Victor Manuel Guerra Arteaga (Machi): Cuban painter, draftsman and photographer living in New York. He was born in the city of Pinar del Río (Cuba) on July 6, 1989. His childhood was spent in this city, where from a very young age, he developed his vocation as an artist.
Drawing was the favorite game of little Victor Manuel, who sometimes neglected even school subjects by scribbling on his notebooks images from his imagination. In his spare time, he used to model clay figures trying to imitate the faces of his maternal grandparents.
The couple of elders lived in the countryside, and the boy was always delighted with the landscape that bordered their peasant dwelling, overlooking the coast from the portal and the mountain range from the patio, images that on more than one occasion he captured on his skateboards.
After completing his secondary studies, he entered the School of Art Instructors (EIA), where he received teaching from prominent visual artists such as Aristides Lores (Nelo) and Elvis Celles, among others.
He later studied at Rafael María de Mendive Pedagogical Faculty, where he received a degree in Education, in the specialty of Plastic Arts.
He worked as a teacher in primary schools, secondary schools and at Federico Engels Pre-University Vocational Institute of Exact Sciences.
Along with his teaching work, he participated in numerous art exhibitions. Pieces by the artist have been exhibited in spaces such as Impulse Art Gallery, located in Houston, Texas. These works are part of the catalog known as “The best fine artist golden book”.
Some of his paintings have entered the auction of Cuban Contemporary Art promoted by the Kendall Art Center gallery, located in Miami (United States).
The work of Victor Manuel has deserved awards and recognitions inside and outside Cuba such as the second place in the Summer International Art Show, promoted by Impulse Art Gallery (Houston, Texas), as well as the special prize of the director of the gallery in that contest.
Other awards obtained by the painter were a mention in the XVIII Salon of Young Art, and the collateral prizes conceded by the Provincial Council of Plastic Arts and the Cuban Fund of Cultural Property in the aforementioned event.