David Alfaro Sisquieros

Happy Birthday David Alfaro Sisquieros!

One of the major proponents of the Mexican muralist movement (along with Diego Rivera and Jose Clemente Orozco), David Alfaro Sisquieros was born  on December 29, 1896, in Chihuahua. He was a social realist painter best known for his large murals. Sisquieros was rebellious beginning in his youth and continuing with his involvement in various uprisings into his adulthood with his involvement in the attempt on Leon Trotsky. Sisquieros  used his art to depict the struggle of the working class and various social issues. He felt art should be public, educational and ideological. It has been noted that many of his murals feature "hands" signifying "strength through work".

He is known for creating the world's largest mural for the Hotel de la Selva, in Mexico City. To achieve this feat, Sisquieros gathered a group of artists, creating 21 panels in his studio to be installed. This was to be his last major mural accomplishment.

Nicolas Moreno

Happy Birthday Nicolas Moreno!

Considered one of  best landscape painter of his time, Nicolas Moreno was born on December 28, 1923, in |Mexico City.  He was able to experience the Mexican countyside when his grandfather took him with him, while working as a muledriver. Surely these experiences helped influenced his later painting. Although the family was poor and he had to work to help support them, he did take classes at night at La Esmeralda. Moreno became a sketch artist, engraver, muralist, but most importantly a landscape painter.

His work has been exhibited all over the world in over 100 solo showings and numerous collective exhibits. His goal was to mainly document the varied landscape of Mexico, but in addition to point out the erosion and degradation of the countryside. Moreno attempted to paint his initial impression of the spot rather than enhancing with color or modifying it in any way.  He taught landscape painting at several schools and has won awards for his own painting,

Francisco Zuniya

Happy Birthday Francisco Zuniya!

Born on December 27, 1912, Jose Jesus Francisco Zuniya Chavarria was a Costa Rican born painter and sculptor. His parents were both sculptors and he began learning from them at an early age, even working in his father's workshop. For a short time attended Escuela de Bellas Artes and then continued his study of German Expressionism and French sculptors, Aristide Maillol and Auguste Rodin on his own.

At just age 17, Zuniga began receiving recognition of his painting and sculpture, winning awards in Costa Rica and Mexico. He also taught at La Esmeralda and became a Mexican citizen in 1986, after living in the country for 50 years.
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Zuniga is considered perhaps the most important sculptor of the "Mexican political style". Pre-Hispanic  work was a strong influence and traditional women represented maternity and family for the artist. His work is held in many public collections all over the world. Zuniga created over 35 public works. When he went blind toward the end of his life he began sculpting in terracotta.

Crouching Nude

Alexander Canedo

Happy Birthday Alexander Canedo!

Surrealist magic realism artist, Alejandro de Canedo (later Anglicizing his name), was born on December 26, 1902, in Mexico City, to Mexican father and American mother. When he was 15, he went to Paris and studied at Ecoles Nationale Supereiure des Beaux-Arts with sculptor Jean Magrou. He alo studied in Rome and had his first exhibit of pencil drawings there.

Canedo was commissioned to create several illustrations for books. He worked in watercolors and oils as well, placing his figures and objects in alien landscapes and unlikely settings. He relocated to California permanently and his work was exhibited exensively in the US.

Benjamin Peret

Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday Benjamin Peret!

Today I am writing about Surrealist poet Benjain Peret, even though he was not a visual artist, his poetry served as inspiration and muse to many Surrealist artists, including Remedios Varo (see post). He was born on July 4, 1898, in Paris.

Peret began his writing career as a proofreader for newspapers. He was an activist and after being expelled from Brazil he retuned to Europe, where he met artist Remedios Varo, in Barcelona.. The couple first relocated to Paris and finally exiled to Mexico after the German occupation of France. Peret was an important influence in Latin American art, both visual as well as written. Many of his works have been translated to Spanish.

Little Song for the Maimed

Lend me your arm
To replace my leg
The rats ate it for me
At Verdun
At Verdun
I ate alot of rats
But they didn't give me back my leg
And that's why I was given the Croix de Guerre
And a wooden leg
And a wooden leg

Manuel Echauri

Happy Birthday Manuel Eschauri!


Manuel Echauri was born on Christmas, 1922, in Mexico City. He studied painting, first at Escuela de Pintor al Aire Libre, in Tlalpan, then at Academy de San Carlos. In addition to his artistic w,orks Echauri was also a teacher and founding member of the Salon de la Plastica Mexicana. 

Echauri was married twice and his first wife was also an artist, Esperanza Munoz Hoffmann. Echauri died at the age of 87, from liver cancer.

Woman at the Table (engraving)

Ignacio Aguirre

Happy Birthday Ignacio Aguirre!

Born on December 23, 1900, in San Sebastian, Jalisco, Ignacio Aguirre was a painter and engraver. After fighting in the revolution, working in the mines, and  participating the uprising in favor of Alvaro Obregon, Aguirre studied painting. He went on to work as a scenographer and taught drawing and painting. He helped found various organizations such as Liga de Escritorios y Artistas Revolucionarios and Taller de Grafica Popular.

Aguirre used engraving to promote his political messages. He also painted landscapes and rural folk scenes. In addition to painting, he also created watercolors, drawings, woodcuts and designed tapestries. He exhibited in New York, Europe,and of course, Mexico.

Tren Revolucionario

Salvador Vazquez Carmona

Happy Birthday Salvador Vazquez Carmona!

The Mexican potter, Salvador Vazquez Carmona was born on December 23, 1933, in Tonala, Jalisco. He is known for his style of "brunido", the pottery of the region, which he first learned from his mother when he was 6 years old. Jorge Wilmot was his mentor later, but Carmona's style differed from that of Wilmot. 

"Brunido" is a burnishing process used to finish ceramic wares. The clay is very fine, similar to porcelain and the pieces are not fired, but polished to a sheen. One type of brunido is called "canelo" due to the cinnamon color of the clay (canela means cinnamon in Spanish). Animal and bird shapes are traditionally created and not usually used for food or water since the clay is too porous.

Carmona uses traditional as well as his own unique shapes and designs for the lamps, large flower vases, platters and water jugs he makes. Often the animals appear Surrealistic due to the distortions of the characterisics. His work has been exhibited and in various contests where Carmona has won numerous prizes.

Mauricio Garcia Vega

Happy Birthday Mauricio Garcia Vega!

December 21, 1911, was the birthday of Mexican painter Mauricio Garcia Vega. He began his art study in Barcelona, Spain, then attended Escuela Libre de Arte y Publicidad in Mexico, studying illustration and lithography. His brother, Antonio Garcia Vega is also an artist and the two have collaborated on projects.

Vega's work is often about violence and human decadence, containing distorted chaotic urban landscapes, evoking terror and drama. In addition to painting, he has created sculptures. He was influenced by the German Expressionists and Goya's "Black Paintings". Vega has had numerous solo and collective exhibitions and won awards and prizes.

Mario Pani

Happy Birthday Mario Pani!

Mexican architect, Mario Pani, was born March 29, 1911, in Mexico City. He studied architecture and urban planning in France and at the National Autonomous University, in Mexico. Following his education, Pani went on to introduce the "international style" to Mexico. He became an important urban planner for Mexico City, helping develop plans for the 20th century.

In additio to his work in architecure, Pani also founded the National College of Achitects (1946) as well as the journal Achitectura Mexico. His son, Knut was also an artist. Pani lived to be 81 years of age, credited with envisioning the character and appearance of modern day's Mexico City.

Jose Horna

Happy Birthday Jose Horna!

Born in 1912, Jose Horna was originally from Spain. He was educated at San Fernando Academy in Madrid. While working at Umbral magazinee met his wife  artist Kati Horna. When the Spanish Civil War erupted, the couple fled to Paris where they worked together for the magazine Agence Photo. Once again they were forced to run from war when the Nazis occupied France, this time to Mexico in 1939.

Horna worked in advertising and in collaboration architect Carlos Lazlo on the design of the University City. He also was responsible for helping popularize found object art in Mexico.

Sandra Pani

Happy Birthday Sandra Pani!

Mexican artist Sandra Pani was born on December 18, 1964, in Mexico City. She showed an interest in painting and music as a child, took lessons and even studied in Europe. Pani enrolled in the National School of Fine Arts in Mexico and began showing her work while still in school.

Her work is figurative but with some abstraction, on the human body as well as forms from nature such as plant life. Often her figures transform into trees or flowers. The paintings have a "drawn" poetic quality with so much empty space, beckoning the viewer in to rest. Most are monochromatic with just touches of color.

Pani has won awards and critics have written favorably about her work. She has had over 20 solo exhibits.

Francisco J. Serrano

Happy Birthday Francisco J. Serrano!

The civil engineer and architect, Francisco J. Serrano, was born on March 12, 1900, in Mexico City. He studied at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. Later Serrano became a professor at the same university. He also worked on research dealing with climate change and the effects on architecture. His son also became an architect.

Edificio Basurto

Remedies Varo

Happy Birthday Remedios Varo!

Surrealist artist Remedios Varo was born in Spain today, in 1908. Her father was very encouraging of her interest in art and helped her begin to perfect her technical drawing skills. He also provided reading material on mysticism and  Oriental philosophy to offset her Catholic upbringing. Varo would use these ideals in her subsequent  canvas paintings, becoming one of the premier 20th century "para-Surrealists". She studied art at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid, before emegrating to France to flee the Spanish Civil War. There, Remedios became familiar with the Surrealist movement and artists  such as Andre Breton and Leonara Carrington (who would become a friend for life). She also met her second husband and great influence, Surrealist poet Benjamin Peret. The occupation of France by the Germans in 1941, exiled the couple, this time, to Mexico City, where she would make her home for the rest of her life.

Upon arrival to Mexico, Varo began work in commercial art, costume design and decorating, not returning to her Surrealistic painting for a couple of years. She did know famed Mexican artists (Rivera, Kahlo, etc.) but since she was not part of the Mexican muralist movement, Varo was more compatible with other expats...Carrington in particular...who had similar ideals. She had her first exhibit in 1955.

In addition to the paranormal, Remedios Varo's work also alludes to the isolationism Surrealist women artists often experienced (women were often thought of as simply the artists' muse). Often her figures' features resembled her own. Her work exhibits a Renaissance quality in tone and narrative. She considered her art a way of "communicating the incommunicable". Varo had several exhibits and two galleries devoted to her work before her untimely death from a heart attack at age 54. The retrospective of her work in 1971, drew the largest crowd in the history of the Museum of Modern Art, Mexico City,  (even larger than retrospectives of Rivera or Jose Clemente Orozco).

Jose Villagran Garcia

Happy Birthday Jose Villagran Garcia!

Born on September 22, 1901, Jose Villagran Garcia was a Mexican architect. He studied at Academy San Carlos for 4 years. After graduation, Villagran Garcia was one of the many hired by the government under President Alvaro Obregon to design structures that "carried meaning". During that period he designed the National Stadium, in Mexico City, a huge neo-Colonial structure in the eighteenth century style. The building seated over 30,000 and was constructed of concrete and native stone.

Villagran Garcia became the chair of Architecture at his alma mater and was responsible for designing the master plan for the University. He also developed numerous theories for Modernist Architecture. He received prizes and awards for his work, including the National Prize of Architecture, in 1980.

Monument to the Mother

photos by Carlos Tomasini

Juan Sordo Madaleno

Happy Birthday Juan Sordo Madaleno!

Juan Sordo Madaleno was born in October 28, 1916, in Mexico City. He was an architect, influenced by Le Corbusier, working in the Bauhaus style. He worked with well known architects, Luis Barragan, Jose Villagran Garcia, etc. After establishing his own firm, Sordo Madaleno Arquitectos SC. Moral worked primarily on residential and hotel projects. His son, Javier Sordo Madaleno Bringas took over the family business in 1982.

Maqueta de la Iglesia San Ignacio de Loyola

Enrique del Moral

Happy Birthday Enrique del Moral!

Architect, Enrique del Moral, was born (an only child) in Irapuato, Guanajuato, on January 21, 1905. His parents relocated the family to Mexico City when he was just 4. He attended school there and entered the Academy of San Carlos with childhood friend, Juan O'Gorman, to study architecture. During the Mexican Revolution he lived for a time with relatives in Texas. Following his studies, Moral traveled extensively in Europe, familiarizing himself with the architectural styles there.

In the 30's, Moral set up his own architectural practice in addition to beginning a teaching career. He continued throughout his lifetime to explore contemporary architecture. Enrique del Moral was head of the most prominent contemporary architecture project: Ciudad Universitaria (pictured below). Over 70 professionals worked on the extensive endeavor.

Manuel Felguerez

Happy Birthday Manuel Felguerez!

Abstract artist, Manuel Felguerez, was born on December 12, 1928, in Zacatecas. His family relocated to Mexico City and although he did begin his studies at Academy of San Carlos, dissatisfied, he relocated to France, to further his art education there. He became an abstract artist, which was not accepted in Mexico at the time so his exhibits were limited. He was a member of the Generation de la Ruptura group who broke from the muralists in Mexico. After returning to Mexico he enrolled at La Esmeralda to learn  about terracotta and later went back to France to study at Colarossi Academy, in Paris.

Felguerez' work is tied to his experiences with the artists he was associated with in Europe and the geometric-constructivist and abstract expressionist styles. In his paintings as well as sculpture, geometric shapes are fundamental. To him, "art is life".

With a wide educational experience, Felguerez has had a varied art career focused primarily on painting and sculpture. He has also worked as a professor, an anthropologist, taxidermist, and researcher. In 1998, he opened the Manuel Felguerez Abstract Art Museum in his hometown of Zacatecas. Married three times, Manuel Felguerez currently lives in Colorado and Mexico City with his current wife Mercedes Oteyza, where he continues to create.

Myra Landau

Happy Birthday Myra Landau!

Born on December 5, 1926, Myra Landau was from Bucharest, Romania, and has lived in several countries. When her family moved through Europe and finally arrived in Brazil (and later moved to Mexico), Landau began to experiment with painting. She began with figurative works but following a suggestion by her uncle, Marcel Janco, an artist credited with the founding of Dadaism, Landau moved toward abstract painting, where she found her niche. In addition to painting, Landau also worked with engraving in a series called Metal Relief.

Landau also has taught and worked in art research. She currently lives in Holland. She has had over 60 solo exhibits and over a hundred collective shows. Her work has been shown all over the world.

Manuel Jimenez Ramirez

Happy Birthday Manuel Jimenez Ramirez!

Carver, sculptor and painter, Manuel Jimenez Ramirez was born on December 9, 1919, near Oaxaca. He began creating figurines from clay as a young boy and gradually switched to carving the figures from wood. Self-taught, he is thought to be the originator of the Oaxacan (wood) style of "alebrijes"* Besides the alebrijes, Jimenez Ramirez also created nativity scenes, human figures, masks, etc. He was thought by some to be a curandero or shaman and some even thought he was a nahual or one who can transform into an animal form.

His creations were painted with bright colors and often had hair, beads, etc., added. Jimenez Ramirez' work is included in collections both private and public in the US and Mexico. Fomento Cultural Banamex named Manuel Jimenez Ramirez a "grand master". His two sons carry on his unique art after his death at 86.

*Alebrijes: brightly colored Mexican folk art figurines, traditionally made of cartoneria or hard paper mache.

Arnold Belkin

Happy Birthday Arnold Belkin!

Mexican muralist Arnold Belkin was born on December 9, 1930, in Alberta, Canada. His parents were Jewish immigrants, his mother from England and his father from Russia, both socialists, whose ideals are apparent as influences in Belkin's later work.  The artist began his study of art in Canada, but relocated to Mexico after reading an article about Diego Rivera in Time magazine, at age 18. He enrolled in La Esmeralda, studying with painters Agustin Lazlo and Carlos Orozco Romero. In addition to mural and canvas painting, Belkin also created engravings, but he is best known for his murlas.  He became known as the "Canadian son of Mexican muralism".

Arnold Belkin's work is characterized by his dark, somber colors, using ochre, gray, sepia tones. His themes focused on historical and social messages: war, peace, injustice, death, etc. with the human figure and geometric shapes central. He created over 30 murals, primarily in Mexico, although he did some work in the US. He identified with Mexico as his home and became a naturalized citizen in 1981.

Belkin's best known mural series is located at University Autonoma Metropolitana, in Iztapalapa, Mexico City. I am including one of the series below.

Diego Rivera

Happy Birthday Diego Rivera!

Famed fresco muralist, Diego Rivera was born on December 8, 1886, in Guanajuato City. From an affluent family, Rivera studied art at the Academy of San Carlos beginning at age 10. He traveled to Europe on scholarship arranged by Teodoro A. Dehesa Mendez (governor of Veracruz), studying first in Spain and then settled in Paris. He became part of a group of artist friends during the height of Cubism, enamored with the work of Braque and Picasso and then the Post-Impressionist painting of Paul Cezanne. At the suggestion of the Mexican ambassador to France, Rivera traveled to Italy next, to learn more about the Italian Renaissance.

He returned to Mexico following the Mexican Revolution, joined the Mexican Communist Party and as a participant in the government sponsored mural program, began using his art to impart social and political messages. His style used simple figures, bold, bright colors and exhibited strong Aztec influence. In the 30's Rivera was invited to the US to paint a series of murals in San Francisco, He was honored with a retrospective exhibit of his work at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City and finally was commissioned to create a series of 27 fresco panels at the Detroit Institute of Art, entitled "Detroit Industry".

Diego Rivera was married three times, but the most well known union was with Mexican painter, Frida Kahlo. They were both inspiration and irritant to one another and were divorced in 1929, but remarried in 1940. Rivera has work in Mexico, the US and Europe. He was a founding member of the Revolutionary Union of Technical Workers, Painters and Sculptors. Rivera lived to be 71, leaving behind an incredible legacy of work.

 

Maria de Jesus Nolasco Elias

Happy Birthday Maria de Jesus Nolasco Elias!

Mexican potter, Maria de Jesus Nolasco Elias was born on December 8, (tomorrow) 1944, in Ocumicho,  Michoacan. Ocumicho is known for artisans crafting colorful clay figurines. Nolasco Elias learned her technique from artist Marcelino Vicente. She perfected the art form and made it her own. Using her hands as well as molds, the pieces are first formed from native clay and then polished smooth with a stone before finally being fired. Themes of her work revolve around devils, animals, Suns, mermaids and the life of Christ. The characters are imaginative and lean toward indigenous imagery.

Her work has been exhibited here in Mexico as well as other shows around the world. In 2001, Maria de Jesus Nolasco Elias was named a "grand master" by Fomento Cultural Banamex.

Sebastian Canovas

Happy Birthday Sebastian Canovas!

Sebastian Canovas was born on December 8, in 1957, in Mexico City. He studied industrial design in Mexico City at Universidad Anihuac and went to work as a furniture designer for the family business Galerias D'Canovas. At the suggestion of customers, he turned to painting as his career. Initially he worked realistically in watercolor, painting the Mexican countryside. More recently Canovas has focused on mixed media abstract depictions of emotions and moods.

His work has been exhibited in Europe, the US, and Mexico.

Julio Galan

Happy Birthday Julio Galan!

Neo-expressionist painter, collage artist and architect, Julio Galan, was born on December 5, 1958, in Monterrey, Mexico. His work is said to represent his life experiences. Working in Mexico as well as in New York; it was in New York that famed Andy Warhol first discovered Galan, printing a couple of his works in the magazine Interview, in 1984. 

Galan exhibited in the US as well as Mexico. He won the "Premier Marco" award from the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Monterrey, in 1994. Sadly, Julio Galan died of a brain hemorrhage on a plane enroute to Monterrey, in 2006.

 

Consuelo Revueltas Sanchez

Happy Birthday Consuelo Revueltas Sanchez!

Landscape painter Consuelo Revueltas Sanchez was born in 1909, in Durango. She was one of twelve children by parents Gregorio Revueltas Gutierrez and Romana Sanchez Aras. She came from an artistic family, with one brother Fermin, (see July 7 post) also an artist, another, Silvistre, a musician, while her sister, Rosaura, was a dancer and actress. Her brother Jose Revueltas was a well known writer.

Consuelo was a painter in the "naive" style. She was best known for her landscape painting. Consuelo died at the age of 81, in 1990.

La Benedicion de los Animales

Xavier Guerrero

Happy Birthday Xavier Guerrero!

Mexican muralism pioneer, Xavier Guerrero was born on December 3, 1896, in San Pedro de las Colonias, Coahuila. His father was a bricklayer by trade, also working as a decorator and painter, Guerrero learned about color mixing early on and was largely self taught. He worked as an assistant to other muralists, Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, Carlos Merida, etc. Though he was considered a subordinate, he taught Rivera the method of preparing walls for fresco mural painting. Sadly much of his own mural work has disappeared.

He was a member of the muralism movement, but did not adhere to their political messages. Instead, he focused on landscape, flowers and fruit themes with humans and animals added in at times. His work was more philosophical and he felt "man and nature interact in a magical and poetic way." Guerrero's childhood experiences with helping his father decorate and paint are evident in the folk art leanings of his early work. His later canvas work was considered to be more desirable.

 

Carlos Merida

Happy Birthday Carlos Merida!

Born on December 2, 1891, in Guatamala City, Carlos Merida was a muralist and canvas painter who relocated to Mexico and completed most of his work here. He was encouraged to pursue art by his father, since a malformed ear forced him to abandon his first choice: music. He traveled and studied in the US and Europe, where he was influenced by avant grade movements and met and became friends with other Latin American artists.

Merida was a member of the Mexican muralist movement (pre-dating it slightly) however he seemed to prefer canvas work and his painting has been likened to that of Rufino Tamayo. I see Paul Klee as an influence as well.  He focused on Mexican landscapes and themes, indigneous motifs, people and culture...fusing these with European Modernism.

He was also an educator, establishing a dance school where his daughter, Ana, studied. He designed sets and costumes for many productions and even taught fresco painting in the US. His work is thought to be instrumental in the development of Abstract art in Mexico. Merida exhibited extensively in the US, Mexico and his home country of Guatamala.

Alfredo Gauti Rojo

Happy Birthday Alfredo Gauti Rojo!

Born December 1, 1918, in Cuernavaca, Alfredo Gauti Rojo's father was a lawyer. Although he started started drawing at the age of seven, Gauti Rojo did not consider art as a career until later when he saw Diego Rivera's  murals. He was selected to help Eduardo Solares complete a mural in his hometown using the fresco technique and was then sold on watercolor! He spent his career vying for watercolor to be recognized as a reputable medium.

Gauti Rojo attended Escuela de Artes Plasticas, after first enrolling in the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria as a law student. After graduating, he began his career as a teacher of art, founding the Instituto de Arte de Mexico in Colonia Roma. After organizing the Sociedad de Mexicanas Acuarelistas, he used the group as the basis for establishing the National Watercolor Museum, in Mesico City. Gauti Rojo was considered one of the best Mexican watercolorists of the 20th century. He painted (uniquely) with his paper vertical, layering thin strips of color. However watercolor remained a mystery for him...in his words: "watercolors do what they want to do. No one can really say they have dominated the technique. Every time I start a new painting I am terrified that I will fail."

 

Ricardo Legorreta

Happy Birthday Ricardo  Legorreta!

Architect Ricardo LegorretaHappy was born on May 7, 1931, in Nexico City. He attended Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, studying architecture. After graduation LegorretaHappy went on to work with Jose Villagean Garcia for ten years, before setting up his own practice in 1963.

He is said to be a disciple of Luis Barragan (see March 9 post) but took the elements of bright colors, geometric shapes and juxtaposition of light and shadow typically used by Barragan in domestic structures further by applying them to commercial and educational buildings. He has been awarded several recognitions, including the AIA Gold Medal (American Institute of Architects) in 2000.
His work can be found all over the world.

                                                                      
                                                                     Pershing Square

Kati Horna

Happy Birthday Kati Horna!

The photographer Kati (Deutsch) Horna was actually born on May 19, 1912 (I missed her) in Budapest. She lived in several European countries before becoming a Mexican citizen. After her father died she turned to photography as a means to make her living. Her work was definitely influenced by the political instability of the times, poverty and violence. She initially began her studies with photographer Jozsep Pecsi, later traveling to France with Robert Capa, photographing street scenes, cafes, etc.

Horna met her future husband while in Barcelona, working for the magazine Umbral. She and Jose Horna fled the Nazis in 1939, to Mexico, where she remained for the rest of her life. She worked for several important magazines and accepted several commissions. Her work was primarily considered photo realism, but she did venture into Surrealism also. Horna was a professor at various institutions throughout her career. Her work is displayed in Mexico, Spain and a few other countries.

 

 

 

                                                          La Guerra Civil Espanola

Daniel Manrique

Happy Birthday Daniel Manrique!

Born on November 28, 1939, in Tepito, Mexico City, Daniel Manrique was known for his mural painting. He showed an interest and talent for drawing at a young age, but his family was poor and did not support his ambition. He was able to study at La Esmeralda after first beginning his studies at Taller Libre de Arte para Obreros (Free Art Workshop for Laborers).

He founded a program called Tepito Arte Aca' designed to beautify the Tepito area with art, as well as sponsor cultural activities. The themes of his murals were usually the common Mexican people in their everyday life, as well as history and culture of Mexican and Latin American. Although the bulk of his work was created in the Tepito area, he did paint murals in Canada, Spain, France, Argentina as well as all over Mexico.

Manrique was a sculptor, drawer and canvas painter as well, but did not exhibit his work. He did not care for the "patronizing aspect of art dealers". Manrique felt art has a social function and could help with social issues. He worked with several organizations to this end, including Tepito Arte Aca'.

Humberto Ramos

Happy Birthday Humberto Ramos!

Comic book artist Humberto Ramos was born on November 27, 1970, in Mexico City. He has worked in the comic book industry since '89, when he was hired by Kaboom! In 1993, Ramos received a big break after traveling to the US to exhibit his art;  being recruited by Milestone Comics. This led to his employment with several other companies, ultimately landing jobs with DC Comics and Marvel Comics, (among others) and working on Impulse, The Spectacular Spider-Man, and The Amazing Spider-man.

He has created covers for as well as the body of comic sagas. He also has his own comic series, titled Crimson.

Jose Garcia Narezo

Born in Madrid, Spain, Jose Garcia Narezo's birthday is today, November 26, 1922. His father was a Spanish artist, writer and critic; his mother was Mexican. He studied first at Escuela de Pintura al Aire Libre, in Mexico and then fled there again to avoid the Spanish Civil War, eventually becoming a citizen.

Although Nareza created canvas paintings, watercolors and book illustrations, he is best known for his murals. His work has been exhibited in collectives in the US and Mexico. He has also had numerous individual showings. Jose Garcia Nareza lived to be 70 years old.

Jose Reyes Meza

Happy Birthday Jose Reyes Meza!

November 23, 1924, was Jose Reyes Meza's birthday. He was a Mexican painter, illustrator and theater set designer, born in Tampico, Tamaulipas. His mother was only 16 at his birth and Reyes lived with her in Altamira on the Gulf Coast in the Huasteca region (home to the native people Huastec). The cultural aspects, the music, etc. influenced his art later. He did eventually go to live with his father, in who was a metal engraver and jeweler, but Jose turned to theater and painting instead. He was granted a scholarship to the Academy San Carlos and studied painting, later enrolling in classes in archeology and history as well.

In addition to his canvas paintings, Reyes created murals and is sometimes referred to being part of the Mexican Muralist Movement, along with Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, etc. His themes reflect the life of the common Mexican people. He has stated that his art echoes all of his life experiences, including music.  Reyes also attempted to reinstate still life painting in Mexico.  He was a founder of the Salon de la Plastica Mexicana and has exhibited his work in the US as well as Mexico.

Bridget Bate Tichenor

Happy Birthday Bridget Bate Tichenor! 

Surrealist painter Bridget Bate Tichenor was born on November 24, 1917, in Paris, France. She received her education in London, France and New York. Her art career initially was in fashion, as a model for Coco Chanel and a fashion editor for Vogue. She became acquainted with Surrealist photographer Man Ray, a friend of her father's who photographed her at various stages of her modeling career.

She first visited a cousin Mexico in 1947 and moved there in 1953, leaving her (second) husband and fashion career. In Mexico, although she had friends who were painters, Tichenor lived and worked as a recluse, devoting her attention to her painting. She felt deeply connected to Pre-Columbian creation cycles and ancestral spirits, expressing her beliefs through her art. She painted using an Italian Renaissance tempera technique she learned while in New York, from Paul Cadmus.

Tichenor's work is included in many private and museum collections internationally. She has been recognized with retrospectives and special exhibitions centering on her vision and unique style and methodology. She lived to be 72 years old.

 

 

Jose Clemente Orozco

Happy Birthday Jose Clemente Orozco!

Influential painter and muralist Jose Clemente Orozco was born on November 23, 1883, in Ciudad Guzman (then Zapotlan el Grande). He was inspired by Jose Guadalupe Posada, who worked on satirical engravings in his shop window on Orozco's way to school. He studied at Academy of San Carlos and went on to become one of the "Big Three" muralists along with Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siquieros. They specialized in political murals in support of the Mexican Revolution and established the Mexican Muralist Renaissance. Unlike Rivera, who held a somewhat rosy view of the outcome, Orozco was concerned with the plight of the peasant workers, as evidenced in his creations.

Orozco was a genre painter, a Social Realist, influenced by symbolism. It is said that he was fascinated by machines.  He lived in the US for a time and painted a few murals there as well, becoming the first Mexican artist from the Contemporary Mexican School to paint a mural outside their home country. He also illustrated the book "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck. He lived to be 65 years old.

Miguel Covarrubias

Happy Birthday Miguel Covarrubias!

Born on November 22, 1904, Miguel Covarrubias was a Mexican caricature artist, as well as an illustrator, painter and art historian. He began cartoon work right after graduating from Escuela Nacional Preparatoria when he was 14. At age 19, he traveled to New York on a grant and began drawing for several well known magazines. He ultimately became a top caricaturist for the magazine Vanity Fair.

He became enamored with the Harlem jazz scene in New York, and created a series of drawings of the people, music and culture,  pointedly capturing the "spirit if the Harlem Renaissance. He met and married choreographer and dancer, Rosa Rolando, and they traveled extensively, but eventually returned to Mexico to live. He wrote the book Island of Bali after the couple's honeymoon there. They became friends with photographers Tina Modotti and Edward Weston as well as muralist Diego Rivera and painter Frida Kahlo.

In  addition to illustration and cartooning,  Covarrubias also worked in theater set and costume design, and painting. He painted a series of highly regarded murals for the Golden Gate International Exposition in the late '30s. He gained international fame and his work was shown in the US, Mexico and Europe. His style has been regarded extremely influential.

 

Angel Zamarripa

Happy Birthday Angel Zamarripa!

Watercolor artist and cartoonist, Angel Zamarripa, was born on November 16, 1912, in Morelia, Michoacan. After attending high school in Mexico City, he entered the Academy of San Carlos. Later he studied engraving at the Escuela de las Artes Libros. He became a graphic artist, known as perhaps the best Mexican cartoonists of the 20th century.

He began work for the magazine El Ilustrado under the pseudonym La Fa-cha and moved to Excelsior where he remained for 50 years. Zamarripa's work was usually satirical. He felt cartooning was a powerful, influential weapon. It has been noted that his work was more about current situations rather than specific characters. In addition to cartooning, Zamarripa was an accomplished watercolorist, concentrating primarily on Mexican landscapes, exhibiting mostly in the US and Europe.

Andrea Gomez

Happy Birthday Andrea Gomez!

Mexican muralist and graphic artist Andrea Gomez was born on November 19, 1926, in Mexico City. She attended Universidad de San Nicolas in Morelia and later Escuela Nacional de Arte Plasticas, in Mexico City, and finally, lithography at Escuela del Artes  Libro. 

She was a member of  Taller de Grafica Popular and the Salon de la Plastica Mexicana. Gomez traveled extensively in Mexico and abroad, where she studied fresco painting, knowledge which she applied to several fresco murals later. In addition to her graphic work and mural painting, she also painted portraits, influenced by Flemish painters.

Gomez was instrumental in establishing several art centers, helped produce free textbooks and worked on magazine and newspaper projects throughout her varied art career. She won Mexico's National Engraving Prize for the engraving pictured below.

                                                              La Nina de la Basura

Jesus Alvarez Amaya

Happy Birthday Jesus Alvarez Amaya!

Jesus Alvarez Amaya was born on November 19, 1923.  He was born in Mexico City and worked as a baker before becoming an artist. He attended Escuela de Arte para Trabajadores and also studied with Ramon Alva de la Canal. He was an assistant to Diego Rivera on a few projects as well.

Versatile in various art forms, Amaya was best known for his political and social consciousness through mural and graphic work. An avowed communist, he led the Taller de Grafica Popular for nearly 40 years, printing materials during the student uprising in the late 60's  His work revolved primarily around his political beliefs. In addition to his murals and graphic art, Alvarez also created canvas paintings, mostly self portraits and those of Emiliano Zapata, leading icon for the peasants in the Mexican Revolution.

Maria Luisa Reid

Happy Birthday Maria Luisa Reid!

Maria Luisa Reid was born on November 18, 1943, in Zacatepec, Mexico. Best known for her sculpture, she studied wood carving at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plasticas and tapestry and painting at La Esmeralda. Finally, she also studied sculpture in Paris.

She describes her work as "symbolic abstraction", working most recently with organic and erotic themes; human as well as other organisms. Reid feels sculpture should involve all five senses. She works to evoke the magical-religious purpose that she believes erotic art has historically held.

Maria Luisa Reid has had a few solo shows and participated in many collective exhibits. She.lives in Mexico City with her husband.

Pedro Preux

Happy Birthday Pedro Peux!

Born on November 17, 1932, in Paris, France, Pedro Peux came from an artistic family. His father was a painter and his mother a sculptor and tapestry weaver. He went on to become a tapestry weaver also. His family emigrated to Mexico when he was 10 years old.

Although he did not receive formal art education, Preux did study tapestry making in France under scholarship. Peux was instrumental in bringing the tapestry art form and contemporary designs to Mexico. He works with a combination of cotton and wool. He believed tapestries were woven paintings and required the same sort of compositional considerations as painted art. In addition, Preux thought tapestries were a form of portable mural work.

He conducted  tapestry workshops and taught art and design at various institutions. He continued to be a proponent for tapestry as art throughout his life. Preux' work was shown in Mexico as well as abroad.

Fidencio Castillo

Happy Birthday Fidencio Castillo!

The sculptor Fidencio Castillo was born on November 16, 1902, in Etzatlan, Jalisco. His sister Rosa Castillo (see Sept. 4 post) was also a sculptor. Fidencio attended San Carlos Academy and then La Esmeralda, and in addition to his own sculpting also became a teacher at La Esmeralda.

He was a founding member of the Salon de las Artes Plasticas Mexicana. His work has been shown in Mexico and abroad. A permanent exhibit of Castillo's work exists in Guachinanga, Jalisco, at the Museo Historico.

Sebastian

Happy Birthday Sebastian!

Sculptor, Enrique Carbajal Gonzales, commonly known as "Sebastian", was born on November 15, 1947, in Santa Rosalia de Camargo, Chihuahua. His pseudonym "Sebastian" comes from the painting by Botticelli, Saint Sebastian. He wanted to become an artist as a youngster and attended the Escuela de Nacional de Artes Plasticas, in Mexico City. 

Following his education, Sebastian began sculpting monumental sculpture in iron and cement and now has over 200 works all over the world. Henry Moore was a great influence.The sculpture below is titled "Torch of Friendship. The two figures represent differing  cultures, languages melding into one. He is also known for his unique "gates" found at the entrance of several cities in Mexico.

In addition to sculpting, Sebastian has also worked in architectural, furniture, costume and set design, painting, and jewelry. Besides his art, he has taught through lectures, workshops and conference presentations. He has won numerous awards including honorary doctorates from a few universities. He continues to live and work in Mexico City.

Felix Parra

Happy Birthday Felix Parra!

The painter Felix Parra, from Morelia, Michoacan, was born on November 17, 1845. He was educated at Academy of San Carlos. He proved to be an inspiration and influence to notable muralists such as Diego Rivera and Jose Clemente Orozco. In addition to his own painting, Parra was also an instructor of ornamental drawing at the Academy of San Carlos. As was the custom, Ramon de Lascurain was Parra's patron.

Alfredo Ramos Martinez

Happy Birthday Alfredo Ramos Martinez!

The muralist, painter and educator Alfredo Ramos Martinez was born in Monterrey, Nuevo León, on November 12, 1871.  When Ramos was 14 he won a scholarship to the prestigious Academy of Fine Arts, in Mexico City, so the family relocated to Coyoacan, just outside Mexico City. Art patron Phoebe Hearst became so impressed with his work, she made it possible for him to study further in Paris.  He was quite successful in building his reputation as an artist while in Paris.

Upon his return, Ramos became the director of the "Open Air School" and became recognized as the Father of Mexican Modern Art. In his own painting, the artist is known for his scenes depicting indigenous peoples and traditional Mexican folk life. Following the birth of his daughter with a debilitating bone disease, Ramos moved his family to California in search of treatment. His art became popular in the California area. He was adept at the technical aspects of fresco mural painting and several of his murals have been preserved. He has enjoyed recognition and tribute even after his death at age 73, with retrospectives and monetary success.

Rocio Boliver

Happy Birthday Rocio Boliver!

Mexican performance artist Rocio Boliver was born in 1956, in Mexico City. She studied dance and philosophy before beginning her eccentric performance art career. Boliver also attended the Tisch School for the Arts, New York. She is a member of the Mexican Goth art scene and is considered an underground cultural icon. Her work is focused primarily on sexual repression of Mexican women. She has presented at many alternative venues including festivals, raves and activist meetings as well as museums, galleries and universities.

Boliver has written a book and magazine articles. Her work has been performed all over the world and she has won several awards. She teaches performance art in Lisbon, New York, Mexico City and Barcelona.

Luis Fernando Allende Arenas

Happy Birthday Luis Fernando Allende Arenas!

Fernando Allende was born November 10, 1952, in Mexico City. His father was Mexican, his mother Cuban. Allende began his career in the arts singing at age seven. He then turned to acting in television: soap operas, variety shows (star search) series and movies. He has traveled extensively abroad and lived in Mexico, the US and now in Puerto Rico. He refreshed his career in 2001 by adding painting to his repertoire.