Marrio Carreño (1913 - 1999)

Marrio Carreño was born on June 24, 1913 in Cuba’s capital, Havana. His long artistic career began on the island in the 30’s after having studied art at the San Alejandro Academy since 1925. He then traveled to Europe in 1932 in order to continue studying graphic arts at the Escuela San Fernando in Madrid, Spain. The Spanish Civil War drove him out of Spain and towards Mexico, where he came into contact with the great Mexican muralists, Diego Rivera, Rufino Tamayo and José Clemente Orozco.

Going to Cuba for a while, he soon took off for Europe again in 1937 and began attending the Julien Academy in Paris. He became known after participating in an art exhibition at the Galería Berheim-Jaune. The outbreak of the Second World War made him move and settle in New York, a city he stayed in for the next 10 years. During these years he shuttled back and forth between the Big Apple and Havana. A fellow Cuban joined him in the U.S., where both worked on a mural. Carreño also took up teaching art at the New School for Social Research in New York.

The 50’s saw Carreño carrying out artistic and teaching activities in Cuba, at the Escuela de San Alejandro, teaching a modern art course. He also began writing critiques and comments on artwork for several local magazines. Political instability caused the artist to move yet again, this time to Chile, where a great friend of his, Pablo Neruda, was from. He remained in Chile, contributing to artistic circles by teaching and giving courses at workshops and at several universities.

A series of brain attacks prevented him from continuing to paint in 1994.