SERGIO HECTOR PAYARES RIVERO

Born in Vedado on February 21, 1962, in the city of Havana, Cuba. He spent his early years in Santa María del Mar, later in Miramar, and eventually returned to Vedado until 1992.

He studied at the National School of Art (ENA) in 1983 and at the Higher Institute of Art in Havana in 1987.

After graduating from ENA in 1983, he worked in various educational institutions, teaching visual arts as part of social service. He contributed to the Educational Film Center (CINET) in the animation department, as well as cultural centers in Havana such as the Serigraphy Workshop René Portocarrero and the Engraving Workshop of the Cathedral, both located in the Historic District of Old Havana.

In 1983, he was contracted by the “Itatí Gallery” in Mexico City to organize a solo exhibition and work permanently with the gallery, but this was thwarted due to the devastating earthquake of ’83.

In 1990, he traveled to Caracas, Venezuela, and worked at the Armando Reverón Art Institute for a short period. Later that year, he traveled to the United States, visiting various cities, including New York, Boston, Los Angeles, and Miami, before returning to Havana.

In 1992, back in Caracas, after two and a half months, he considered traveling to the United States due to the upheavals in the city caused by Chavez’s attempted coup. He settled in Miami, waiting for the political situation in Caracas to stabilize. A month later, Hurricane Andrew struck Dade County, causing widespread destruction. To aid in the reconstruction, there was a need for labor, providing income that led Payares to establish residence in Florida to the present day.

In 1994, he traveled to Mexico, reestablishing contact with the “Itatí Gallery.” A new solo exhibition was planned, but it was canceled for reasons beyond Payares’ control. He then connected with the Nina Menocal Gallery, working with them for over ten years. He also collaborated with the Praxis Gallery, now Alfredo Ginocchio. Both galleries organized exhibitions in national and international museums, as well as solo and group shows and art fairs. During this time, Payares formed a close friendship with Gastón Alegre (Cancun), who not only became a great friend but also a brother, father, and patron of the arts. Gaston owns one of the most important art collections in the Caribbean basin, working at the Turquoise House Gallery and providing a workshop-studio for artists.

In 1995, Payares traveled to Madrid, captivated by the city’s vibrant socio-cultural scene, museums, days of coffee, and nights of bars. Over the next decade, he spent extended periods working in both Europe and America, collaborating with Spanish art spaces such as David Bardía Art Gallery in Madrid, Kur Gallery in San Sebastián, Espacio Mínimo, Kim Gallery (solo exhibition), and Babel Gallery in Murcia. He also worked with EFÉ Serrano Gallery in Cieza, Murcia Region (solo exhibition), Luis Garay Exhibition Hall at Azarbe College, University of Murcia (solo exhibition), and Casa Zavala Gallery in Cuenca. In the second half of the ’90s and the early 2000s, he collaborated with alternative spaces and art galleries in Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Paris, and more.

In 1997, his interest in South America began, establishing a working relationship with the Forum Gallery in Lima, Peru, leading to personal and group exhibitions. Payares was invited to the first Lima Biennial, presenting an installation titled “Caretas” in the city center (Paseo de los Escribanos). In the new millennium, Payares exhibited with galleries in Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina, and other countries in the region.

Sergio Payares’ work reflects a profound introspection and in-depth exploration of personal memories and dreamlike realities, blending them with the existential reality of social situations or thoughts. It forms the foundation of what he calls “Games of Life.” When the narrative component is expressed as a fantasy or memory illusion, the elements become translucent, serving not only as symbols but also as a vehicle for analyzing how one faces problems repeatedly. The work emphasizes a persistence in figurative presence, allowing universes to come together in a playfully ironic existence of childhood memories persisting from birth to the present.

Paint stains, graphite marks, minimal lines, abstract or figurative motifs, words, and shapes seem to emerge in a world of play. Transparent spaces form Zen gaps with relative calm dialoguing with silence. Heads without “bodies” or similar masses float in empty spaces, combined with natures and predicaments symbolized by forms from a natural yet imaginary world, guiding the brush’s path and bringing it to reality—a step toward his own soul. “I have an anti-static and evolving art,” says Payares. He generally works on timeless series, allowing him to break down themes into different stories or moments of his existence or instant thoughts. He believes that the series in his work never end because memories return or are never forgotten, and resources are eternal, allowing him to revisit the theme at any moment.

Creating through forms and colors is an indescribable pleasure and virtue—a way to silently express sublime things without shouting but energetically, where the viewer discovers the creator’s thoughts between images and ideas. This makes the interaction very exciting.