María Fernanda Chacón Rivera is a visual artist who lives and works between Madrid and Havana. She holds a BFA in Visual Arts from the University of the Arts of Cuba (ISA, 2024) and an MA in Art and the Art Market from the Complutense University of Madrid (2026).

Her practice is conceived as an investigation into the historical and political processes that shape narratives of power, establishing connections between Cuban and universal historiography while relating them to the present as a space for interpretation and reinterpretation. Drawing from her experience as a migrant, she examines the tensions between memory, archives, and official narratives, questioning the mechanisms through which certain memories are legitimized while others are silenced.

She has presented solo exhibitions including Pasado Meridiano (La Carpintería de Clandestina, Havana, 2024) and participated in group exhibitions across Cuba, Spain, and Panama, such as Etcéteras abanderados (Estudio Abierto 22.0 Carlos Garaicoa, Madrid, 2025), Irse lejos es volver (Fundación Los Carbonell, Panama, 2025), and Post-It 11 (Galería Galiano, Havana, 2024), where she received both the First Prize and the Acquisition Award.

Her work is held in the collection of Fundación Los Carbonell (Panama) as well as in private collections in the United States, Puerto Rico, Spain, and Mexico.

Her practice is not confined to a single medium; it encompasses photography, video, installation, painting, and object-based work, as well as the use of archival materials—including documents, images, and historical records—that expand the possibilities for research and meaning within each project. Through these resources, she explores the relationship between language, power, and symbolic construction, understanding History as a field in constant rewriting, where frictions emerge between lived experience, collective memory, and representation.

Education

2025–2026
MA in Art and the Art Market
Complutense University of Madrid, Spain

2020–2024
BFA in Visual Arts
University of the Arts (ISA), Cuba

2016–2020
Leopoldo Romañach Academy of Fine Arts, Cuba
Specialization in Painting

Awards, Scholarships, and Residencies

2026. Artist Residency, SOMA Summer, Mexico City, Mexico.

2026. Carla Herrera Prats Scholarship, SOMA Summer, Mexico City, Mexico.

2026. Artist Residency, FAR Residency, Ávila, Spain.

2024. Artist Residency, Artexchange Festival, Madrid, Spain.

2024. First Prize, Post-It 11, Havana, Cuba.

2024. Acquisition Award, Post-It 11, Havana, Cuba.

Selected Collections

2024. Fundación Los Carbonell, Panama.

Solo Exhibitions

2024.Pasado Meridiano. La Carpintería de Clandestina, Havana, Cuba.

2020.Ruinas Virtuales. Centro Provincial de Artes Visuales, Cuba.

2019.Con algo de Fluxus 1, 2, III…. Galería Pórtico, Cuba.

Selected Group Exhibitions

2026.Necesitas tiempo. La Cristalería, Madrid, Spain.

2026.Mirar lo otro: narrativas de la investigación. Fundación Pons, Madrid, Spain.

2026.Nunca se sabe. Wifredo Lam Center for Contemporary Art, Havana, Cuba.

2025.HB. Galería La Nave, Havana, Cuba.

2025.Días felices. Infraestudio, Havana, Cuba.

2025.Fragmentos Vivos. Fábrica de Arte Cubano, Havana, Cuba.

2025.De la Isla a la Luna 2.0. Festival Isla Verde, Isla de la Juventud, Cuba.

2025.Etcéteras abanderados. Estudio Abierto 22.0 Carlos Garaicoa, Madrid, Spain.

2025.Irse lejos es volver. Fundación Los Carbonell, Panama.

2025.All together. Fábrica de Arte Cubano, Havana, Cuba.

2024.The Cuban art Hub. Galería Taller Gorria, Havana, Cuba.

2024.Limbo. Pabellón Cuba, 15th Havana Biennial, Cuba.

2024.Artexchange Festival. Galería Nueva Carabanchel, Madrid, Spain.

2024.Mala Yerba II Edición. Salón Blanco Gallery, Fondo de Arte Joven, Havana, Cuba.

2024.Punto Cubano. Ybor Art Factory, Tampa, United States.

2024.Post-It Edición 11. Galería Galiano, Havana, Cuba.

2024.Sin despedidas. Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, Havana, Cuba.

2024.The show must go on. Galería Servando, Havana, Cuba.

2023.HB Muestra de arte contemporáneo cubano. Galería La Nave, Havana, Cuba.

2023.Fake Gun (True Shoot). El Arsenal, Havana, Cuba.

2023.Don’t look. Puzzle 3ra Edición, Galería Taller Gorria, Havana, Cuba.

2022.Vértigo. Galería Taller Gorria, Havana, Cuba.

2022.Trazos de trueque. Galería ISA, University of the Arts, Havana, Cuba.

2022.Sigue al Conejo Blanco. Zona ISA, 14th Havana Biennial, Cuba.

2022.Refricare. Former Ciervo Encantado Theatre, University of the Arts, Official Project of the 14th Havana Biennial, Zona ISA, Cuba.

2022.Reencuentro. Galería Pórtico, Hermanos Saíz Association, Santa Clara, Cuba.

2022.Parientes cercanos. Gibara International Film Festival, Cuba.

2022.Estuario. Former Ciervo Encantado Theatre, University of the Arts, Havana, Cuba.

2022.Encuentros colaborativos transoceánicos. Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain.

2022.Digital Summer Show. The Museum of Contemporary Digital Art (MoCDA).

2022.Calca2 en la naturaleza: gráfica para la sustentabilidad. Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain.

2022.Barniz Blando. National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC), Havana, Cuba.

2022.Accidentes creativos Bosquearte. Orriols Municipal Youth Center, Valencia, Spain.

2021.Línea de Kármán. Telegram Bot.

2021.Arte en proceso, X edición. Eduardo Abela Provincial Center for Visual Arts, San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba.

2020.Sucesiva. Proyecto Dentro del Juego, Provincial Center for Visual Arts, Santa Clara, Cuba.

2020.Remake de Sucesiva. Provincial Center for Visual Arts, Santa Clara, Cuba.