Biography

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Roly Cartelliny is a serendipitous painter born in Cuba in 1988.

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His involvement in fine arts most certainly was a “happy accident”: he originally wanted to be a bodyguard, was trained in the martial arts and worked in the service industry as a concierge, bartender, money changer, cook…In 2015 he was introduced to painting through an apartment guest, Rad Drew, a photographer. Not only Roly did have an aptitude for painting but he excelled with the goal of becoming a hyper realistic painter. Roly’s choice of subject matter is metaphorical and represents the yearning for freedom by Cuban people.

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After he exhibited his paintings in Cuba, he began to sell his work internationally,including to the foreign German embassy in Havana, to the Sri Lanka embassy, and the undersecretary of State in Portugal. 

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Considering Roly is an autodidact this is a most impressive achievement and it shows that having an art education is not everything. Unfortunately, since he has no formal art education, he is not recognized as a legitimate artist by the Cuban government, so he is not eligible for any of the resources that might be available to the other artists.

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Nevertheless, his artistic talent transcends mere academic certification and the quality of his paintings is obvious at first glance.