Joel Jover, "Retrato: Mona Lisa," 2008.  Mixed media: Bucareno beer cans, wood.. 32" x 24" #8009 (SL)

Joel Jover Llenderosas was born in Nuevitas, Camaguey province, Cuba, in 1953. He graduated from the Camague Professional School of Art in 1970. Jover, a member of the Union Nacional de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba (UNEAC), has been awarded numerous national prizes, most recently the Alejo Carpentier prize. While his works address a range of themes, a predominant one reflects aspects of religiosity and spirituality as they exist throughout Cuban culture, blending Catholic with Afro-Cuban cults and imagery. Since 1986 Jover's works have been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Cuba and in many museums and galleries throughout Europe, the United States, South america and elsewhere, and are part of private collections worldwide. Today he lives and works in Camaguey, Cuba. (Biographical information courtesy of Beate Echols).