Arturo García Bustos | |
|---|---|
 Arturo García Bustos speaking at a book presentation in thePalacio de Bellas Artes | |
| Born | (1926-08-08)August 8, 1926 |
| Died | April 7, 2017(2017-04-07) (aged 90) Mexico City, Mexico |
| Alma mater | Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas |
| Known for | Painting Printmaking |
| Notable work | Oaxaca en la historia y en el mito |
| Movement | Visual artist |
| Spouse | |
Arturo García Bustos (August 8, 1926 – April 7, 2017) was aMexicanpainter and print maker. He is known as one of “Los Fridos” students who studied underFrida Kahlo at her home inCoyoacán.[1]
Arturo García Bustos was born inMexico City, near theZócalo. He grew up during the time whenMexican muralism was dominant, which drew him to art. After attending high school at the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria Núm 1, specializing in architecture, he entered theEscuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas in 1941, at age fifteen.[2] The following year (1943) he entered theEscuela de Pintura y Escultura ("La Esmeralda") where his teachers were Frida Kahlo,Feliciano Peña,Agustín Lazo andMaría Izquierdo, studying there for five years.[3] During his career he studied printmaking as well, including courses in printmaking with Korean artist Wan Jon Ja inPyongyang and Chinese printing inBeijing in 1957.[3]
García Bustos’ social life when he was younger revolved around the circles ofDiego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, even meeting his wife,Rina Lazo through the famous couple.[4] He married her in 1949.[5]
The couple were married for over 60 years until Arturo died. They lived in the Coyoacán borough ofMexico City in a colonial house called Casa Colorada, on Calle de Vallarta in the La Conchita neighborhood.[6][7] Their home is said to be a residence ofLa Malinche. It was later a monastery, prison and hospital. After living there for more than forty years, in 2006, they opened part of it on the ground floor to house the Galería de la Casa Colorado. This gallery is run by the couple's only daughter, Rina García Lazo, who is an architect specializing in the restoration of monuments.[6][8]
Bustos died in Mexico City on April 7, 2017. His last exhibition took place at Universidad Iberoamericana. This was a cooperative display by him and his wife, and was mounted by alumni from the Art History major.
García Bustos career began as one of four students who went to Coyoacán to study under Frida Kahlo in the Coyoacán section of Mexico City. These students became known as Los Fridos.[9] He worked as an apprentice in mural painting with Diego Rivera and initially learned engraving and lithography working at the Taller de Gráfica Popular withLeopoldo Méndez. In 1958, he collaborated with graphic designer Miguel Prieto at the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes.[3]
He had individual and collective exhibitions in various parts of Mexico and abroad. Individual exhibits include those in Mexico City,Veracruz,Oaxaca,Chiapas,Michoacán andGuadalajara as well as in countries such asGuatemala,El Salvador, the United States,Venezuela,Ecuador,Argentina,Bolivia,Germany, theSoviet Union andNorth Korea. He participated in numerous collective exhibitions especially with theTaller de Gráfica Popular early in his career as well as biennials sponsored by theInstituto Nacional de Bellas Artes and theSalón de la Plástica Mexicana.[3] In 2005, a collection consisting of eleven of his paintings was exhibited at theMuseo Mural Diego Rivera of theInstituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, in Mexico City.[10]
While he was better known for his graphic work, he also did a number of murals. In 1947 he assisted Frida Kahlo with a mural at theJosefa Ortiz de Domínguez House in Coyoacán. Other projects include a fresco the Hotel Posada del Sol in Mexico City (1948), a fresco depicting Zapata at the Escuela Rural deTemixco, Morelos (1950), a series of seven murals at the Sociedad Cooperativa Ejidal, with Rina Lazo and Atilio Carrasco (1952), a fresco called Pobledores de las Siete Regiones de Oaxaca at theMuseo Nacional de Antropología (1964), A series of sixteen print murals to decorate the Venustiano Carranza House Museum inCuatro Ciénegas,Coahuila (1969), A series of nine panels for the Casa de Obrero Mundial in Mexico City (1971),Oaxaca en la historia y en el mito at the state government building in thecity of Oaxaca (1980), and a mural at the cultural center ofAzcapotzalco, Mexico City.[2][3]
Most of his career was spent teaching and giving lectures, seminars and conferences. He taught engraving at the Escuela de Bellas Artes inGuatemala City and founded the Taller de Grabado at the Casa del Lago inChapultepec.[3] He taught fine arts at the Escuela de Bellas Artes of theBenito Juárez Autonomous University of Oaxaca, Escuela de Iniciación Artística Núm. 3 in Mexico City and drawing and painting workshops at the Casa del Lago inChapultepec. He conducted conferences on the history of engraving and lithography in Mexico at the state universities of Oaxaca andSinaloa, the Galería Municipal de Veracruz and in various venues in Mexico City. Abroad he conducted conference on Mexican muralism and engraving in Germany, Italy and Guatemala.[3]
Recognitions include first prize at aUNAM event honoring the Niños Heroes (1947), second prize at a poster contest honoring Chopin (1949), Peace Movement Gold Medal in Guatemala (1953), first prize at an event sponsored by Grupo Saker-Ti in Guatemala (1954), first prize and gold medal at the V Festival de la Juventud in Poland (1955), first prize at the Salón Annual de Grabado at the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana (1957), silver medal at an engraving event in Moscow (1957), first prize from the Consejo Nacional de Turismo, Mexico City (1962).[3]
He became a member of the Academia de Artes in 1973, theWorld Peace Council in 1974 and the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana in 1974.[3]
García Bustos considered hieself to be an "heir to the figurative strand of Mexican art." He recalled the impact that seeing Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco at work made on him in Mexico City, prompting him to have "visual shocks" and dream that he too was painting murals.[2]
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