Manuel Comas Labrada  (Havana, 1963)

Comas, as this artist is known, studied at the San Alejandro Academy and later graduated from the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) in 1987, specialising in painting. He has participated in many collective murals and photographic projects, and has designed billboards, books and posters. From 1985 to 1990, he executed a series of these projects with Cuba’s most renowned Pop artist, Raul Martinez.

His paintings have been shown at many venues in Cuba, including in the exhibition Libertad para los Cinco / Liberty for the Five at the Miramar Trade Center in 2008. The following year he joined a group of 20 artists to pay tribute to the legendary musician Compay Segundo (1907-2003) with an exhibition of art auctioned to benefit the pediatric ward of Havana’s Oncology Hospital. A socially minded artist, he has also donated work to the hurricane relief projects organised by the Cuban artist Kcho.

Comas has exhibited in numerous venues in Cuba as well as outside the island, including in Argentina, Ireland, Mexico, Nicaragua, Spain, USA and in London on two occasions, in 2003 and 2005. His work is held in private collections in Cuba, United States, Mexico, Spain, Portugal, France, Ireland and the Dominican Republic, as well as in the collection of the Embassy and the Consulate General of Cuba in Spain.