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Luz Josefa Merino Acosta
Born	November 10th, 1943 Havana City, Cuba
Died	September 30th, 2022 Havana City, Cuba
Nationality	Cuban
Education	Art History, Ph.D
Alma mater	Havana University
Occupation(s)	Art Historian, Professor

Luz Josefa Merino Acosta was born in Havana City (Cuba) on November 10, 1943. She was the only child of Mario Merino and Estrella Acosta. At the age of 9 her mother passed away, and for this reason, Luz was raised by her paternal aunt, for whom she was named after. Her aunt who happened to be a makeup artist that worked in the theater, taught the young Luz to be passionate about performing arts, and culture in the general sense. Since she was a little girl, she learned how to play piano, because having a musical formation was very common in her family: her dad played the violin, her uncle played the piano, and one of her great aunts also used to play the piano for silent movies at the cinema of Remedios, a town in Las villas, Cuba. Merino finished her pianostudies when she was 14 years old. The love for Art that was instilled in her then was transferred from Luz to her daughters, Yohanka and Iovanna, who are also involved in the cultural scenario: Yohanka is a philologist, while Iovanna a gallery owner and curator.  Luz Merino Acosta dies in Havana on September 30th, 2022, at the age of 78 years, leaving a legacy that has transcended the limits of the island where she developed her career.

Education

At the age of 17, Luz Merino starts her studies at the Faculty of Arts and Letters of The University of Havana to become library assistant. After this, she will start a Bachelor's in Art History, from where she graduated in 1967. She continues her education, and in November of 1988 she will obtain the tittle of Doctor in Art Sciences. In 1989 she is consigned Titular Professor, in 2003 Consultant professor, in 2013 Professor of Merit of the Havana University, and in 2018, Luz will be named Titular Member of the Cuban Academy of Sciences.    

Professional background

1961-1968: Library Assistant, Art Department of The Cuban National Library José Martí.

1983-1995: Director of the Art Department of the Faculty of Arts and Letters, UH.

1996-2014: Technical Deputy Director, Cuban National Museum of Fine Arts.

1966-2022: Professor, Art Department of the Faculty of Arts and Letters.  

Courses and Conferences (Selection)

·     The city of Alejo Carpentier and Lezama Lima. International course, Casa de las Américas, Cuba, 1993.

·     “Orígenes” and the Cuban Visual Arts. International Conference, Casa de Las Américas, Cuba, 1994.

·     Research Methodology and Art Critic. Course for Bachelor and Master programs, UH, 2001-2021.

·     Art History as academic knowledge.University of Río Piedra, Puerto Rico, 1991.  

·     The imprint of North American models in Cuban Art Deco. Conference, Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET), New York, 1996.

·     Cuban Art. Course, Michel de Montaigne University, France, 2006.

·     Women in Cuban Visual Art. Conference, MUA, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, 2014.    

·     Gender and Cuban Visual Art. Conference part of the program Women in Art, MUA, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, 2015.

·     Women artists in the territories of the genre. Conference, Tegucigalpa French Alliance, Honduras, 2015.

·     Cuban Contemporary Art. Conference, Museum of Art of El Salvador (MARTE),

El Salvador, 2017.

Participation in Television and Radio Program

·     La Otra Mirada, 2010. (Presentation about the painting of Armando Menocal).

·     Diálogo Abierto, 2012. (Presentation about the artistic creation of Rita Longa)  

·     Habana Radio, 2013. (Presentation about the Centenary of The Cuban National Museum of Fine Arts)  

·     Punto de Partida, 2013. (Presentation about the presence of American culture in Cuban plastic).

·     La Hora de Cuba, 2014. (Conversation about Amelia Peláez).

·     La Hora de Cuba, 2017. (Presentation about Cuban Art Critic)

Publications (Selection)

·     Painting and illustration: two ways of modern art in Cuba. (Doctoral thesis). Havana City, 1990.

·     Academy & Avant-Garde (1898-1998)In: A Century of Spain and Cuba, 1898-1998. Castilla La Mancha, University of Castilla La Mancha, 1998 p. 785-792.

·     Mariano Rodríguez and the identity of the color. Book-catalogue. Madrid, Cultural Center of Count Duque, 1998

·     “Orígenes”: A proposal for a visual reading. In Cuba. sous le régime de la Constitution de 1940. Paris, L Harmattan, 1997 pp. 247-262.

·     The Strategies of an Art Critic. Havana City, Letras Cubanas, 2001. Selection of texts and notes. Research Award by the Juan Marinello Center.

·     Neither with one nor the other: With the Republic. Dossier on the Republic, selection and presentation text. Arte Cubano (Havana City) 3/2002 pp.26-31.  

·     Philosophy of Art History. (Introductory Study) in co-authorship with Pilar Fernández. Havana City, Editorial UH, 2014.

· Critical Havanan Spaces of Cuban Art: The 1950s. Selection of texts and Prologue. Vol I and II. Editorial UH, 2015.

·     San Alejandro and the grammar dilemma. Memories of the San AlejandroColloquium: Tradition and contemporaneity of artistic teaching in Cuba. Havana City, Cuban National Museum of Fine Arts, 2018.

·     José Gómez Sicre and The Modern Art in Cuba. SCielo, no. 288, UH Havana City, Jul-Dec. 2019.

. Jorge Mañach, Art Critic? Havana City, Letras Cubanas, 2023.

Awards and Recognitions

·     Member of the Bachelor's degree in the Commission of Art History Careers, 1976 to 2010

·     Member of the Provincial Monuments Commission, since 1982 –2000

·     Member of the Scientific Council of the Faculty of Arts and Letters, since 1984 to the present.

·     Member of the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC), since 1985 to the present.

·     Medal for the Cuban Education, 1987

·     Medal José Tey of the Havana University, 1993

·     Distinction for The Cuban Culture, 1994.

·     Rockefeller Scholarship, Florida International University (FIU), USA,1995.

·     (Here she also imparted conferences, and has research stays between the years 1998, 2000)

·     ARIAH Scholarship, USA, 1996.

·     Member of the Academic Committee of the Master's degree in Art History, from 2000 to the present.

·     Member of the Scientific Council of the University of Havana,since 2000 to the present.  

·     Medal for the 280 Anniversary of the Havana University, 2009.

·     Distinction for lifelong research work, Aula Magna, Havana University, 2009.

·     Designated as one of the most outstanding Cuban Professors of the XX Century.

References

1. REDIRECT Beatriz Maggi