Richard Somonte Llerena
Pinar del Río, Cuba, 1991
I believe that painting belongs to the oldest and most universal forms of human expression. Long before nations, ideologies, or even languages divided us, human beings communicated through images. My work is founded on the conviction that painting still retains that power.
Born in Cuba and shaped by a life lived between the Caribbean and Europe, I have always been drawn to visual traditions that, although seemingly distant from one another, share a common emotional language. The works of Eugène Delacroix, Carlos Enríquez, and Utagawa Kuniyoshi have been particularly influential in this respect. Despite belonging to different cultures and historical periods, I find in them the same pursuit of beauty, movement, passion, and human depth.
Throughout my artistic journey, I have searched for images capable of connecting different worlds. The horse was one of the first. It initially emerged as a bridge between European pictorial traditions and the Cuban imagination, later evolving into a broader symbol of freedom, desire, and transformation. My encounter with Japanese woodblock prints, and particularly with the figure of the samurai, opened a new chapter in that same exploration. In the series Tropical Samurai, an imagined warrior travels to the Caribbean and falls in love with an idealized vision of a future Cuba.
Through this character, I explore memory, identity, displacement, and the possibility of reconciling cultures that appear distant from one another. This idea is closely connected to what I describe as l'uomo globalizzato—the globalized human being. It is the belief that contemporary identity no longer belongs exclusively to a single cultural tradition, but is instead shaped by multiple references, influences, and experiences drawn from different parts of the world. In an age defined by global connectivity and the constant exchange of images, ideas, and narratives, cultural boundaries have become increasingly permeable. The samurai of Tropical Samurai embodies this condition: a figure who inhabits different worlds and gradually discovers that what appears to separate them is far less significant than what unites them.
My most recent body of work, Free Mares, returns to the equine motif as both homage and reinterpretation. The series explores freedom not as a political concept, but as a deeply human impulse. The mares inhabit landscapes where Caribbean sensuality and the European pictorial tradition coexist, revealing affinities that transcend geography and history.
For me, painting and eroticism belong to the same sphere of human experience. Both are primordial languages that precede rational explanation. Both speak to something instinctive and universal within us. Through my images, I seek to build bridges between cultures, eras, and sensibilities, reminding us that beauty, desire, and freedom are experiences we ultimately share.
CURRICULUM VITAE
Solo Exhibitions:
2024 – Souvenirs de España, Estudio de Arte Somonte, Madrid
2022 – El animal político, Estudio Richard Somonte, Madrid
2021 – Línea y Montaña, Galería My Name’s Lolita, Madrid
2019 – Arquitectura de Dios 2, Subastas Internacionales Abalarte, Madrid
2018 – Arquitectura de Dios, Galería Carmen Montilla, La Habana, Cuba
2017 – SOMONTE, Revista de Revolución y Cultura, La Habana, Cuba
2013 – Pinturas y dibujos, Centro Comercial Miramar, La Habana, Cuba
2010 – Montañas, Galería Sitio 18, Academia San Alejandro, La Habana, Cuba
2004 – Paisajes, Hotel Sevilla, La Habana, Cuba
Two-Person Exhibitions:
2024 – Satisfyer Animal, con Vahid Sharifian, Somonte Painting Studio, Madrid
2023 – Generalmente, con Julio Llopiz, Somonte Painting Studio, Madrid
2023 – Dos de Espadas, con Maikel Sotomayor, Estudio de Pintura Somonte, Madrid
2017 – Dioses Inacabados, con Alejandro Barreras, Centro Comercial Miramar, La Habana, Cuba
2015 – Pop-Stram, con Ciscu Tamayo, Galería Nauart, Barcelona, España.
Group Exhibitions:
2023 – Condición Natural, Galería Esther Montoriol, Barcelona
2022 – Paisajes Transversales, Galería de Arte My Name’s Lolita, Madrid
2021 – 83ª Exposición Internacional de Bellas Artes de Valdepeñas
2021 – XII Concurso de Pintura del Parlamento de La Rioja, España
2020 – Horizontal, Inflexiones del paisaje en el arte cubano contemporáneo (Exposición virtual), Madrid, España
2019 – El Lugar Tan Delicioso, Galería Habana, La Habana, Cuba
2019 – Luminaria 04, Mercado Santo Ángel, Madrid, España
2019 – Concurso Internacional de Pop-Stram, Galería Nauart, Barcelona, España
2017 – Cartografías de un viaje, Centro para el Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, La Habana, Cuba
2017 – PIPOL, Galería Artis, La Habana, Cuba
2016 – 8 vestíbulos, Edificio Roma, La Habana, Cuba
2016 – ¡Actualidad! Arte contemporáneo de Cuba, Galería GX, Londres, Inglaterra
2016 – Garage 33:08, Espacio Alternativo, La Habana, Cuba
2016 – Casi Perfecto, Espacio Carne e Marmo, La Habana, Cuba
2009 – Tema y Variaciones, Revista Revolución y Cultura, La Habana, Cuba
2008 – 190º Aniversario de la Academia San Alejandro, La Habana, Cuba
2008 – Cuba en Vista, Salón Ricard, Lyon, Francia
Projects:
2022–Present – Co-founder of Somonte Painting Studio, Madrid, together with Beatriz Bullón. An independent open studio and gallery conceived as a space where contemporary painting and the public meet directly. Based in the historic centre of Madrid, the studio brings the creative process into public view, allowing visitors to encounter the artist at work and experience painting not only as a finished object, but as a living process. The space combines artistic production, exhibitions and a curated presentation of Somonte’s work, creating a direct relationship between the artist, the city and its cultural life.
2020 – Creator of the Global Interactive Drawing Project on Instagram during the COVID-19 lockdown, with more than 100,000 participants.
Awards and Collections:
2022 – First Prize, 8th “La Sierra e Dintorni” Painting Competition, Ateneo Escurialense, Spain.
2021 – Acquisition Award, International Valdepeñas Painting Competition, Spain.
2021 – First Prize, Painting Competition, Royal Academy of Medicine of Spain.
2008 – First Prize, National Art Competition of the State of Qatar, Embassy of Qatar in Cuba.
Collections: Private collections in Cuba, the United States, Belgium, Dubai, Dominican Republic, Philippines, Australia and Spain; Fundación Matilde Tamayo, Barcelona; CdeCuba Art Magazine, Valencia.
Press:
Rialta Magazine:
https://rialta.org/richard-somonte-fugas-y-espejismos/
https://rialta.org/pintura-cubana-dos-espadas-maikel-sotomayor-richard-somonte-madrid/
El Periodico de España:
https://www.epe.es/es/madrid/20250615/richard-somonte-pintor-transgresor-toros-118598017
El Mundo:
https://amp.elmundo.es/madrid/2026/09/29/6aba9808e4d4d8f5268b45b2.html