Jose Luis Gonzalez Fuentes was born and raised in a farm belonging to Central España, in Perico in the western province of Matanzas. He spent his life there until he was 20 years old, when he moved to study at the San Alejandro School of Visual Arts in Havana.
He was interested in art, especially painting, from childhood and knew he wanted to devote himself to that specialty. After finishing his studies at that school, he began working at the Alquitex textile factory where, surrounded by fabrics, textiles and dyes, he ended up immersing himself in this world that had not initially caught his attention.
He began to design when he saw a possibility to create by linking fabrics, textiles and dyes with his passion, painting. This led to the creation of his first collection with hand-painted cotton fabrics, which became his trademark. To develop his work he took advantage of fabrics discarded because of stains.
From then on, he participated in events promoted by the Ministry of Light Industry such as Intermoda and Cubamoda, and became passionate about this new world, about which he told CubaPLUS Magazine: "It is a difficult world, but beautiful, giving you the opportunity to see what you create in motion". This is the greatest merit for the designer, who commented that he considers that the greatest recognition is to see people wearing his designs, "giving life to my work".
Once established in fashion, with his style well marked, he created a new project, Modarte, and began to sign as himself. Through this he has made successful presentations in different parts of the world and has participated in both national and international events. In addition, he has marketed in fairs of the Fondo de Bienes Culturales.
José Luis' inspiration is closely related to his origin, as he grew up surrounded by nature, and it is precisely this, his main muse. The sea, vegetation, sunsets and sunrises have been the motivation for his collections. It is also remarkable the frequency with which sunflowers are found in his work.
His most recent collection is inspired by the floral theme, and is the work of his niece Aimé González, who is dedicated to costume jewelry. There are many handcrafted flowers, made with different textures and techniques to which paint has also been added. These are placed in the designs. The intention is to recreate both everyday and occasion wear with the difference of the handcrafted detail that gives it a higher value than industrial clothing. This version distinguishes itself by the hand painted work on some printed fabrics to which the tone has been changed or a new one has been added. In other pieces, the base plain fabric is used and the painter's work incorporated.
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