screen settings.
My artworks are carefully packaged in a transport tube for maximum protection; they are sent registered with a tracking code within 3 business days after payment.
Check the contents in the presence of the courier.
In case of damages, keep the damage report for the courier.
Studies
2013 - Intermediate Level in Plastic Arts. Professional Academy of Plastic Arts, Las Tunas, Cuba.
Selected group exhibitions
2010. Iconographic Nicolás Guillén Salon. UNEAC, Las Tunas, Cuba
2010. Exhibition “Vástagos.” Provincial Center of Plastic Arts, Las Tunas, Cuba
2011. Martían 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. Martían Salon. Huellas Cultural Center, Las Tunas, Cuba
2012. Exhibition “La Víspera.” Provincial Center of Plastic Arts, Las Tunas, Cuba
2013. Salon “Guernica.” AHS, Las Tunas, Cuba
2013. Salon “Plasticity in April.” Provincial Center of Plastic Arts, Las Tunas, Cuba
2013. Collective expo “Art, a Social Image.” Provincial Center 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 of the Plastic Arts Salon, Guáimaro, Camagüey, Cuba
2017. Collective Expo, One of a Hundred, Rita Longa Sculpture Workshop Gallery, Las Tunas, Cuba
2017. Review of the itinerant collective expo Aires de Cubanía, Ibero-American and Caribbean Journal “Arte por Excelencias” Year VII/No.32/2017/Quarterly. Page: 18
2018. Salon “Plasticity in April” Provincial Center of 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 International Fair of Arts LUXEMBOURG 2020
2020 International Fair City of Lights Paris 2020
2021 International Fair of Plastic Arts GERMANY 2021
2021 International Fair of Plastic Arts France 2021
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 TranslateSelf Embrace
Oil on canvas · 82 x 53 cm · 2026
The composition is split by the water line, and that division disorients the eye at first glance. Above, on the surface, warm blocks of skin and dark hair appear resolved almost as abstraction, with no visible face. Below, under the water, the figure is defined clearly, wrapped in a sober black swimsuit that slices the canvas with the most severe color note in the entire scene.
The gesture is the real center of the work. One hand closes over the other at the level of the clavicle and neck, in a self-embrace more than a swim. The fingers do not grip anything, because there is no pool edge or handle. They hold themselves, and the gesture reads as protection rather than movement. The dark hair spills into loose strands that the water parts in different directions, each with a long, undulating brushstroke, while a reddish-brown lock peeks out beside the neck.
The modeling of the skin is where the piece works with the most nuance. Over the arm and shoulder, layers of ochre, sienna, and pink overlap in short brushstrokes that follow the curve of the muscle and capture the light drawing that the surface projects onto the body. The water is resolved with broader blotches of blue and green, and the background is speckled with greens and turquoises. The surface line is marked by a splash of white foam that separates two registers of brushwork: skin built with detail, water resolved with gesture.
It is a deliberately ambiguous composition. It is not clear whether the figure is protecting herself, arranging her hair, or floating inward. That ambiguity, combined with the almost abstract cropping of the upper band, brings it closer to a pictorial fragment than to a narrative scene.
Technique: oil on canvas
Measurements: 82 x 53 cm
Artwork 100% handmade by the artist
Includes certificate of authenticity
Shipped unframed for maximum security in transit
Images with frame are for guidance only; the frame is not included in the sale
A valid tracking number is provided to monitor the order’s journey and it typically takes 2-7 days depending on the destination via UPS, FEDEX, and CORREOS EXPRESS
The paint colors may differ slightly from the photos due to screen settings.
My artworks are carefully packaged in a transport tube for maximum protection; they are sent registered with a tracking code within 3 business days after payment.
Check the contents in the presence of the courier.
In case of damages, keep the damage report for the courier.
Studies
2013 - Intermediate Level in Plastic Arts. Professional Academy of Plastic Arts, Las Tunas, Cuba.
Selected group exhibitions
2010. Iconographic Nicolás Guillén Salon. UNEAC, Las Tunas, Cuba
2010. Exhibition “Vástagos.” Provincial Center of Plastic Arts, Las Tunas, Cuba
2011. Martían 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. Martían Salon. Huellas Cultural Center, Las Tunas, Cuba
2012. Exhibition “La Víspera.” Provincial Center of Plastic Arts, Las Tunas, Cuba
2013. Salon “Guernica.” AHS, Las Tunas, Cuba
2013. Salon “Plasticity in April.” Provincial Center of Plastic Arts, Las Tunas, Cuba
2013. Collective expo “Art, a Social Image.” Provincial Center 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 of the Plastic Arts Salon, Guáimaro, Camagüey, Cuba
2017. Collective Expo, One of a Hundred, Rita Longa Sculpture Workshop Gallery, Las Tunas, Cuba
2017. Review of the itinerant collective expo Aires de Cubanía, Ibero-American and Caribbean Journal “Arte por Excelencias” Year VII/No.32/2017/Quarterly. Page: 18
2018. Salon “Plasticity in April” Provincial Center of 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 International Fair of Arts LUXEMBOURG 2020
2020 International Fair City of Lights Paris 2020
2021 International Fair of Plastic Arts GERMANY 2021
2021 International Fair of Plastic Arts France 2021
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
Abrazo Propio
Technique
Oil painting
Signature
Hand signed
Country of origin
Spain
Year
2025
Condition
Excellent condition
Height
82 cm
Width
53 cm
Style
Realism
Period
2020+
