Quisqueya Henríquez: The Center Can Be Everywhere

The reverberant work of Quisqueya Henríquez (b. Havana, 1966; d. Santo Domingo, 2024)  is among the most impactful to emerge from the Caribbean region in the last four decades. Combining clear-eyed critique, conceptual rigor, and a mischievous sense of humor, Henríquez questioned hierarchies of power from the perspective of an artist deeply immersed in transnational artistic dialogues yet firmly rooted in the realities of everyday life in the Dominican Republic. This layered perspective led to an open and multifaceted body of work characterized by restless experimentation with a diverse array of techniques, materials, textures, and artistic languages and approaches.

Quisqueya Henríquez: El centro puede estar en todas partes (The Center Can Be Everywhere) is the most comprehensive survey of the artist’s production to date. Featuring over 100 works drawn from every stage of Henríquez’s trajectory, the exhibition is structured in five sections, corresponding to some of the principal themes that permeate her work: the myths and stereotypes associated with the Caribbean; cultural hybridity and the critique of the Western art canon; the politics of vernacular forms of creativity and expression; tropical landscapes in the context of ecological crisis; and the generative potential inherent in collaboration and collectivity.

The exhibition reveals Henríquez’s avid commitment to photo-conceptualism, installation, digital art, abstract painting, and the objet trouvé, while highlighting her lifelong use of collage as a tool for the critical interrogation of gender, nationalism, and contemporary visual culture. The project also includes a number of ephemeral and participatory happenings, in which the public occupies a central role by activating and completing the work.

Presented by the Alberto Cruz Foundation, in collaboration with the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and with the support of the Estate of Quisqueya Henríquez, The Center Can Be Everywhere seeks to broaden the global reach of Henríquez’s legacy while catalyzing international dialogues and building cultural bridges across Latin America, the Caribbean, and the rest of the world. With Madrid as a strategic platform, the project reaffirms the Alberto Cruz Foundation's commitment to promoting Dominican and Caribbean art, fostering initiatives that recognize its artistic, social, and cultural value both locally and within international circuits.

Curated by René Morales with Isabella Lenzi and Alfonsina Martínez, Quisqueya Henríquez: The Center Can Be Everywhere will be on view until April 26, 2026 at the Centro Arte Complutense (c arte c) in Madrid; the exhibition is free and open to the public.

Alberto Cruz Foundation
The Alberto Cruz Foundation is a nonprofit organization created with the mission of promoting the art and culture of the Dominican Republic and its diaspora through the support, research, preservation, and dissemination of the work of Dominican artists and cultural agents.

Its objective is to foster creative processes, the exchange of knowledge, critical thinking, and the appreciation of art in the Dominican Republic through exhibitions, public programs, and publications, among other initiatives.

The Foundation seeks to expand recognition of the aesthetic, educational, and social value of artistic practice within the local context, and to encourage inclusive access to Dominican art and culture while highlighting its role in social transformation.

On a global level, it aims to strengthen and broaden the presence of Dominican artists and cultural agents on the international art scene by promoting a nuanced and multifaceted understanding of their work.