Agustin Hernandez knows very well about sacrifices, dedication and willpower, because he has been an artist who has been forged based on determination and perseverance.
For him, the beginnings in the visual arts scene were difficult and at that moment he had to reaffirm himself as a creator and start, without turning back, a wonderful path, but one of great daring, inspiration and creativity.
"I come to Havana when I was 27 years old -he tells us in an interview with Maxima gallery- I wasn't that young either and, of course, it was a sudden jump. I studied at the provincial art school in Camagüey, but when I came to the hard and raw fight here, things were different. I was already coming with a three-year-old son and my wife, so I had to survive. That's the word.
Within Agustín's work, sculpture occupies a primordial place. His works of this type stand out for their good workmanship and analytical charge and also for their power to get the viewer out of mental laziness. In them we can observe nods of humor, as well as a touch of cubanism and a lot of originality.
The artist also surprises for his decision to study, at the age of 42, a degree at the University of the Arts (ISA), being a professor at the San Alejandro Academy of Fine Arts. Age, as we all know, is not synonymous with laziness when the mind is ingenious.
- Your artistic production contains a critique of consumerism. Do you aspire to make the viewer aware of this call to awaken his or her conscience?
When one touches on these themes, which are accompanied by a polemic about consumerism, form and lifestyles, one aspires that people see themselves reflected in some way in the works and that they make a kind of reflection to see what they really need, what we are and what we need.
It has been a difficult time for everyone globally and it has taught us by dint of pain and blows that, essentially, we need very little to be happy.
What is most valuable is health, affection, family, company, good friends or the person who calls you when it is most needed. That is the energy we need, we do not have to be prisoners of products, brands and elements that are constantly bombarding us, even if we do not accept it or not. They are at the doors of our eyes, ears and taste, because they are part of society.
This is not to deny development, it is not to deny an open society full of possibilities. It is about reflecting on how much we need to be happy.
What I have tried to do in this work (She is in us) is to build the history of humanity, perhaps it sounds a bit ambitious in a way, through a symbol as popular as Coca-Cola, a symbol that does not get lost and is everywhere. Even in a village, in the middle of the Amazon, you find a Coca-Cola, or an Indian with a Coca-Cola pullover.
The piece Amazon Drink speaks a little of all of the above, since it shows a little Indian with a Coca-Cola tattooed on his skin. That's what I'm interested in abounding in my works.
Regarding Ella está en nosotros, I can say that it is an unfinished piece, it is the work that never ends and I hope it will be like that, because it is my way of telling the story of humanity through this symbol: Coca-Cola.
- Your work is influenced by pop art. What other artistic currents have you been nourished by?
Pop art is a style that, of course, has greatly influenced the visual part of my work. There are also many influences, technical and conceptual solutions of post-impressionism, an important pillar.
Surrealism has caught my attention, most of the time my works do not know borders of dimensions, environments, color ranges are arbitrary for what I need to do as a creator.
Conceptual art is also within my background and so in that ajiaco, to quote Fernando Ortiz, I try to be as authentic and Cuban as possible.
- As an artist you present a remarkable work within sculpture. How complex or challenging can such creations be?
Sculpture is my treasure, it is that space where you are God, for me. Life circulates around it and in my case I feel the possibility of realizing myself totally. What happens with sculpture? I have made works of this type as a result of previous productions, that is, of having sold a work, a drawing, a painting or silkscreen prints that allow you to make sculptures.
Unfortunately, sculpture is very expensive to produce, it takes time, although that is the least of it for me. It also takes a high level of consecration, because if it doesn't, it doesn't come out.
- You were born in Florida, Camagüey, how do you remember that transition to Havana and, above all, your insertion in the art market?
Florida has a great value, I lived there my childhood, adolescence and part of my youth. I came to Havana when I was 27 years old, I wasn't that young either and, of course, it was a sudden jump. I studied at the provincial art school in Camagüey, but when I got to the hard and raw fight here, things were different. I was already coming with a three-year-old son and my wife, so I had to survive. That's the word.
For the first time, let's be clear, I picked up a paintbrush to make a living. I dedicated myself to my work. I was full of ideas, I wanted to work and I started to link sculpture with engraving, design and everything started to work.
I am very grateful to good friends like Reineiro Tamayo, who was my first spiritual support in the art world here in Havana. I have to name him.
Then I began to meet other friends, and they give you strength, drive, you realize you're not so alone, that you're not so crazy. The rest falls by its own weight or by its own soul.
- You are currently a professor at the San Alejandro Academy of Fine Arts, what are the essential art lessons you teach your students?
The most important thing for me is always to tell my students: "if you don't believe your story, nobody will believe it". This phrase was told to me by a professor years ago and it helped me a lot. I repeat it to my students as if it were Amen. It is the ABC of art.
- At the moment, you are studying for a degree at the Universidad de las Artes ISA, how have you been doing in the double role of teacher and student?
Imagine. ISA was always an unfinished chapter. I've done super well and, above all, I've had a lot of fun, because after having taught so many classes, feeling like a kid again when you start researching, studying and surrounding yourself with good teachers, that helps you a lot. My classmates are the ones at work, it's a very rare and nice phenomenon at the same time. I'm happy that this is happening right now in my life, at 42 years old.
- Within the panorama of visual arts in Cuba, who is Agustin Hernandez?
He's a dreamer and always will be. The things that can happen to a human being, the most horrible and the most beautiful, even the beautiful ones, can steal your dreams. You get engrossed in something you have already achieved and then everything stops, but you have to know how to dream, get up again and flap your wings, as I say. Agustín Hernández is a soul in a body, who wants to live this life making art.