Javier Arevalo

Happy Birthday Javier Arevalo!

Born on April 29, 1937, Javier Arevalo was a Mexican contemporary artist, from Guadalajara. He became interested in art at age ten after winning an art contest and started taking private lessons. He began his art study at The School of Arts and Letters in Guadalajara, later moved on to the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plasticas, in Mexico City.

His work has been shown all over the world. He has won several awards and in 1963 he was made art director at La Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes at Universidad de Morelia, Michoacan. He became regarded a "pioneer" in magic realism.

The painting below is titled Peregrinos or Pilgrims...

Magic Realism-introduction of a fantasy element or something too fantastical to be believed, into a super realistic work...thus...magic!

Roberto Cueva del Rio

Happy Birthday Roberto Cueva del Rio!

Muralist Roberto Cueva del Rio was born today, April 28, 1908, in Puebla, but his family moved to Mexico City when he was only six. He studied art at Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes and at San Carlos Academy. Following his studies he became an art teacher in rural areas throughout Mexico.

He began painting murals and drawing political cartoons and illustrations. Over the course of his lifetime he painted many murals of Mexican customs, landscapes, as well as portraits of heroes, political figures and artists. He was invited to the USA to paint murals at the Mexican Embassy in Washington DC. He also traveled to Europe where he painted watercolors. An extremely versatile artist!

The mural pictures below are from the Mexican Embassy mural in Washington DC. The newspaper, El Nacional, described it at the time as the biggest mural project worldwide due to the continuous pictorial up the winding stairway. It was painted using "fresco" technique.

Roberto Cueva del Rio died at age 80 in Mexico City.

Fresco-technique for mural painting dating back to Michelangelo, created by mixing paint with wet plaster then applying to wall surface. 

Armando Ahuatzi

Happy Birthday Armando Ahuatzi!

Today is Armando Ahuatzi's birthday! Born in 1950 in Tlaxcala, Mexico, he is a painter of primarily still life, often with tropical birds.

He paints with a realistic style, using rich and luxurious, vibrant colors. Tropical fruit of the region are his subject matter and macaws and other exotic birds are often accompanying the fruit.

His work has been exhibited throughout Mexico and also in Madrid and New York.

Gabriel Orozco

 Happy Birthday Gabriel Orozco!

Born on April 27, 1962, (tomorrow) in Veracruz, Gabriel Orozco was the son of muralist, Mario Orozco Rivera (see blog post from January 19). After studying at Escuela Nacional de Artes Plasticas in Mexico and then in Madrid at Circulo de Bella's Artes, he became a photographer and sculptor, focusing on installations. He has been described as "one of the most influential artists of the decade".

He married, fathered a son, and the family currently splits their time between Mexico City, Paris and New York.

His work centers on several themes, joining the common everyday object (for instance an orange) with real life. The technique encourages the viewer to experience the object in an imaginative way. "What is most important is not so much what people see in the gallery...but what they see after looking at these things, how they confront reality again." The installations have been set up in various gallery spaces in Mexico, New York, Paris, Brazil, etc.

One such "sculpture" created in 1991 is My Hands are my Heart where Orozco used his hands to press a small blob of clay into a heart shape. The forming action and then resultant heart have been photographed close to the artist's own bare chest, creating the artwork.

Feliciano Pena

Happy Birthday Feliciano Pena!

April 25, 1915, is the day landscape painter, and engraver Feliciano Pena was born in Salao, Mexico. His parents were a carpenter and school teacher and as a young boy the family moved to Mexico City. He was attracted to drawing and painting at a young age and went to Escuela de Pintura Aire Libre instead of middle school (since there was none near their home). Later he became a teacher at La Esmeralda, as well as at Escuela de la Artes del Libre. He was a member of the Salon de la Plastica and a founder of the Sociedad Mexicana de Grabadores. 

Pena became a master engraver and created a collection titled  Estampas de Mexico.His printing was primarily in black and white. In painting, he was best known for his landscapes although he did paint still life and portraits as well. Jose Maria Velasco was an influence with clean pure color choice in a classical style.

Sadly, Pena never really got the recognition he deserved during his lifetime.

Casimiro Castro

Happy Birthday Casimiro Castro!

This Mexican painter was born right after Mexico gained its independence, on April 24, 1826, in Tepetlaoxtloc. He studied at Academy of San Carlos and became one of Mexico's premier 19th century graphic artists and landscape painters. He was a student under Pietro Gauldi (Italian born painter) and was also influenced by the work of Claudio Linati Prevost. Prevost is credited for introducing lithography to Mexico.

Castro was important in documenting the turbulent years in Mexican history following the revolution. Early in his career he began producing prints depicting Mexico, events and her way of life. Regarded as the most important recording of life in Mexico is an endeavor titled Mexico y sus Alrededores (Mexico and its Environs), that he worked in conjunction with J. Campillo. The project is a collection of 42 prints (31 of which Castro created) employing innovative aerial views of Mexican life, its people, their dress, neighborhoods, markets, tradesmen, architectural facades, etc. The portfolio was given to Maximilian Hapsburg, then emperor of Mexico.

Following a trip to Europe, Castro produced architectural and interior designs, images of Mexican towns plus posters for fashion houses and fairs. This collection began to show the nuances of art nouveau.

Today I am including one of the lithographs from the Mexico y sus Alrededores...Guardiola Square.

Jose de Ibarra

Happy Birthday Jose de Ibarra!

Born in 1685, this painter was of Afro-Mexican descent, from San Miguel de Grande. He was a pupil of Juan Carerra who was also described himself as a "mulatto". The focus of Ibarra's painting was religious subject matter in the Baroque style and he was quite prolific. He was influenced by the work of Cristobal de Villalpando and Juan Rodriguez Juarez. Much of his work can still be found in the cathedrals of Mexico and various museums. During his life, Ibarra was determined to distinguish painting as an intellectual art process and made many contributions to initiatives in support of that concept. Upon his death his remains were interred in Mexico City at the Church of Santa Ines.

                                                      Cristo en el jardin de las delicias