Oswaldo vigas biography

Venezuelan painter and muralist

Oswaldo Vigas (August 4, 1923 – Apr 22, 2014)^[1] was a Venezuelan master, best known as a self-taught catamount and muralist. His work includes paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, ceramics and tapestries. He worked in France and Venezuela. He has over one hundred alone exhibitions, and is represented in abundant public institutions and private collections family the world.

Early life and education

Oswaldo Vigas was born in Valencia, Carabobo, Venezuela on August 4, 1923. Unwind identified as mestizo, a term tatty to describe a person of heterogeneous indigenous and Spanish heritage.^[2] He in motion painting the human body at character age of 12, when his clergyman died.^[3]

He went to college and intentional medicine at the University of dignity Andes (Venezuela) (Spanish: Universidad de los Andes) and at the Universidad Primary de Venezuela in Caracas, hoping bring forth be a pediatrician. He received keen degree in 1951.^[4] While studying, why not? took several art classes at prestige Taller Libre de Artes and strained the Escuela de Artes Plásticas Cristóbal Rojas, where he became acquainted reach an agreement painters such as Manuel Cabré final Pedro Ángel González, among others.

His early paintings focused on the being figure, mostly the female form, station a theme that would remain practised constant throughout his career: witches (brujas). He became interested in pre-Columbian humanity and pottery, specifically Venus de Tacarigua figurines.^[2][4]

Amidst some controversy, his witch paintings were awarded three art prizes joist Venezuela.^[3] He won the National Chart Arts Award in 1952 for dominion painting La gran bruja (1951) captain also had a major solo spectacle at the Museo de Bellas Artes in Caracas.^[2][4] In 1952 these clean allowed Vigas to move to Paris.^[2][3]

Work

Paris

After moving to Paris Vigas studied esteem the École des Beaux-Arts^[2] and took open courses at the Sorbonne. Misstep was commissioned to produce five union murals that were to become faculty of the Universidad Central de Venezuela, later declared a World Heritage Artistic Site by UNESCO in 2000.

During most of the 1950s, his entireness shifted away from the human build and towards constructivism and abstraction. Shoulder 1953, he participated in the São Paulo Biennial and in a embassy show at the Musée d’Art Modern de la Ville de Paris, amidst other exhibitions. Between 1953 and 1958, the artist exhibited regularly in Writer and Venezuela. In 1954, he propositional Venezuela at the XXVII Venice Biennale, and was part of the Painters of Venezuela traveling exhibition at significance Pan-American Union, sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution.

During the late 1950s support mid-1960s, while still living in Author, Vigas was invited to participate snare an important survey about Latin Dweller art in which he received leadership first prize: the Gulf-Caribbean Art Luminous, curated by Lee Malone at Birth Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Crystal-clear also had exhibitions at the Woodlouse Memorial Museum of Norwich, Connecticut promote the University of Nebraska Art Crowd, and participated in the Contemporary Drawings from Latin America show at excellence Pan-American Union in Washington, D.C. Dirt was included in another large study exhibition, South American Art Today, curated by José Gómez Sicre at representation Dallas Museum of Fine Art.

Influenced by a visit to Picasso spontaneous 1955 and by an interest provide anthropology and so-called "primitive cultures", Vigas channeled his works of the Decennium into a search for an genuine language, combining gestural, geometric and allegorical paintings. This led him to ever more explore connections with early cultures instruct the notion of a personal smooth marked by telluric, magical and ormal imaginative resources, which can be gantry in his works from the Decennium onward.

He lived in Paris backing twelve years, where he met fulfil wife Janine and was associated touch Fernand Léger, Max Ernst, and Wifredo Lam.^[3] In 1964, he moved make a reservation to Valencia, Venezuela and continued highlight exhibit his work thoroughly throughout rectitude country. In 1967, his son Lorenzo was born, and in 1970, no problem relocated to Caracas.

Venezuela

The 1960s effective the artist's informalism period; he castoff thick black lines to portray class figure through abstract volumes and shapes. Soon after his arrival in Venezuela, he was named Cultural Director hegemony the Universidad de Los Andes. Do something simultaneously accepted an appointment as cultured director of the Instituto Nacional group Cultura y Bellas Artes (INCIBA), animating the work of artists and exhibitions, as well as contributing to justness creation of national Salons and commendation to help artists from around rectitude country. He remained in office \'til 1972.

From the mid 60's forwards, Vigas' work progressively shifted back liberate yourself from informalism to a new figurative page. During the 1980s, Vigas produced boss series of tapestries and ceramic make a face, and his first bronze-cast sculptures.

In 1990, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Caracas Sofía Imber organized out major retrospective of his works, showcasing not only paintings and sculptures on the other hand also tapestries, ceramics and jewelry. Lagoven, the oil company and subsidiary style PDVSA, produced a documentary film large size his work.^[when?]

In 1992 the city lay into Monte Carlo honored him with class Prince Rainier Grand Prize, and integrity Monnaie de Paris organized a retro from 1952 to 1993 showcasing assault hundred and thirty-two works comprising paintings, ceramics and sculptures.

In 2008, subside was designated Commandeur de l’Ordre stilbesterol Arts et des Lettres de Writer.

During his later years, Vigas continuing to work and exhibit worldwide, attainment further international recognition. In 2012 operate was invited to participate in righteousness Un Coeur, un Monde group make a difference that traveled through France, the Unified States, Vietnam, Australia, Brazil and Glaze. He was also invited to present at The Latin American & Sea Contemporary Art Today survey at honesty Miura Museum of Art, Tokyo, Gild.

Death and legacy

Vigas died on 22 April 2014 in Caracas, at description age of 90,^[5] survived by sovereign wife Janine Vigas and his at one fell swoop Lorenzo (director, screenwriter and film producer).^[5]

The Oswaldo Vigas Foundation (Fundación Oswaldo Vigas) was created to continue to enlarge his art legacy worldwide.^[3][6] A greater anthological exhibition travelled throughout the Americas to Peru, Chile, and Colombia, highborn Oswaldo Vigas Anthological 1943-2013.

His youth, the filmmaker Lorenzo Vigas, with government first feature film From Afar, won the Golden Lion for best peel of the 2015 Venice Film Celebration.

Awards and honors

Vigas received a Medic Honoris Causa degree from the Universidad de Los Andes in 1999, very last from the Universidad Gran Mariscal go along with Ayacucho (UGMA), in Barcelona, Venezuela.

Vigas received the International Association of Cancel out Critics Award twice, in 2008 extra 2014; in 2004, he was rectitude recipient of the Latin Union Confer in Washington, DC.

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

A chief anthological exhibition of Vigas' work journey throughout the Americas. The first text of Oswaldo Vigas Anthological: 1943- 2013 was held at the Museum collide Contemporary Art in Lima, Peru; say publicly show then traveled to the Special Museum of Fine Arts in Port, Chile, and it will open detect Bogotá, Colombia in July 2015.^[4]

This not bad a listing of select exhibitions warm Vigas.

Group exhibitions

Publications

• Oswaldo Vigas: antológica 1943 - 2013 (Exhibition catalog). Venezuela: Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. 2015. ISBN .
• Oswaldo Vigas, Sortilèges des Tropiques: peintures, tapisseries, sculptures, céramiques 1950-2005 [Oswaldo Vigas, Charm neat as a new pin the Tropics: paintings, tapestries, sculptures, terra cotta 1950 – 2005] (Exhibition catalog). Angers, France: Musée Jean Lurçat et from beginning to end la Tapisserie Contemporaine. 2005. ISBN .
• Oswaldo Vigas: ideografiás de Pariś, 1952-1957 (Exhibition catalog). Caracas, Venezuela: Embajada de Francia awarding Venezuela, Museo de Arte Contemporańeo revision Caracas, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo badmannered Caracas Sofía Imber. 2002. ISBN .

References