armando mariño | What Remains

ROOF-A is proud to announce a new collaboration with Armando Mariño. The Cuban-born artist was a resident artist at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam and currently lives and works in New York. This collaboration with ROOF-A marks a grand return to the Netherlands.

"I was never more of an artist in my life than when I was in Holland” Armando Mariño.

The Mexican
The first steps for this collaboration were taken last May during the opening of Fenix, the new art museum about migration in Rotterdam. The meeting for the work The Mexican (2019) served as the impetus, an expressive and iconic oil painting that is included within 'All Directions', a defining collection of artworks by more than a hundred artists from around the world.

Back in the Netherlands
Armando Mariño (Cuba, 1968) did a residency at the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam from 2004 to 2005. “I was never more of an artist in my life than when I was in Holland,” he says about these formative years.

Over the years, Mariño lived and worked not only in Cuba and the Netherlands, but also in Spain, France, and the United States. His works are exhibited in various galleries and institutions around the world, including Gericke + Paffrath Gallery (Düsseldorf), Coates & Scarry (London), Faction Art Project (New York), and Kunstmuseum Basel.

Human emotions
Mariño's contemporary work powerfully addresses themes such as identity, history, and political tensions, while simultaneously pushing the boundaries of traditional painting techniques. His paintings focus on human emotions and use cultural symbols in a powerful, almost instinctive, way to make us think. Through his vibrant use of color and symbolic imagery, he explores the complexity of cultural heritage and social issues, combining his Cuban roots with broader global narratives.

“My creative process has changed radically over the years, and for the most part, it has been determined by my nomadism, in the countries where I have lived.” Armando Mariño

Preview PAN Amsterdam, solo exhibition January 2026
To celebrate the new collaboration, a fine selection of his works on paper and paintings is now on display in the gallery, followed by a preview at PAN Amsterdam. This fair will take place this year from Sunday, November 2 to Sunday, November 9, 2025, at Amsterdam RAI. On Saturday, January 24, 2026, ROOF-A will kick off the new year with an extensive solo exhibition of Armando Mariño. The solo aims to be a renewed introduction to his work in the Netherlands and presents his work in a broad perspective.