- June 11, 2026
- Natalia Allende
Water. Water and light. Being born next to the ocean is one of the strongest markers for personal identity a person can unwittingly grow up with. So much so, that it can become a language in itself, loaded with meaning and offering new perspectives on life and our existence in it.
Diango Hernandez, born in Cuba and residing between Dusseldorf and La Habana, has evolved in his artistic career almost solely hand in hand with the wave as a language for his inner world and an invitation for the viewer to see life from its undulating, broken, constantly changing lens. He calls this language Olaismo (from “ola”, wave in Spanish and “-ismo”, which is -ism). An English version of this concept would be “wavism”. One of the refreshing things I find about his work is that his fascination with waves doesn’t translate into coastal paintings, of any sort. Not that I don’t love these, but this is more a language than a theme, which is why I chose to talk about it in this post.
Throughout his work, Hernandez immerses himself in the qualities of the wave in order to explore human nature and our relation to the world around us. Let’s look at some his works to peek into his world.
The following piece is in Hernandez’ own words: “olaismo in its “purest, most urgent form” precisely because it bypasses intellectualization or aesthetic contemplation. The urgency lies in the immediacy of the transfer: memory demands physical expression; the sea’s rhythm insists on being enacted through the body and paint now. The painting is the event itself – the happening where past sensation (the Cuban coast) collides explosively with present action (the rush of pigment). It captures not a likeness of the sea, but the very act of remembering it kinetically. In this fusion of muscle, memory, and medium, Hernández achieves Olaismo’s core ambition: not to depict the ocean’s surface, but to make palpable, through the urgent event of painting, its enduring, physical resonance within the human body that once moved within it. The artwork stands as a testament to that lived, relived encounter.” The artist describes his artistic inspiration as an incredibly fast impulse which he can barely keep up with when it comes to putting the paint on the canvas.
Starting with a very simple and abstract use of the wave, the below photo shows us two pieces that are much more geometrical and still in nature. Cantos de sirenas (“Sirens´Song”) and Bañista (“Bather”) are fun, pieces that are great statements for any contemporary home. I personally would favor one of these in a heartbeat for a beach house before the overused artwork we see everywhere. Make it special! And fun, as beach life is. As a native of Cuba and resident of Germany, I see the intermingling of Hernandez’ two worlds in these pieces, the exuberant colorful life of the island, and the stylized, sophisticated abstraction of the European mind.
Or how about the next wonderful piece. The cool, minty greens are quite appropriate for this piece called “Lying in the Shade.” Here, the artist uses the wave form to depict an abstraction of the human body. Can you make it out with its head resting on the ground and one leg propped up on the other? The person seems to be gazing at the dappled light coming through the tree above them which is casting its spotted light in the person we’re looking at.
The next two pieces together in the photo below are a wonderful mix of vivacious waves in the oil painting called “Willow Tree on a Lake” and the still, very clean lines of the sculpture called “Torso”.
Below, Window XI is one of several of the artist’s oil painting where he imitates the translucence of water or wavy glass to allow the viewer to get a glimpse of a world that, though concrete and real, becomes through his lens ethereal and intriguing.
See how expressive Hernandez’ use of waves or the imitation of the movement of water can be when applied to portraits. Below is a selection of oil painting, graphite on paper and watercolor.
Finally, for inspiration, and because we are an interior design firm making homes sing, be inspired by the following pieces all in different homes. If you would like to add a piece from Hernandez or any other artist from our vast connections with artists from all over the world to your own collection, check out our Art Consulting Service page to learn more.
