Juan González | |
|---|---|
 Juan González with his paintingWhistler, 1981. | |
| Born | January 12, 1942 |
| Died | December 24, 1993 (age 51) |
| Nationality | Cuban-American |
| Education | University of Miami,MFA |
| Occupation(s) | Artist, painter, professor atSchool of Visual Arts |
| Years active | 1960s - 1993 |
| Known for | Hyperrealism,Magical Realism |
| Awards |
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Juan González (January 12, 1942 – December 24, 1993) was an important twentieth-centuryCuban-American painter who rose to international fame in the 1970s and remained active until his death in the 1990s. Born inCuba, González launched his art career inSouth Florida during the early 1970s and quickly gained recognition inNew York City, where he subsequently relocated in 1972. While in New York González won several fine art awards, including theNational Endowment of the Arts,New York Foundation for the Arts grant, and theCintas Fellowship. González's art known is for its distinctivehyperrealism andmagical realism elements delivered in a highly personal style with symbolic overtones. His work has been widely exhibited throughout theUnited States as well as internationally inEurope,Latin America, andJapan. He is included in the permanent collections ofThe Metropolitan Museum of Art,Art Institute of Chicago,The Carnegie Museum of Art, andHirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.
Juan González was born inCamaguey,Cuba, in 1942. He spent his early life in Cuba until fleeing to the United States in 1961 as a part of theCuban exile resulting from theCuban Revolution.[1] González initially resided inKnoxville, Tennessee[2] before relocating the following year toMiami where he joined other exiled Cuban artists and members of theCuban diaspora. González then enrolled in theUniversity of Miami where he initially studied architecture before transferring to fine art in 1966 where he won aKennedy Scholarship.[3]
In the late 1960s, while González attendedUniversity of Miami, he was taught the airbrush painting technique by fellow Cuban artist and then-neighbor[4]Baruj Salinas, which González then used to achieve the large-scaleRealism style that would soon gain him recognition by leading art institutions.[5] His use of the airbrush as a drawing tool for detailing, rather than background and abstraction effects, was noted for being innovative and non-traditional.[6] In 1969, Salinas introduced González to art figuresMarta andJesús Permuy.[5] In 1970, González earned his bachelor's degree, began his graduate studies at the University of Miami, for which he received one of the few University Fellowships in art, and also won the Klinkenberg Award.[6] By 1971, Marta Permuy had become an early supporter of his career and had helped secure him an art studio at 1901Le Jeune Road inCoral Gables where he would produce pivotal early works that earned him his career breakthrough.[7] That same year, González won theLowe Museum's 1971 Ward Award and in November participated in the Miami Art Center'sThirty-Three Miami Painters exhibition, which precipitated González's discovery and move from Miami the following year.[6] The exhibition was attended byWhitney Museum curator Robert Doty,[8] who was impressed with González's work and arranged to meet him and visit his studio. Following this visit, González was added to the Whitney Museum's Whitney Annual collective exhibition for 1972, held from January 25-March 19, giving González national exposure.[6] Concurrent to the Whitney Annual, González participated in theLowe Art Museum's nationally publicizedPhase of New Realism exhibition that February, cementing his association with the emerginghyperrealism movement.[2]
Following his Whitney showing, González secured a solo exhibition at theAllan Stone Gallery of New York City, which was held in May 1972 and focused on González's largescale abstract works.[6] The following month, González presented his thesis exhibition and attained hisMaster of Fine Arts degree from theUniversity of Miami. Shortly afterward, González made arrangements to permanently relocate toNew York City and have the Permuys assume the lease of his art studio.[7] This led to it being converted into thePermuy Gallery that year, becoming one of the first Cuban art galleries in the United States.[7][9] González became an active participant in the gallery and would attend openings and participate in group exhibitions to maintain a presence in the arts of South Florida.[10][11]
After having established himself in New York, in 1974 González exhibited inThe Art Institute of Chicago and also participated in a group exhibition in Nancy Hoffman Gallery which led to a successful solo exhibition there in 1975.[12] Following that exhibition, Nancy Hoffman Gallery would subsequently go on to manage and represent González in New York for the rest of his career. Through the rest of the decade, González would twice win theCintas Fellowship (1974, 1976)[13] and also became a professor of fine art at theSchool of Visual Arts.[1] By the end of the 1970s, González had again exhibited in The Art Institute of Chicago (1977) as well asNortheastern University (1977), Boston University (1977),University of Southern California (1979), and internationally inCaracas (1972) andLondon (1976).[12] In 1979 González was appointed to serve as a panelist on theNew York State Council on the Arts.[12]
Throughout the rest of his career, González would continue to see his profile rise as he participated in several traveling solo and group exhibitions, win prestigious awards, and have his works added to the permanent collection of renown institutions such as theMetropolitan Museum of Art.[12] In the early 1980s he further exhibited internationally in Colombia (1981) and Japan (1983) and was appointed to serve as a panelist on theNew York State Council on the Arts.[12] The 1980s and '90s would also see González win theNational Endowment for the Arts three times (1980, 1985, 1991).[12] He also maintained significant ties to the emerging South Florida art market and continued to exhibit there while residing in New York. In 1982 González would participate in a joint exhibition withBaruj Salinas. The show was noteworthy due to both artists being by that point firmly established Cuban art figures as well as sharing a common background in Miami as the springboard for their later success. Held inMiami-Dade College, the exhibition was noted by critics for the jarring contrasts in their styles as González work showcased his hyperrealist detailing while Salinas' work displayed his signatureAbstract Expressionist-influenced style.[14]
González also remained connected with his ex-wife, Josefina Camacho, her second husbandMarcos Pinedo, andMarta Permuy who had each become major fine art collectors and dealers in the region.[15] The Pinedos would often represent González in South Florida and through them he participated in the landmark 1983 "Miami Generation" exhibition which gave that group of Cuban artists their name and helped solidify the region's growing status in international fine art.[16] González would become one of the Miami Generation's most recognizable figures.[17] In the mid-1980s, González exhibited in theSmithsonian Institution (1985–87) and won three consecutiveNew York Foundation for the Arts grants (1984–87).[12] Later in the decade he exhibited in thePratt Institute (1988–89) and designed elaborate sets in New York for two productions of plays by famed Spanish poet and playwrightFederico Garcia Lorca, "Blood Wedding" (1988) and "As Soon as Five Years Pass" (1991).[2][15] Through the 1980s and 1990s González taught and lectured at the New YorkSchool of Visual Arts, a post he held for nearly twenty years.[1] In the 1990s he exhibited in Ecuador (1991), again in Japan (1991–92), Italy (1993), as well as several universities and museums, including theMuseum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (1991–92).[12]
González died onChristmas Eve of 1993 in New York City at the age of 51 from complications stemming fromAIDS. His death was covered by major media outlets includingThe New York Times[1] andThe Miami Herald.[18] His funeral was held inChurch of the Little Flower, a prominent regional landmark inCoral Gables, where Gonzalez's art career began.[18]
González career was the subject of the 1980 bookJuan González: A Twentieth Century Baroque Painter[19] (republished in 1991) as well as an in-depth, career-spanning retrospective book,Dreamscapes: The Art of Juan Gonzalez, written by Irene McManus and published by Hudson Hills Press.[2]
González's art has been sold at leading fine art auction houses, includingSotheby's andPhillips.[20][21]
González became known during the rise of theHyperrealism movement in New York City during the 1970s. As such, he is known for creating paintings and collages that ranged from realism[13] tosurrealism[22] and fantasy. He is therefore often categorized as aMagical Realist.[3] Early in his career González was influenced by Pop artistsDavid Hockney andJames Rosenquist as well as theRenaissance andBaroque periods while he developed his highly personalrepresentational-figurative style in direct opposition to the then-contemporary dominance of theMinimalism movement.[3]
Throughout his career, González' themes and subject matter included religion,[23] reinterpreted scenes from art history, portraits of family and friends, and psychologically introspective expressions of identity (via self-portraits) and his struggle with AIDS. His works were characterized by their rich detail, lifelike realism, and symbolism.[24] Gonzalez's medium's included airbrush, oil, and acrylic paint as well as color pencil to facilitate his focused detailing.
Select Solo Exhibitions:
