Julio Castellanos

Happy Birthday Julio Castellanos!


Painter and engraver Julio Castellanos was born on October 3, 1905. He studied painting at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes and then went on to learn engraving in the US. He became interested in "plein aire" painting (painting in the outdoors) and took classes at Escuela de Pintura al Aire Libre. He also traveled to Europe to study the art and artists there.

Castellanos is known for his bullfight paintings, He has created bullfight scenes in the ring as well as pastoral scenes of bulls relaxing in their natural habitat. He is considered a "student of the fighting bull".

His work has been exhibited in Mexico, the US, Paris and Buenos Aires. Castellanos' son, Julio Castellanos, has become an accomplished sculptor. 

Pedro Meyer

Happy Birthday Pedro Meyer!

Photographer Pedro Meyer was born today in Madrid, Spain, in 1935. He became a pioneer for digital photography and has won many awards for his work. He was presented a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1987 and the National Endowment for the Arts in 1993. 

In addition to his photography Meyer has also taught at various institutions and lectured extensively. Meyer has written five books. Another project: " I Photograph to Remember"  was a revolutionary idea at the time of combining images to music on a cd. He founded, edits and curates the website ZoneZero, hosting over a thousand photographers from all over the world. 

Francisco Icaza

Happy Birthday Francisco Icaza!

The artist Francisco Icaza was born on October 5, 1930. The son of a diplomat, he was born at the Mexican embassy in San Salvador. Many of the drawings and paintings created by Icaza chronicle his travels. His family moved around, due to his father's work and Icaza started at an early age drawing his surroundings. 

Although his style and techniques changed over the years, elements of Expression are constant. He created lithographs and engravings in addition to painting canvases and murals, and was a member of the Generation de la Ruptura. A Socialist, Icaza moved around to avoid political conflict, living in Germany, the US, Guatamala, Columbia Spain, in addition to Mexico. Three of his major exhibits were at the Museo de Arte Moderno, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, and the Phoenix Art Museum and he was a member of several organizations, including Salon de Independientes and Salon de Plasticas Mexicana.

Francisco Corzas

Happy Birthday Francisco Corzas!

Painter/printmaker, Francisco Corzas was born today, October 4, in 1936. Although his family was poverty stricken, he chose to study art and was even able to study for a time in Europe. When he returned to Mexico, he became associated with the Generacion de la Ruptura; the generation of artists who rebelled against the politics and ideals of the Muralist Movement. He worked constantly, especially toward the end of his life, completing nearly 1500 canvases, and if it weren't for his early death at 47, would surely have had many more.

His style falls sort of between Impressionism and Expresssionism. His favored themes were sensual nudes and "portraits" however he did not use models, instead came up with the figures from his imagination. His vague images and forms often in orange and gold tones, lend a mysterious air to the paintings. His own facial features often appear in his work, as do various animals: owls, bulls, cats and horses.

Corzas had many exhibits of his work not only in Mexico but in several other countries as well. His work is held in private collections as well as in museums both in Mexico and abroad. He was recognized with a retrospective some 15 years after his death.

Dr. Atl

Happy Birthday Dr. Atl! (Gerardo Murillo)

The well known artist and writer, Dr. Atl was born today, October 3, 1875, in Guadalajara. His interests were widely varied...vocanology, geology, philosophy, history, politics, etc. His interest in art began early and after studying art at the Academy of San Carlos he received a scholarship from the Mexican government to study in Europe. While in Europe he studied philosophy and law at the University of Rome, art lectures in Paris and  also worked with the Socialist Party and the Avanti newspaper in Italy.

In 1902 he decided to rename himself in an effort to uniquely identify his "independent personality". He was re-christened with Doctor (of philosophy) Atl - "the wonderful water of his joy to live" (atl means water in Nahuatli). 

Upon his return to Mexico Dr. Atl began working with and fostering the creation of murals and public art. Landscapes are the primary theme of his paintings. Due to his fascination with volcanoes, many of his paintings include mountains with active volcanoes.

Dr. Atl won many awards for his painting as well as his literary writing. He was named director of the Academy San Carlos following the Revolution. He died in 1964, in Mexico City.

Pedro Cervantes

Happy Birthday Pedro Cervantes!

Sculptor Pedro Cervantes was born on October 2, 1933, in Mexico City. He had a love for horses since he was seven years old and his grandfather gave him a horseshoe. Since he couldn't own one he began to draw and sculpt them. He attended the Escuela de Artes Plasticas for a couple of years.

Cervantes has created sculptures of all sizes: monumental, relief and small scale. Although he has used ceramics, he primarily uses a variety of metals for his sculptures such as bronze, steel plates and wrought iron, and even junk metal and car parts. His work has usually followed the theme of horses as well as the female figure, often the work is figurative rather than overly realistic, in a futuristic style. His work has also been referred to as surrealistic, neo-expressionistic, and neo-Dadaism.  In speaking about his work Cervantes has stated that he considers conceptually three elements: "mind, body, emotion; imagination, permanence, motion; and heads, torsos, wings."

His work has been exhibited and installed in public spaces all over Mexico and abroad. Cervantes has won many recognitions and awards for his work.

Myriam de la Riva

Happy Birthday Myriam de la Riva!

Born in October, 1940, Myriam de la Riva is a painter of small scale works, sometimes referred to as "portable murals". Her parents were Europeans who sought safety in Mexico after being exiled. She was born in Mexico City, attended the American School there before studying at Kent State in the US and then Universidad Feminina and Universidad Iberoamericana, in Mexico. She also studied painting with various artists including Carlos Orozco Romero (painting) and Adolfo Mexiac (murals).

De la Riva maintains two studios, one in Mexico City and Miami. Her work is distinguished by not only its small scale but also rich, vivid color. In addition to painting, she has also created mixed media works, drawings, projects on wood, masonite, paper. Themes seem to revolve around life, spirituality, women's issues among others.

Myriam de la Riva has exhibited extensively, received honors and awards, and her work is included in private as well as public collections.