Gunther Gerzso

Happy Birthday Gunther Gerzso!

Born on June 17, 1915, in Mexico City, during the Mexican Revolution, Gunther Gerzso's parents were immigrants from Hungary (mother) and Germany (father). His father died soon after his birth and his mother married a German jeweler and they took him to Europe to avoid the Revolution. Upon their return the couple was divorced and he crossed the sea again, this time to live with an uncle in Switzerland, where he met artist Paul Klee. In addition he was exposed to theater and became involved in set building and design, which he continued when he came back to Mexico. Gerzso won a scholarship to work in set design at the Cleveland Playhouse in Cleveland, Ohio, and returned to Mexico to make this his primary life's work. He did not take up painting as a serious occupation until the 40's.

Gunther Gerzso was a member of a Surrealist group in Mexico City including Wolfgang Paalen, Benjamin Peret, Leonora Carrington, among others. He painted mostly abstracts and rejected the ideologies of the muralism movement of the times. Gerzso won awards for his work, including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1973. He died in 2000.

Joaquin Clausell

Happy Birthday Joaquin Clausell!

Impressionistic painter Joaquin Clausell was born on June 16, 1866, in Campeche. He loved drawing from an early age. After a public feud with the governor there, he fled to Mexico City, where he pursued a law degree. During his studies his political activism and stance against the Porfirio Diaz regime landed him in jail a couple of times and again after graduation, while he worked for politically outspoken publications. He was accused of fictionalizing stories against the government, and forced to flee to the US, then Paris. Here he discovered Impressionism and became a painter, focusing on land and seascapes.

He considered French Impressionist, Camille Pisarro, his greatest influence. He was also a friend of  fellow artist Dr. Atl, and is said to have taught with him. Clausell was inspired by the Mexican landscape. I love the one chosen for posting today, as it reminds me of sunsets over the beach in San Pancho!

Vlady

Happy Birthday Vlady!

Russian refugee, Vlady Kibalchich Rusakov,  was born in St. Petersburg, on June 15, 1920. He came to Mexico at age 21 with his father, writer Victor Serge. Before arriving in Mexico, the family was exiled from Russia, spent time in the labor camp, Gulag, as well as Belgium, France and the Dominican Republic. Vlady's mother became distressed with mental illness and was left behind. While in Europe, Vlady became interested in painting and began his studies there.

After moving to Mexico, Vlady was focused on his first exhibit, in 1945, with many to follow. Shortly thereafter he was married and continued to paint in his studio in Mexico City and then toward the end of his life, in Cuernavaca.

His painting was influenced by the muralist movement as well as Surrealism, but his work did not fall not those "categories".  He did not agree with the Mexican nationalism expressed in much of the mural work of that period. While his work had minimalist elements, he never fully embraced abstraction. He was commissioned to paint several murals and monumental canvases on historical themes.

Vlady traveled to France for a grant to work in lithography, received a medal in Italy and then went to the US for a Guggenheim Fellowship in New York. He received many awards and titles in Mexico as well. His work has been exhibited all over the world. He is credited for being a leader and influence of the contemporary art movement in Mexico.

Abraham Zabludovsky

Happy Birthday Abraham Zabludovsky!

The Mexican architect Abraham Zabludovsky (born Zabludowski) was actually born in Poland, on June 14, 1924. After immigrating to Mexico he studied at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, becoming an architect.

Initially, in the beginning of his career, he designed many residential as well as office buildings in Mexico City. Following that he worked, sometimes in collaboration with Teodoro Gonzales de Leon, on such sites as the Delagacion Cuahuatemoc and the new Colegio de Mexico. Although they worked together to establish "functional and formal" contemporary solutions that other designers adopted, they still retained their own unique styles.

Abraham Zabludovsky lived to be 78.

Agustin Villagra Caleti

Happy Birthday Agustin  Villagra Caleti!

Agustin Villagra Caleti was born on April 29, 1907, in Mexico City. (I missed him in April!) He studied drawing and painting at the National School of Fine Arts. He became a draftsman as well as a painter. Villagra was a drawing professor at several schools including the National School of Anthropology. Here he worked on reproducing various murals from historical and pre-Hispanic sites like Monte Alban in Oaxaca, Palenque, and cave paintings in the State of Mexico, but the bulk of his professional life was spent on the murals of Teotihuacan. At times another artist, Santos Villasanchez helped him in this endeavor.

 

Maria de la O'Fernandez

Happy Birthday Maria de la O'Fernandez!

Born on April (yes I know it s June...) 11, 1912, in Guadalajara, he was a painter who began his studies in the studio of Don Jose Vizcarra. Later after working with a group of painters working with Francisco Rodriguez Caracalla (see June 6 post), he attended Stanford University summer courses in the US.

O'Fernandez taught at several schools including the School of Arts and Letters at University Guadalajara, and the Normal School of Jalisco.

His work varied in theme and subject from still life, portraiture to landscapes. He was included in several collective exhibitions at the Regional Museum and in fact married the organizer: Ixca Farias, years later.

Adolfo Best Maugard

Happy Birthday Adolfo Best Maugard!

Born on June 11, 1898, in Mexico City, Adolfo Best Maugard was also known as "Fito Best". He attended art school in Europe, retuning to Mexico to become a painter and film maker focusing on caricatures. He taught at the new "plein air" painting schools and then pursued more schooling in the US. He introduced "universalism" method of drawing to Mexico. Best created a drawing manual where he attempted to set up scientific laws guiding the art of drawing. In the manual he describes his seven elements in drawing, using the natural sciences as his model.

Best died at age 73, in Athens, Greece,

The portrait included here is titled La Espiral Del Arte.