Lázaro Martínez Durán
Cuban artist Lázaro Martínez Durán develops a practice based on images drawn from the media, which he cuts and assembles to compose his own imaginary television channel. Immersed in a media flow blending political propaganda, sporting events, and advertisements, his work freezes these fleeting moments, creating a series of still frames that reflect his singular vision of Cuba. Today, the artist is part of prestigious collections including the Collection abcd / Bruno Decharme and the Collection de l’Art Brut de Lausanne.
Born in 1983 in Havana into a family of communist activists, Lázaro Martínez Durán developed a compulsive interest in drawing from the age of 14. However, his disability prevented him from enrolling in Cuban art schools, and his family directed him instead toward a workshop where he was tasked with producing advertising leaflets.
Immersed since childhood in news imagery and propaganda, his days were shaped by reading the press and watching television programs within a media landscape largely controlled by the state. Using cardboard and recycled packaging (medicine boxes, food wrappers, etc.), Lázaro constructs small television sets. On these supports, he compiles images from official Cuban media, which often present a distorted reality, and enriches them with drawings, colors, and text. He cuts, pastes, adjusts, and repeats until he lends these images an illusion of credibility. The television screens frequently feature figures such as Fidel Castro and other Cuban revolutionary leaders, depicted with an exaltation bordering on idolatry.
At the same time, his drawings unfold lively, densely populated urban landscapes. Inspired by his daily observations in Havana, he depicts
passersby, shopkeepers, musicians, and couples who animate the city. Martínez Durán’s work has been presented in several exhibitions,
notably at documenta fifteen in Kassel in 2022, in Photo | Brut #2 Collection Bruno Decharme at Le Botanique in Brussels the same year, as well as in ART BRUT – Dans l’intimité d’une collection, co-produced by the Grand Palais Rmn and the Centre Pompidou in Paris in 2025.