José Fuster

Born in Villa Clara in 1946, José Rodríguez Fuster is undoubtedly one of Cuba’s most popular and internationally celebrated artists.  He is a man of many talents— he paints, engraves, sketches and is also one of Cuba's most original ceramists.  He began his artistic career in 1961 at the age of 14, when he went to the Sierra Maestra to teach in the Literacy Campaign. He studied at the Art Instructors School from 1963 to 1965 and began working as a ceramist at the Cubanacán Ceramics Workshop in Havana by 1966.

Fuster's artwork embodies life in Cuba. In many of his compositions, he captures Cuban culture by incorporating the country's symbols. The curve-linear shape of the alligator represents Cuba's elongated coast and the rooster represents the passion of the people.

In 1996, the Ministry of the Cuban Culture honored Fuster with the "Distinction of the National Culture" award, which is the maximum order the Cuban government grants to its artists. That same year the National Fine Arts Museum opened a major exhibit of his ceramics, tiles, drawings and paintings in the Castillo de la Fuerza museum in Havana.

Fuster has participated in myriad contests, exhibits, and art symposia in Cuba and around the world, including Chile, Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Japan, Mexico, the United Kingdom and Canada.  Fuster is a member of the National Union of Cuban Writers and Artists (UNEAC), the Cuban Association of Artists Craftsmen, as well as the International Association of Artists.