Anaida Hernández
Mayagüez, PR, 1954
Biography Details
Painter, printmaker, installation artist, and teacher. In 1974 Hernández obtained a bachelor of arts from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, and in 1977 a master of fine arts from the Academia San Carlo, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. She has taught at the Puerto Rico School of Plastic Arts, the Art Students League of San Juan, the University of Puerto Rico, Interamerican University of Puerto Rico and Caribbean University. In 1993 she published the book Contigo debajo, featuring her graphic work and stories by Ana Lydia Vega. In 1997 Hernández was appointed artist-in-residence at the Center for Innovative Print and Paper at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. Her work is filled with ludic elements through which she approaches serious topics such as violence, discrimination, and other social ills. She has proposed what she calls a conceptual “art of affection,” made more accessible and democratic through the use of objects from daily life that symbolize affection.
Artist Statement
"With my work I seek new approaches and tactics to break with the social and institutional divisions that separate art from everyday life. I conceive spaces as places of cultural creation and action, a dynamic and interactive art. I project an inner reality that manifests itself in a free and spontaneous manner using a structure of visual symbols as if they were palindromes, as an image reflected in a mirror or a figure that you can see, that can be read either backwards or the right way. In my work the fundamental component is the interaction, it is a proposal to achieve the artistic pursuit by way of entertainment, space intervention and the active participation of the public. Based on action points and dynamic spaces. The viewer is involved and goes from being in front of the work to been part of it, thus creating a dialogue work-space-viewer that causes multiple sensory perceptions. The symbol is in the conscience of every human being and to decipher personally and publicly its meaning, then one of its most fascinating results, is a magic reaction.”
Formation
Education
2002
- Mosaic training. Orsoni Factory, Venice, Italy
1977
- Master of Printmaking. Academia San Carlos, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
1974
- Bachelor's of Visual Arts. Universidad de Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
Professional Experience
2008
- Visiting Professor. Caribbean University, Bayamon, Puerto Rico
2004
- Visiting Professor. Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
2002
- Visiting Professor. Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, Illinois, United States
2001, 1996
- Professor. Art Students League, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1999
- Printmaking and Art History Professor. Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico, San German Campus, San Germán, Puerto Rico
1996
- Printmaking, Painting and Art History Professor. Escuela de Artes Plásticas de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1987
- Drawing Professor. Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1985
- Art History Professor. Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico, Bayamón Campus, Bayamón, Puerto Rico
nd
- Visiting Professor. Brodsky Center, Rutgers University, New Jersey, United States
- Visiting Professor. Grand Center Art Center, California State University, California, United States
- Visiting Professor. Hostos Community College, CUNY, Bronx, New York, United States
- Visiting Professor. Lehman College, Bronx, New York, United States
- Visiting Professor. John Jay College, CUNY, New York, United States
Exhibitions
Solo Shows
2007
- Maya-Güez, Museo Eugenio María de Hostos, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
- At Random, Julia de Burgos Cultural Center, Taller Boricua Gallery, New York, United States
2006
- Seducción=Poder, Obra Galería Alegría, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2004
- Código Secreto: 1994-2004, Anthology Exhibition, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2002
- Fórmula Secreta: Paintings, Galería La Pintadera, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Secret Codes: Interactive Paintings, Organization of American States, Washington DC, United States
2001
- Potato Prints/Hot Potato, Liga de Estudiantes de Arte, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Recent Works: Paintings Over Cement, Galería Petrus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Riddle Me This, What Am I?, Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture, Bronx, New York, United States
2000
- Riddle Me This: Colindancia, Galería Petrus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- USA. Prints & Drawings: 1989-2000, Rutgers University, John Cotton Dana Library, Newark, New Jersey, United States
- Juegos Ilegales/Illegal Games, CalState Fullerton, Grand Central Art Center, Santa Ana, California, United States
1999
- Site-Specific traveling exhibition, New Museum of Contemporary Art, Public Access Gallery, New York, United States
- Hasta que la muerte nos separe, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Wall Gallery, New York, United States
1998
- Death Do Us Part, Lehman College Art Gallery, Bronx, New York, United States
- Crossword, Art Gallery, Bronx, New York, United States
1995
- Death Do Us Part, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo y Diseño, San Jose, Costa Rica
1994
- Death Do Us Part, Ludwig Forum Museum, Aachen, Germany
- Death Do Us Part, V Bienal de la Habana, Museo de Bellas Artes, Havana, Cuba
- Death Do Us Part, El Capitolio, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1995
- Crossword, Lehman Collage, New York, United States
- Crossword, XI Bienal de San Juan del Grabado Latinoamericano y el Caribe, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Crossword, Teatro Experimental Raquel Revueltas, Havana, Cuba; Teatro Harquail, Cayman Islands
Group Shows
2010
- Careos y Relevos, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2007
- Contexto puertorriqueño: del rococó colonial al arte global, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- La Espiritualidad del Arte, Casa Escuté, Carolina, Puerto Rico
- The Institute for Puerto Rican Art and Culture, Chicago, Illinois, United States
2006
- Obra Galería Alegría, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2003
- De lo que soy/Of What I Am: Latin American Women Artists, Lehman College Art Gallery, Bronx, New York, United States
- Shh!, Art Museum of the Americas, Organization of American States, Washington DC, United States
2002
- Interrogating Diversity, Betty Rymer Gallery, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Impressions from RCIPP, Raritan Valley Community College, New Jersey, United States
2001
- 1er Salón de Instalación Gráfica 2001, XIII Bienal de San Juan del Grabado Latinoamericano y el Caribe, Museo de Las Américas, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Facing Each Other: Prints Concerning Identity from the RCIPP, Rutgers Center for Innovative Print and Paper, New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States
- Prints Collection, Grand Central Art Center, Santa Ana, California, United States
- El arte a través del tiempo Parte II: 1970-2001, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Cross-pollination: 50 NY Sculptors/ 50, Holland Tunnel Art Gallery, Long Island City, New York, United States
- California Sculptors, Los Ángeles Arboretum, Los Angeles, California, United States
- Escultores Puertorriqueños, Museo de Arte de Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico
- Muestra Nacional, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2000
- Tesoros de la Pintura Puertorriqueña, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- V Certamen Nacional de Artes Plásticas, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Paper Trail: Summer Fest 2000, Rutgers Center for Innovative Print and Paper, New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States
1999
- America, Premio Internazionale Biella per l’incisione, Biella, Italy
- The Lottery, Rotunda Gallery, Brooklyn, New York, United States
1998
- Los cien…, Museo de las Américas, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
- Puerto Rico: On Landscape, Longwood Arts Gallery, Bronx, New York, United States
- XIII Bienal de San Juan del Grabado Latinoamericano y el Caribe, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- The Puerto Rican Equation, Hunter College Art Gallery, New York, United States
- Crossing Borders, Discovery Museum, Bridgeport, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
- The Latina Artist, Rutgers Center for Innovative Print and Paper, Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States
1997
- X Bienal Iberoamericana, Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, Mexico
- The Liberated Print/La hoja liberada, Museo del Barrio, New York, United States; Museo de las Américas, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1995
- Artists Books, Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, San Jose, Costa Rica
- Carib Art, Harquail Theater, Grand Cayman
1994
- IV Bienal de Cuenca, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Cuenca, Ecuador
- Selección de la V Bienal de la Habana, Ludwig Forum Museum, Aachen, Germany
- V Bienal de la Habana, Museo de Bellas Artes, Havana, Cuba
Awards, Distinctions and Achievements
2007-2008
- Artistic Residence. Caribbean University, Bayamón, Puerto Rico
2004
- Award for Best Exhibition. International Association of Art Critics, Puerto Rico Chapter, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2001
- Award for Best Solo Show. International Association of Art Critics, Puerto Rico Chapter, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2000
- Artistic Residence. Grand Central Art Center, California State University, Fullerton, Santa Ana, California, United States
- Honorable Mention. V Certamen Nacional de Artes Plásticas, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1997
- Silver Medal. X Bienal Iberoamericana, Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, Mexico
1994
- Award for Best Installation. International Association of Art Critics, Puerto Rico Chapter, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Collections
- Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, Arizona, United States
- Art Museum of the Americas, Organization of American States, Washington DC, United States
- Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, Maryland, United States
- Graham Dower, Editorial Page, USA Today, Arlington, Virginia, United States
- Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- John Cotton Dana Library, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey, United States
- Municipal Gallery of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, San José, Costa Rica
- Rutgers Center for Innovative Print & Paper, Rutgers State University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States
- Universidad Central de Bayamón, Bayamón, Puerto Rico
- The World Bank, Washington DC, United States
Bibliography
Newspapers
Vázquez, Larissa. “¿Quién soy?”. Revista Domingo, El Nuevo Día (San Juan, PR), 13 de mayo de 2000.
Álvarez Lezama, Manuel. “Anaida Hernández en Petrus”. Por Dentro, El Nuevo Día (San Juan, PR), 5 de noviembre de 2000.
Glassie John. “Real Games (Real) People Play”. The New York Times (Nueva York, EEUU), 24 de enero de 1999.
Velásquez Mauricio. “Viajando por los juegos ilegales”. El Diario La Prensa (Nueva York, EEUU), 18 de febrero de 1999.
Trelles, Mercedes. “Instalando la identidad: los juegos ilegales de Anaida Hernández”. Revista Domingo, El Nuevo Día (San Juan, PR), 28 de marzo de 1999.
García Gutiérrez, Enrique. “La visión de una mujer”. Revista Domingo, El Nuevo Día (San Juan, PR), 13 de febrero de 1994.