Emilio Amero

Happy Birthday Emilio Amero!

Modern Mexican art pioneer, Emilio Amero was born on May 25, 1901, in Ixtlahuaca. He was a painter, lithographer and worked for a time in New York as an illustrator. He was among the first muralists to work on commission from the Mexican government to project their message through art. In 1930, Amero set up his lithography studio where he collaborated with and influenced many artists.
In addition to his lithography work, Amero also experimented with photography and cinematography.

Later in his career, Amero returned to New York to teach at the Cornish School in Seattle and also the University of Oklahoma.

The work below is titled "Burden" and exhibits his unique treatment of the human figure, in particular the facial expression and eyes.

Carlos Pellicer

Happy Birthday Carlos Pellicer!

Born on January 16, 1897, Carlos Pellicer was a Mexican art promoter from Villahermosa, Tabasco. He studied in Mexico City and was a poet in addition to promoting art. It has been said he modified Mexican poetry by allowing the world to be seen through different eyes.

He helped found several museums, including The Frida Kahlo Museum. He was also a lecturer on Modern poetry at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Santos Balmori Picazo

Happy Birthday Santos Balmori Picazo!

Santos Balmori was born on September 26, 1899, in Mexico City. After both parents died when he was young, he went to Europe to study, first in Spain, then in Paris. When he returned to Mexico during the Spanish Civil War, he opened a school for Spanish exiles. While in Europe he met and worked with many artists, including Salvador Dali, Remedio Varos, Antoine Bourdelle, among others, and had his first success as an artist, exhibiting in Paris, Sweden and Spain. Upon his return to Mexico the muralist movement was in full swing and he didn't fit in with his international style.

Picazo's painting showed European influence, especially that of Picasso and Cubism. His work is held at various museums in Mexico as well as Europe. He was recognized with  retrospectives in Mexico, Spain and Paris.

 El Sueno de Picasso

Gorky Gonzalez Quinones

Happy Birthday Gorky Gonzalez Quinones!

Mexican potter Gorky Gonzalez Quinones was born on September 27, 1939, in Morelia, Michoacan. His father was a sculptor, teaching him to sculpt at a young age in various materials and techniques. He studied at Instituto Allende as well as Las Escuelas de Arte. In 1962 he traveled to Japan to study ceramics on a two year scholarship. In Japan he met his wife and subsequently had two sons, one of which runs his workshop now.

After returning from Japan, Quionones opened an antique store and stumbled upon two "majolica" pots. Majolica is a nearly extinct glaze technique that was first introduced to Mexico by the Spanish. Quinones established a workshop next to his home in Guanajuato, in an effort to revive the technique. The style is characterized by a thick white glaze with animals, plants and figures with lines and geometric shapes.

His forms were achieved using molds and wheels. His glazes were hand mixed with local minerals and fired in kilns with wood or gas.

Gorky Quinones' work has been exhibited in Mexico and abroad and he has won many recognitions and awards.

Alberto Gironella

Happy Birthday Alberto Gironella!

Alberto Gironella was born in Mexico City on September 26, 1929 and lived 70 years, dying in 1999. He turned to painting after founding two literary brief publications. Gironella favored Surrealism, revolting against the Mexican muralist movement and socially conscious art. He painted fantasy themes in brilliant color. His work has been exhibited in many countries and his paintings are included in several museums in Mexico.  In 1960 he won an award for young painters at the Paris Biennial.

In his later work he favored nudes, either topless or entirely nude females. I have chosen a more "traditional" theme in the painting below which is entitled "Picador".

Jose Sacal

Happy Birthday Jose Sacal!

The Surrealist sculptor and ceramicist, Jose Sacal was born in Cuernavaca, on September 25, 1944. He studied at the Regional Institute of Fine Arts in Morelos as well as at INBA. He is known across the world as a renowned sculptor and has had many installations of his work.  It is said that his art expresses the depth of his feelings with his figures telling their story. He has exhibited in the US as well as Mexico.

Gilberto Navarro

Happy Birthday Gilberto Aceves Navarro!

Born on September 24, 1931, in Mexico City, Gilberto Aceves Navarro began drawing at age 4. Throughout his lifetime he has considered drawing a necessity. He studied at La Esmeralda and with various established artists like Luis Arenal (mural painting) and Isidoro Ocampo (engraving).

In addition to his drawing and painting, Navarro also created murals and monumental sculpture. The paintings of Navarro are expressionistic, based primarily on the human figure. His work has been descried as a precursor to "figurative expressionism". He has taught at several institutions as well as in his own studio. Navarro has had hundreds of exhibits, both solo and collective and won many awards for his work. He continued to draw and create well into his eighties, considering it an exercise in mental clarity.

Today I decided to included one of his self portraits...