Pedro Coronel

Happy Birthday Pedro Coronel!

This Mexican artist was born in Jerez, Zacatecas on March 25, 1922 . His parents were musicians and his brother was a well known artist as well. As a youth, Coronel did not like school, preferring instead to go to the stone quarry to watch the workers. Not surprising that he later became a sculptor...as well as a painter. Although he was acquainted with the muralist movement and its participants, he leaned more toward boldly colored abstract work. He did gain influential aspects in color and theme from the muralists, but his primary influence was Rufino Tamayo.

His love of collecting began when he was a small boy and by the end of his life he had accumulated a huge collection of art, artifacts and handcrafts from all over the world. This was donated to the Mexican people upon his death and now resides in his home state of Zacatecas, at a Museum named after him.

His painting followed emotional themes and was spontaneous and free. It has been said that he along with Rufino Tamayo reinvented Mexican painting, connecting the past with the present. His use of color is unique in creating a harmony between his colorful forms and the background, rather than the background receding as in more "traditional" abstract work. The colors red and yellow appear to dominate much of his work, signifying passion and perhaps melancholy.

Jorge Gonzalez Camarena

Happy Birthday Jorge Gonzalez Camarena!

Not sure why...but this post was posted on Thursday (since I had 2 artists born on the 24th) and it came down...so I am reposting! Enjoy...

Jorge Gonzalez Camarena was born into an artistic family (his father was a photographer) on March 24, 1908, in Guadalajara. His brother Guillermo invented the color TV set . As a youth he loved watching his aunt paint. Not only did he like to draw, but also created small sculptures from stone and clay. He attended the Academy of San Carlos for several years, beginning at age 15.

As an adult, Camarena painted murals as well as easel work, especially portraits and self portraits. He was also involved in art for publications such as calendars. He painted several well known murals and also did restoration of old murals. His own work was influenced by the restorative process of Mesoamerican and early colonial murals. This distinguished him from the Mexican muralist movement in that he did now focus on the Revolution. Many of his murals are located on institutions, administration and city buildings.

Jorge Gonzalez Camarena died in 1980 of a brain hemorrhage.

Angela Gurria Davo

Happy Birthday Angela Gurria Davo!

Born in Mexico City on March 24, 1929, Angela Gurria Davo is a sculptor. Initially she was self-taught, since it was virtually unheard of for Mexican women to become artists and she came from a very traditional family. She studied philosophy and literature at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico but after taking an art class with Justino Fernandez went back to original idea of a career in art. After college, Angela Gurria traveled Europe studying and researching.

Her work is figurative but can also be also quite mystic. She is thought to be one of the world's most productive sculptors. Perhaps her best known work is her monumental sculpture for the Summer Olympics of 1968. In addition to her art she has also taught at Universidad Iberoamericano and the Universidad de las Americas. Gurria has won numerous recognitions throughout her career and in 1974 she became the first woman to be accepted at the Academia de Artes. She lives and works in Mexico City.

My granddaughter Priscilla Amor is fondly called "Slow Snail" and was just recently a snail for La Primavera ... I love the snail-like quality of this tranquil sculpture!

Enrique Bostelmann

Happy Birthday Enrique Bostelmann!

Born in Guadalajara in 1939, Enrique Bostelmann was a photographer of German heritage. Although Bostelmann has done commercial photography for publicity, documentary, etc., he is best known for his artistic work: the photography of social problems and issues as well as the use of objects (common and art) to create conceptual photographs. He was also expert in the photographic reproduction of art.

Bostelmann's conceptual work was influential to the Conceptualists movement in the 70's. He worked with artists of other mediums to create installations and set up juxtaposed objects for the purpose of photographing and displaying the results as "art".

Enrique Bostelmann's work was never highly sought after for purchase but has been exhibited all over the world. He has been the subject of many books, publications and recognitions. He died of heart failure in 2003 on the way to a job.

I thought I would post an example of both his artistic style photographs...a conceptual piece and one that is more a "social" statement...

Leonel Maciel

Happy Birthday Leonel Maciel!

Born today in 1939 in a village in Guerrero state, on Mexico's pacific coast, painter Leonel Maciel came from a farming family. As a child he wandered the beach drawing and painting but did not receive formal art training until much later. Even though art was not looked upon favorably in this area of Mexico, his father encouraged him to pursue his dreams. Maciel worked random jobs and sold drawings and paintings occasionally, drawing attention to his talent. He was offered a scholarship in 1958 and he attended La Esmeralda.

Leonel Maciel traveled the world extensively, and surely the experiences influenced his work. He has had many exhibitions of his art across the world. He has also illustrated several children's books. Maciel's paintings range from abstract to figurative with greatly varied styles. His use of color is often quite bold. His painting below is entitled "Pueblo Fantastico"
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Pelegrí Clave

Happy Birthday Pelegrí Clave!

Although Pelegria Clave was born in Barclona in 1811, he taught for many years in Mexico. He was a Romanticist painter who studied at Escola de la Llotja, a school of art and design, from 1822-1833. Following his graduation he traveled to Rome on a grant to attend Accademia di San Luca, traveling extensively throughout Italy and France. Finally, in 1846, he arrived in Mexico with to become the Director of painting at the Academy of San Carlos, where he taught until 1868.

His personal painting included portraits of high society figures, as well as religious works in the Romantic style. Clave died in 1880 in Barcelona, Spain. The painting I am including today is "The Good Samaritan"

Manuel Ocaranza

Happy Birthday Manuel Ocaranza!

Born in 1841 in Michoacán, Manuel Ocaranza was a virtually unknown Mexican Romanticist painter, as well as a poet. Those who know his work recognize him as one of the most influential Mexican painters of the nineteenth century. He attended San Carlos Academy in 1861 where he became both student and teacher.  He sought to introduce textural techniques in various types of canvas. He studied in Europe on scholarship beginning in 1874. There he was able to imitate works of the masters, developing his own style.

Sadly Ocaranza died at the young age of 41 after encountering an epidemic of cholera which lead to a cardio-pulmonary complication.