Josignacio (b. José Ignacio Sánchez-Rius, in Havana, Cuba, in 1963) is a Cuban Contemporary artist and author. He is among the most significant living contemporary Cuban and Latin American artists due to his career auction records, paint medium innovations, and association with notable cultural events, venues, and celebrity figures in the US and Cuba.
He emerged in Cuba’s controversial “La Generacion de los 80s,” also referred to as New Cuban Art. This cultural decade in Cuba contrasted a country in transition, influenced artistic debates both at home and abroad, and began the generation’s collaboration with “Volume 1” – a commitment to non-government mandated artistic expression.
In the late 80’s, other artistic groups were formed, including 4 x 4, Grupo Hexágono, Arte Calle, Grupo Provisional, the duo René Francisco Rodríguez and Eduardo Ponjuán González, and ABTV. Grupo Puré, another new wave of young artists who were graduates of the Instituto Superior de Arte, included Ana Albertina Delgado Álvarez, Adriano Buergo, Ciro Quintana. Josignacio first gained recognition in Cuba as a key figure of this period and was exhibited throughout Havana galleries.
In 1984, Josignacio created the “Plastic Paint Medium” of art by mixing epoxy resins with oil colors and other pigments, resulting in a hard, glossed, 3D finish, a method that became his identifiable style. Josignacio is the first living contemporary Latin American artist to have an artwork surpass US $3 million at auction.
He has exhibited in Cuba, Europe, and the US, particularly South Florida.
