Enrique Martínez Celaya's 'The Sextant' Opens at The Wende Museum
Located in Culver City, California, the Wende Museum is set to unveil 'The Sextant,' marking its inaugural solo exhibition by a visual artist and concluding Enrique Martínez Celaya's trilogy focused on Cuba. This exhibition runs from November 8, 2025, until October 11, 2026, showcasing a 90% scale replica of the artist's childhood home, which his father constructed in Nueva Paz, Cuba, in 1963. This 'waiting room' is not accessible for entry. Outside, enlarged drawings of letters that Martínez Celaya wrote to his father are exhibited. A white horse is tied to a sled made of sugar, further intertwining themes of personal and political narratives, including departure, return, and memory.
Key facts
- The Wende Museum presents 'The Sextant,' Enrique Martínez Celaya's first solo exhibition at the museum and the third and final part of his Cuba trilogy.
- The exhibition runs from November 8, 2025 to October 11, 2026.
- A 90% scale, sugar-coated replica of Martínez Celaya's childhood home is installed in the museum's central gallery; its door does not open.
- The original house was built by the artist's father in Nueva Paz, Cuba, and completed in 1963, after the Cuban Missile Crisis and before the artist's birth.
- The artist's father left Cuba for Spain about two years before the rest of the family emigrated in 1972.
- Enlarged drawings from letters the young Martínez Celaya sent to his father are displayed outside the house, including images of a rocket and a plane with 'SOS, SOS.'
- A white horse tethered to a sugar-filled sled and a conveyor belt referencing the father's sugar cane refinery are part of the installation.
- Paintings in stormy palettes on the gallery walls depict figures walking away from the house.
Entities
Artists
- Enrique Martínez Celaya
- Angel Xotlanihua
Institutions
- The Wende Museum
- Contemporary Art Review Los Angeles
- Carla
Locations
- Culver City
- California
- United States
- Nueva Paz
- Cuba
- Spain