Esterio Segura’s Hybrid of a Chrysler Extended on View at the Tampa Museum of Art Through 2027

Hybrid of a Chrysler (version with passport), 2016 on view at the Tampa Museum of Art | Image courtesy of the Tampa Museum of Art, photographed by Paige Boscia

Cuban artist Esterio Segura’s monumental sculpture Hybrid of a Chrysler will remain on view in the Tampa Museum of Art’s outdoor gallery for another two years. On display since June 2024, the work has quickly become a landmark attraction for visitors and the Tampa community.

Segura is internationally recognized for artworks that probe the complexity of daily life in Cuba, exploring the island’s socio-political, cultural, and spiritual landscape. Winged animals and machines—airplanes, submarines, and fantastical hybrids—frequently populate his visual language, embodying themes of freedom, isolation, immigration, desire, and exile.

Hybrid of a Chrysler exemplifies Segura’s signature approach. The work features wings affixed to the roof of a 1953 Chrysler Windsor, recalling the classic automobiles still used in Cuba today. The car, poised for flight, becomes a powerful metaphor for longing, mobility, and escape.

This version of the sculpture—marked by the artist as the Version with Passport—premiered at the Tampa Museum of Art in 2016 and has since traveled internationally, from Venice, Italy, to Washington, DC, to Gainesville, Florida, and Miami, before returning to Tampa. Reflecting on the inspiration behind the work, Segura explained:

“The subject of flight is an idea that I have taken from the image of an airplane, the image of wings, and the consciousness of what travel meant to me. I was 25 when I first traveled outside of Cuba… The awareness of others entered the work—those who emigrate, or yearn to, or experience nostalgia, or miss people who may return or not. Above all, everything is specifically related to flight or travel. Hybrid of a Chrysler emerged from this nexus.”

The sculpture was also part of the exhibition Under the Spell of the Palm Tree: The Rice Collection of Cuban Art, on view at the Tampa Museum of Art from February 6 to July 6, 2025.

The first edition of the sculpture—titled the Restricted Version because it cannot leave the island of Cuba—was recently restored and is now on view at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Havana after more than twenty years.

The art book Hybrid of a Chrysler. A Provocation to Fly is a luxurious, limited-edition “book-object” that serves as both catalog and artistic expression, conceived and produced as an extension of Segura’s celebrated sculpture. Divided into four sections, the book traces Segura’s journey with Hybrid of a Chrysler like a visual road movie or logbook. The art book is available for purchase at the Tampa Museum of Art and on Amazon.

Born in Santiago de Cuba, Segura studied at the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) in Havana. His multifaceted practice includes painting, sculpture, and installation, with works featured in leading museums and collections worldwide. The Tampa Museum of Art recently acquired his sculpture Good Bye My Love, currently on view in the Patel Family Lobby.

About the Tampa Museum of Art: Founded in 1920, the Tampa Museum of Art inspires the community and advances public understanding of visual arts through exhibitions, education, and engagement with ancient, modern, and contemporary art.For more information, visit www.tampamuseum.org

About The Cuban Arts Group: The Cuban Arts Group is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting Cuban artists and fostering cultural exchange through exhibitions, publications, and educational initiatives. Learn more at https://www.thecubanartsgroup.org/about