Juan Carlos Quintana was born in New Orleans of Cuban parents. He attended Tulane University as well as St. Louis University in Madrid, Spain. Quintana’s paintings, always masterfully executed and complex, explore questions of identity, both political and personal. Taking iconography from his American and Cuban cultures, he uses political cartoons, popular comic strips and children’s books to explore the world around him. Quintana speaks of an “ambivalent nostalgia” in his work, presumably where one’s love of place could be matched by a more palatable history. Quintana has shown at John Berggruen Gallery and in galleries in Cuba, New Orleans and throughout the U.S. He is in the collection of the San Jose Museum of Art and has had residencies in the Djerassi Artist Residency Program in Woodside California and the Fundacion Valparaiso Artist Residency in Mojacar, Spain.

In addition to works on canvas, we are pleased to have a collection of works on paper by Juan Carlos. Both he and his wife, Michele Muennig have worked frequently on paper both individually and collaboratively. The collaborative works, entitled the Complacent Wonderland series will be shown in the gallery along with works of each of the artists.