Orlando Almanza Solo Exhibit Love Letter From a Shapeshifter at the Froelick Gallery in Portland OR

Froelick Gallery is proud to present Orlando Almanza's first West Coast show Love Letter From A Shapeshifter. Almanza’s paintings pull you into his world of memory, myth, symbolism and transformation. His magical and complex compositions point to the artist's deep connection to nature and ancestors, and to his longing for home in Cuba. Orlando focusses this exhibit on family members, friends, characters found in Taino mythologies and the flora and fauna of both Cuba and Oregon. This exhibit includes new paintings, prints and drawings.

Almanza was born in 1989 in Las Tunas, Cuba. He grew up there among an extended family, raising many animals and playing in an expanse of rivers, coconut trees and forest paths. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Printmaking from the Superior Institute of Arts in Havana, Cuba where he later became the Assistant Professor of Printmaking. Eventually Almanza worked as the studio assistant to esteemed Cuban artist, Carlos Quintana. In 2022 Almanza relocated to Portland, Oregon and in early 2023 he joined Froelick Gallery as a represented artist. Almanza’s works can be found in the collections of the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover NH, Not the Owners, London, UK, CDE Cuba Art Magazine Collection, and private collections around the world including Cuba, the United States, Ghana, Mexico, England, and South Africa. Almanza currently works and resides in Portland, Oregon, and Havana, Cuba.