Abel Massot (born July 22, 1979, in Havana, Cuba) is an award-winning contemporary artist who mainly explores the emotional bonds and existentialist questions of the modern human being. Through expressionist portraits, the artist creates an intimate and introspective scenario that invites the viewer to reflect, to confront his inner self, to reveal his fragility and vulnerability.
The most intimate human feelings are the driving force of Massot’s aesthetics. The portraits are stripped of any artifice, leaving the soul uncovered. The artist developed his style based on large formats, a sober palette, twisted forms, fluid strokes, and aggressive brushstrokes, as his ultimate goal is to provoke an emotional effect in the viewers. Massot’s art is influenced by the expressionist tradition of Willem de Kooning, Francis Bacon, and Oswaldo Guayasamín.
Massot holds a Bachelor in Fine Arts from the Pedagogical Institute “Enrique José Varona”, Cuba. In 2005 he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts, San Alejandro, with distinction in “Painting and Drawing”. He has won several national prizes and awards at an early age. Some of his works are part of private collections in the United States, Colombia, Mexico, and Spain. His participation in the Miami Art Basel and the Havana Biennial stand out. He is currently a member of Grupo Espiral, a renowned group of Cuban artists, and works in his studio in Havana. In addition to painting, he also works with photography and cement sculptures, demonstrating his versatility as an artist.