MIAMI, FL.-The Board of Directors of the Cintas Foundation has announced Gean Moreno as the winner of the 2007 Cintas Foundation Emilio Sánchez Award in Visual Arts.

Gean Moreno is a graduate of Florida International University . In addition to his career as an artist, Moreno is a contributing writer on contemporary art for Art Paper, Flash Art and The New Art Examiner. In his artistic work, Moreno collects vibrant multi-textural objects derived from popular culture and pulls them together to create a visceral appearance. At the Cintas exhibition, he will show three suspended assemblages that are representative of his seminal works. Moreno is based in Miami .

“We congratulate Gean Moreno on being selected and wish him continued success,” said Cintas Foundation President Hortensia E. Sampedro. “And we express our sincere appreciation to this year’s jury for their work with a very competitive field of applicants.”


The 2007 jury for this prestigious award included: Bonnie Clearwater, executive director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, Silvia Karmen Cubina, director of The Moore Space and Suzanne Delehanty, former director of the Miami Art Museum and currently consulting through Suzanne Delehanty, LLC.

The awards were established with funds from the estate of the late Oscar B. Cintas (b. Sagua La Grande , Cuba , 1887 – d. New York City , 1957) prominent Cuban industrialist and patron of the arts. Since 1963, the Cintas Foundation has awarded more than 300 fellowships to artists of Cuban lineage who reside outside of Cuba .

The award has been granted to many artists who have gone on to play an influential role in the development of their disciplines. Past recipients include painter Jose Bedia, the late Felix Gonzalez-Torres who will represent the United States at this year’s Venice Biennale, installation artist Teresita Fernandez, sculptor Maria Elena Gonzales, and the painter Carlos Alfonzo, among many others. The award carries a $15,000 cash prize which is used by the winner to further his or her creative development.

The Selection Program is administered by the Cintas Foundation Board and the Cintas Fellows Program at the Patricia & Philip Frost Art Museum at Florida International University.