By Nathan J. Timpano
I became acquainted with the science of anatomy, but this was not sufficient; I must also observe the natural decay and corruption of the human body.
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (1818)
When encountering sculptural works in Carlos Enrique Prado’s two newest series, Stubborn: The Way of Sorrows and Cabeza Dura (“Hardheaded” in English), one might be reminded of Mary Shelley’s time-worn words, reproduced here in the epitaph. Like Shelley’s titular character, Prado demonstrates to his viewers that he has not only studied, but wholly learned, the anatomy of human bodies – specifically, idealized male nude torsos. Yet in Prado’s hands, it is the seeming decay of these bodies and the corruption of their hardened flesh that reminds us that mere knowledge of anatomy is alone an insufficient tool for the contemporary sculptor. That is not to say, however, that Prado’s series are composed of Frankensteinian monsters. Rather, his ceramic/mixed-media pieces cleverly marry the iconography of natural decay with visual references to ancient Greco-Roman sculptures and Catholic typology. The result is a body of work that is visually uncanny and thus eerily familiar. Both series are currently on view in the exhibition Stubborn (curated by Jorge Rodriguez Diez) at the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Americas (MoCAA) until July 2024.
When speaking of the inspiration for artworks in Stubborn, Prado confessed that his thoughts and visual references kept drawing him back to art history and his Catholic upbringing. His many years as a trained artist and successful academic are subsequently apparent in his oeuvre, including pieces in these two, recent series. Born in Havana, Cuba, Prado earned his BFA and MFA from the ISA University of the Arts of Cuba (2002; 2008), has served as a lecturer of ceramics at the University of Miami since 2014, and was recently inducted into the prestigious International Academy of Ceramics based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Prado begins his artistic practice by acquiring open-source, three-dimensional scans of ancient Hellenistic sculptures – for example, Agasias of Epheseus’s Borghese Gladiator (ca. 100 BCE; Louvre) and the Gaddi Torso (ca. 2nd century BCE; Uffizi). Rather than printing this data in its raw form, however, he transforms these scans by using 3D modeling software to make a final model that is either printed directly into clay using a ceramic 3D printer, or alternatively printed as a PLA (polylactic acid) mold to receive pressed clay. When using PLA molds, Prado again manipulates the form of the original sculpture to ensure that the composition meets his final vision for the piece. But unlike previous works created by Prado using printers or PLA molds, pieces in the Stubborn and Cabeza Dura series incorporate an additional process in which Prado “corrupts” (that is, deforms) the unfired clay by hitting it with wooden blocks and boards, metal pipes and tubes, or industrial bricks. Finally, after the piece is removed from the kiln, the corresponding metal or wood “weapon” is then fitted back into the cavity, or impression, left by the object’s interaction with the stoneware.
In terms of art historical references, Stubborn No. 4 is a literal reimagining of the Borghese Gladiator, but also a symbolic visualization of a man who acts like a “blockhead.” In this regard, the titles of Prado’s two series (“Stubborn” and “Hardheaded”) are important, for they help us to better understand the meaning behind his sculptures. Given that figures in the Stubborn series all lack heads, one must question what it means to be obstinate or inflexible if one does not possess thoughts or reason. Conversely, the Cabeza Dura series is comprised solely of bodiless heads, which begs the question: Are we meant to read the two series in tandem, understanding that Prado-cum-Frankenstein has purposefully removed the Cabeza Dura heads from their Stubborn bodies?
The subtitle of the Stubborn series (The Way of Sorrows) additionally suggests that the artist is drawing upon the aesthetics of the “Man of Sorrows,” or the trials of Christ throughout the Stations of the Cross. This idea is best illustrated in Prado’s Stubborn No. 7 (Burden), Stubborn No. 8 (Impaled), and Stubborn No. 9, which respectively allude to Christ crucified on the cross, Christ impaled with the Centurion’s spear, and Christ carrying his cross. Conversely, the iconography of Stubborn No. 3 clearly references the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, but could also be viewed as a Frankenstein-like creature, given its patchwork of ragged flesh.
Works in the Cabeza Dura series “hit the brick (or board) on the head” in a manner that is more “on the nose” (puns intended) of their namesake “hardheadedness.” As previously mentioned, one is left to wonder if these heads directly correlate to torsos in the Stubborn series. For example, the placement and angle of the marble and wooden planks in Cabeza Dura – No. 1 and Cabeza Dura – No. 8 ostensibly mirror the wooden beam in Stubborn No. 7 (Burden). Similarly, the piercing device in Stubborn No. 8 (Impaled) finds a mate with the board in Cabeza Dura – No. 10. This is not to argue that Prado asks his viewers to play a game of “pin the head on the torso;” but rather, that an implicit dialogue exists between the two series that compels the viewer to consider any and all possible connections between his creations.
In her nineteenth-century Gothic novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley gave readers an anti-hero in the figure of Dr. Viktor Frankenstein, who possesses the knowledge and ability to resurrect inanimate flesh, much like the goddess Aphrodite breathed vivacity into Pygmalion’s ancient ivory statue of Galatea. In our contemporary context, Prado similarly imbues his inert bodies with (art historical) life, anthropomorphizing his ceramic “creatures” with human qualities and experiences, such as stubbornness and bullheadedness, or sorrow and pain. With Prado’s vision of bodies transformed in the Stubborn exhibition, his viewers walk amongst artworks that hold the power to remind us that, despite being hardened sculptures, our humanity and our corporeality are nevertheless precarious, fragile states of being.
Dr. Nathan Timpano is currently Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Art & Art History at the University of Miami. His research focuses on the history of modern art & visual culture in Europe and the Americas, with a specialty in German and Austrian modernism. He teaches courses on 19th- & 20th-century European art, Viennese modernism, Surrealism in Europe & the Americas, and Latin American modernism.
Carlos Enrique Prado is a visual artist born and raised in Havana, Cuba. He is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics (AIC/IAC) based in Geneva, Switzerland. Carlos graduated from the San Alejandro Academy of Fine Arts in 1996. He holds a BFA, earned in 2002, as well as an MFA degree, which he obtained in 2008, both from the ISA University of Arts of Cuba. He served as a faculty member at the ISA University of Arts of Cuba for a decade. He currently works in Miami, Florida, and is a professor of ceramics and sculpture at the University of Miami.
Museum of Contemporary Art of the Americas, Miami, Florida
info@mocaamericas.org
12063 SW 131st Ave
Miami, FL 33186
United States
Captions
- Exhibition views, Carlos Enrique Prado: Stubborn at Museum of Contemporary Art of the Americas, Miami, Florida, June-July 2024
- Stubborn No 3, The Way of Sorrows series, 2024, Stoneware / Cone 6 oxidation / steel, 25 x 19 x 21 in.
- Stubborn No 4, The Way of Sorrows series, 2024, Stoneware / Cone 6 reduction / wood, 21 x 14 x 13 in.
- Stubborn No 5, The Way of Sorrows series, 2024, Stoneware / Cone 6 reduction / steel, 18 x 22 x 9 in.
- Stubborn No 7 (Burden), The Way of Sorrows series, 2024, Stoneware / Cone 6 oxidation / wood, 24 x 29 x 8 in.
- Cabeza Dura – No 8, 2018, Stoneware / Cone 6 soda / Marble, industrial brick, 13 x 12 x 6 in.
- Stubborn No 9, The Way of Sorrows series, 2024, Stoneware / Cone 6 oxidation / marble, 21 x 7 x 11 in.
- Cabeza Dura – No 1, 2016, Stoneware / Cone 6 oxidation / wood, 15 x 13 x 10 in.
- Cabeza Dura – No 10, 2024, Stoneware / Cone 6 reduction / wood, 12 x 5 x 10 in.
