Born in Havana, Cuba, 1981
Based in Tampa, Florida, United States, since 2013
madurezyutopia@gmail.com · @madurezyutopia · tatianamesapajanartevida.com

Career context: Mesa Paján completed her early education and professional formation in Havana and emigrated to the United States in 2013. Cuban institutions, exhibitions, and awards listed below document her earlier career unless a later date is explicitly stated. She currently lives and works in the United States.

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Solo Exhibitions

• 2026 — Archaeology of the Present, Gallery114@HC, Ybor City, Tampa, Florida, United States

• 2026 — MÍO/MINE, Dunedin Fine Art Center, Dunedin, Florida, United States

• 2024 — El Bosque, Archival Bootcamp, Masia La Toba, Valencia, Spain

• 2013 — The Story Behind / Pages (Páginas), NoguerasBlanchard, Barcelona, Spain

• 2013 — The Text as Vestige, Asociación Hermanos Saíz, Pabellón Cuba, Havana, Cuba

• 2013 — Cabinet (Gabinete), Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, Havana, Cuba

• 2010 — Book: A Memory of Gesture II, International Poetry Festival of Havana, Casa de la Poesía, Old Havana, Cuba

• 2008 — Book: A Memory of Gesture I, José Antonio Díaz Peláez Gallery, San Alejandro Academy, Havana, Cuba

Forthcoming

• 2026–2027 — Piel, details forthcoming

Two-Person Exhibitions

• 2026 — REDO: Siempre / Përshëndetje, with Odeta Xheka, OXH Gallery, Tampa, Florida, United States, September 4–October 16

• 2022 — Absence, with Logan Wolfe, Carolyn M. Wilson Gallery, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States

• 2022 — Malecón…, with Logan Wolfe, The Box, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States

Awards and Fellowships

• 2026 — Emerging Artist to Watch, Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, Tampa, Florida, United States

• 2025 — Gobioff Foundation Microgrant, Tampa, Florida, United States

• 2025 — Halo Arts Fellowship, Sarasota, Florida, United States

• 2025 — First Prize / Best in Show, Annual Juried Members Exhibition, HCC Art Galleries, Tampa, Florida, United States

• 2025 — Honorable Mention, Circle Foundation for the Arts / Spotlight Magazine

• 2023 — Artistic Excellence Award, Circle Foundation for the Arts / Spotlight Magazine

• 2022 — Robert Stackhouse and Carol Mickett Award, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States

• 2012 — Antonia Eiríz Grand Prize, Asociación Hermanos Saíz, Havana, Cuba

• 2011 — First Grand Prize, Creation-21 Studio, Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, Havana, Cuba

• 2008 — Juan Francisco Elso Grand Prize, Asociación Hermanos Saíz, Havana, Cuba

Museum and Institutional Collections

• The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida, United States — LOVE, Dandelion Skin series, 2026

• Artist Book Museum, Vilnius, Lithuania — Error/Ser, diptych, 2026; Él y Ella and Monólogos para un veneciano anónimo, 2013

• Rollins Museum of Art (formerly Cornell Fine Arts Museum), Winter Park, Florida, United States — The Writing of the Glimpse: Chapter One, The Kiss, edition 3/30, 2025

• OXH Gallery, Tampa, Florida, United States — Libertad, Dandelion Skin series, 2026

Selected Group Exhibitions and Art Fairs

2026

• AMPED, FloridaRAMA, Pinellas County, Florida, United States, September 5–November 1

• Quiet Tension, Domio Gallery / Vervid Group, São Paulo, Brazil, August 18–September 15

• You Again and Me for the First Time, Reverb Gallery, Ybor City, Tampa, Florida, United States

2025

• INK Miami Art Fair, Suites of Dorchester, Miami Beach, Florida, United States

• Nuestro Vaivén (Our Sway), The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida, United States

• Echoes of the Ancient, Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando, Florida, United States

• Annual Juried Members Exhibition, HCC Gallery 221, Tampa, Florida, United States

• The Artist Cabinet, Bronx River Art Center, New York, United States

2024

• USF Art and Art History Exhibition, Haya Hotel, Ybor City, Tampa, Florida, United States

• 10th International Artist’s Book Triennial Vilnius 2024, Cologne Art and Museum Library, Cologne, Germany

• Skyway 2024: A Contemporary Collaboration, Sarasota Art Museum, Sarasota, Florida, United States

• phone, wallet, KEYS, Coco Hunday, Tampa, Florida, United States

• 10th International Artist’s Book Triennial Vilnius 2024, Museum of Applied Arts and Design, Vilnius, Lithuania

2023

• Huellas Solares: Vol. IV, Huella Solar, Argentina

• Center Gallery, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States

2022

• Justified + Ancient, Mara Art Studio & Gallery / Halo Arts, Sarasota, Florida, United States

• Sin Fronteras / Borderless, Taller Boricua, New York, United States

• Reverso, USF Contemporary Art Museum, Tampa, Florida, United States

• Extending to an Edge, curated by Logan Wolfe, Center Gallery, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States

2021

• Havana Art Weekend, Together Arts, Miami Beach, Florida, United States

• Under Pressure, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States

• Absentee Authority, curated by JD Hardy, Carolyn M. Wilson Gallery, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States

2020

• Una Grieta en la Pared, #LandArtenelPatio, Taller Chullima, Havana, Cuba — online participation from the United States

• Cada Forma en el Espacio es Una Forma de Tiempo que se Escapa, ARCOmadrid, Madrid, Spain

• Deconstructing (…) the Other, Carolyn M. Wilson Gallery, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States

2018

• Love, Volumen, Art-i-Fact, Lakeland, Florida, United States

2015

• Mountains with a Broken Edge, 12th Havana Biennial, curated by Wilfredo Prieto, Direlia Lazo, and Gretel Medina, Havana, Cuba — invited participation after emigration

2013

• Dilated Biography: Contemporary Cuban Narratives, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, United States

• Abierto, Centro Provincial de Artes Plásticas y Diseño, Old Havana, Cuba

2012

• Lost in Translation?, Gonzales Hulshof / Tegenboschvanvreden, Amsterdam, Netherlands

• Convergencias, San Alejandro Academy, Havana, Cuba

• Convergencias, Museo de la Orfebrería, Old Havana, Cuba

• Collateral exhibition, 11th Havana Biennial, San Alejandro Academy, Havana, Cuba

• An Exhibition Without a Viewer, collateral exhibition, 11th Havana Biennial, Havana, Cuba

• Mujeres Artistas del Futuro, U.S. Interests Section, Havana, Cuba

• Printmaking in Memory, ISA / University of the Arts, Havana, Cuba

• May Your Wish Come True, Gonzales Hulshof, Amsterdam, Netherlands

• 6th International Artist’s Book Triennial Vilnius, Vilnius, Lithuania

2011

• Somewhere Else, NoguerasBlanchard, Barcelona, Spain

• Boomerang, San Alejandro Academy, Havana, Cuba

Artist Books

• 2014 — The Text as Vestige, Ana Laura Tamborini Publisher, Buenos Aires, Argentina

• 2013 — The Text as Vestige, Asociación Hermanos Saíz, Havana, Cuba

• 2012 — Él y Ella, 6th International Artist’s Book Triennial, Vilnius, Lithuania

• 2009 — Monólogos para un veneciano anónimo, 5th International Artist’s Book Triennial, Vilnius, Lithuania

• 2002 — Figures Futur, Centre de Promotion du Livre de Jeunesse–Seine-Saint-Denis, France

Residencies and Professional Workshops

• 2027 — Zea Mays Printmaking Residency, Florence, Massachusetts, United States — accepted / forthcoming

• 2025 — Photogravure workshop with Ray Bidegain, Cascabel Press, Portland, Oregon, United States

• 2024 — Archival Residency / Archival Bootcamp, Masia La Toba, Valencia, Spain

Lectures, Artist Talks, and Academic Service

2026

• Fuel for Flight, seminar, Gallery114@HC, Ybor City, Tampa, Florida, United States

• Artist lecture, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Florida, United States

• Artist talk, MÍO/MINE, Dunedin Fine Art Center, Dunedin, Florida, United States

• Graduate oral examination committee, Patrick Carew, University of South Florida

• Graduate oral examination committee, Michael Cannata, University of South Florida

2025

• Gallery artist talk, Nuestro Vaivén, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida, United States

• Artist talk for the USF MFA Program, Nuestro Vaivén, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida, United States

• Lecture speaker, Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando, Florida, United States

• Studio visit and critiques, Advanced Fine Arts Focus II: Printmaking, Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota, Florida, United States

• Graduate artist mentor, Belmont University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States

• Graduate oral examination committee, Tom Rosenow

2024

• Artist talk for the USF MFA Program, Skyway 2024, Sarasota Art Museum, Sarasota, Florida, United States

• Gallery artist talk, Skyway 2024, Sarasota Art Museum, Sarasota, Florida, United States

• Lecture speaker, Archival Bootcamp Residency, Valencia, Spain

2022

• Gallery artist talk, Reverso, USF Contemporary Art Museum, Tampa, Florida, United States

Selected Publications

• 2024 — Skyway 2024: A Contemporary Collaboration, exhibition publication

• 2023 — “The Kiss / Chapter One / The Writing of the Glimpse,” Spotlight 33, Circle Foundation for the Arts

• 2022 — Island and El Beso, Spotlight 31, pp. 96–97, Circle Foundation for the Arts

• 2022 — “El Beso: La escritura del instante,” Revista CLEA 12, p. 51, Brazil

• 2021 — “The Kiss,” Creative Pinellas Magazine

• 2020 — Artists’ Book Conceptual Project, Artist Book Museum, Lithuania

• 2020 — Lithuanian Artist Book in the World Context, BookArt, Lithuania

• 2012 — Exhibition review, Metropolis M, Netherlands

Education

• MFA, Studio Art, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, 2022

• BFA, Studio Art, ISA / University of the Arts, Havana, Cuba, 2004

• Diploma, Fine Arts, San Alejandro Academy, Havana, Cuba, 1999

• Elementary Art Studies, Havana, Cuba, 1991–1995

Additional Education and Training

• 2026 — Club de Pensamiento Pedagógico Intensivo, Trabajo Práctico, online workshop

• 2025 — Teorías de Archivo, Trabajo Práctico, online workshop

• 2025 — Photogravure, Ray Bidegain, Cascabel Press, Portland, Oregon, United States

• 2024 — Intaglio, Ali Norman, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States

• 2023 — Photopolymer, screenprinting, and cyanotype, Erika Greenberg, University of South Florida St. Petersburg, Florida, United States

• 2023 — Chlorophyll printing, Pati Caro, Huella Solar, Argentina

• 2011 — Symbolic Production, ISA / University of the Arts, Havana, Cuba

• 2009 — DELF B1 French-language certificate, Alliance Française, Havana, Cuba

• 2009 — Artist’s book workshop, San Alejandro Academy, Havana, Cuba

Teaching Experience

University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States

• 2024–Present — Full-Time Visiting Professor, Printmaking

  • Beginning, intermediate, and advanced printmaking; directed studies

  • Monotype, relief, laser engraving, screenprinting, cyanotype, intaglio, and etching

  • Printmaking shop oversight and technical operations

• 2023 — Adjunct Professor, Architecture

  • Expanded Printmaking

• 2022–2023 — Adjunct Professor, Printmaking

  • Beginning and Intermediate Printmaking

• 2019–2022 — Graduate Teaching Assistant, Printmaking

  • Beginning Printmaking

Hillsborough Community College, Ybor City, Tampa, Florida, United States

• 2022–2023; 2025–Present — Adjunct Professor

  • Foundations I and II; Drawing I and II

San Alejandro Academy, Havana, Cuba

• 2004–2013 — Full-Time Professor, Printmaking

  • Relief and intaglio printmaking, collography, screenprinting, thesis studio, conceptual approaches to traditional printmaking, and public intervention

Early Collaborative Practice in Cuba

• 2003 — Founding member, Department of Public Intervention (DIP), Havana, Cuba

• 2003 — Co-curator, Experiencia de Acción: 30 días, 8th Havana Biennial, Havana, Cuba