Cuban-American artist Edel Rodriguez creates colorful work inspired by the tropes of Western advertising and socialist propaganda, as well as island and city living. Alongside his fine art practice, which returns to themes of memory, nostalgia, ritual, and autobiography, Edel has found major success as an illustrator, contributing memorable works to the New Yorker, the New York Times, Der Spiegel, and TIME magazine—including several viral representations of former President Donald Trump. Edel was born in Havana, Cuba, but fled to America with his family when he was just nine years old. In 2019, WePresent accompanied Edel as he returned to Cuba for the first time in nearly a decade, painting the various characters in his hometown and bringing the gift of creativity to the friends and family he left behind.
