Juan Soriano (artist)

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Juan Soriano

Juan Soriano (born Juan Francisco Rodríguez Montoya; August 18, 1920 – February 10, 2006) was a Mexican artist known for his paintings, sculptures and theater work. He was a child prodigy whose career began early as did his fame with various writers authoring works about him. He exhibited in the United States and Europe as well as major venues in Mexico such as the Museo de Arte Moderno and the Palacio de Bellas Artes. His monumental sculptures can be found in various parts of Mexico and in Europe as well. Recognitions of his work include Mexico's National Art Prize, the Chevalier des Arts et Lettres and membership in France's Legion of Honour.

Life

Soriano was born Juan Francisco Rodríguez Montoya in Guadalajara to Rafael Rodríguez Soriano and Amalia Montoya Navarro.[1] Starting in childhood he began to call himself Juan Soriano, preferring the maternal surname of his father.[2] He described his family of origin as “eccentric.”[3]

He was a

neo Baroque painting. He then studied under Francisco Rodríguez “Caracalla” at the Evolución Studio in Guadalajara, which also trained Raúl Anguiano and Jesús Guerrero Galván.[1][4]

El Toro

At this time he was also a regular visitor to the home and business of Jesús Reyes Ferreira. Reyes gave him work in his shop to make decorated wrapping paper as he did but Soriano found the work difficult.[5] However, the time here allowed him to meet creators such as Luis Barragán and Roberto Montenegro, experience European art in books and magazines and discover portraits by José María Estrada, which Reyes collected. Soriano also went to his first museum and began to read classic books edited by José Vasconcelos.[2][6]

His first exhibition of his work allowed him to meet artists such as

Lupe Marín and Salvador Novo.[4][6] He was part of a regular social circle with Octavio G. Barreda as part of his love for poetry and writing, becoming involved in magazines such as El hijo prodigo and La Revista de la Universidad de México.[2][6]

Soriano visited Rome for the first time in 1952 and in 1954 visited Crete where he painted Apolo y las musas. He returned to Rome again to live from 1969 to 1975, which allowed him to study classical art.[4][6]

In 1963 he suffered an automobile accident which he documented in a painting called El accidente.[6]

In 1974, Soriano met Polish dancer Marek Keller on a visit to Paris, introduced by writer Sergio Pitol. This was the beginning of an over thirty-year relationship. Soriano worked incessantly and cared only about his work, leaving the rest of his affairs in disorder. Keller stepped in to manage most of these and put some order in the artist's life. The two remained together, living in both Mexico City and Paris until Soriano's death.[3] Since then, Keller has worked to promote the artist's legacy in various parts of the world.[7]

Juan Soriano died in 2006 at the age of 85 at the Instituto Nacional de Nutrición Salvador Zubirán in Mexico City from multiple causes.[1]

Career

Jalisco artist sculpture Juan Soriano sculpture

Soriano began his career early in life and fame came early as well.[3] Soriano's work was first exhibited at the Guadalajara Museum, which led to his move to Mexico City in 1935. From 1936 to 1937 he studied at the Escuela Noctura de Arte para Obreros under Emilio Caero and Santos Balmori. Balmori helped him to be accepted into the Liga de Escritores y Artistas Revolucionarios (LEAR) and a small exhibition at the end of this course at the Palacio de Bellas Artes brought him to the attention of Inés Amor. However, he did not stay with LEAR for long, leaving in 1938 because he did not like its politics.[1][6]

His first individual exhibition was in 1936 at the

San Antonio. His last major exhibits before his death included the Centro Cultural Español de Cooperación Iberoamericana in Miami (2001), the Real Casa de Correos in Madrid (2002), the Meadows Museum and Southern Methodist University (2002), the Instituto Italo-Latino Americano in Rome (2003) and multiple exhibitions at the Instituto Mora in Mexico City (2005).[6]

La Paloma (The dove) in Monterrey

During his career, Soriano created a number of monumental sculptures which can be found in Mexico and Europe. These include El Toro at the Tomás Garrido Canabal Park in

National Auditorium in Mexico City (1993), La Sirena for Plaza Loreto in Mexico City (1994),[4] Dafne for the Arcos-Bosques Building (1995), Mano for the Herdez Group headquarters (1995), two sculptures for the Expo Hannover 2000 in Germany, six monumental sculptures for different parts of Mexico in 2003 and several of his works can be found in a park in Warsaw.[6][7]

Soriano dedicated much of his career from the 1930s to 1960s to the theater, starting as a child working with puppetry.[3] Much of this work was with a group he created with Jaime García Terrés, Leonora Carrington and others called Poesís en Voz Alta, noted by Carlos Monsiváis as a “liberating movement of the theater” in Mexico.[3][4] Most of this work was in set and costume design, such as for the Teatro del Sindicato de Electricistas, Teatro Orientación (with Celestino Gorostiza), El Caballito Theater and Teatro Sullivan.[3][6] In the 1940s he wrote and produced a ballet with Diego de Mesa called El pájaro y las doncellas, based on a painting by Carlos Mérida, with music by Carlos Jiménez Mabarak.[6]

Soriano began teaching art soon after his arrival to Mexico City, starting with the Escuela Primaria de Arte with the

Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes.[3][6]

La Paloma (Dove), sculpture located in Colima, Mexico

His affinity for poetry and association with many writers led to collaboration as an illustrator on a number of projects. In 1953 he illustrated the book Homenaje a Sor Juana edited by Juan José Arreola in the collection “Los Presentes.” In 1967 illustrated El Bestiario by Guillaume Apollinaire. In the 1979 he illustrated the cover of Octavio Paz's book Xavier Villarrutia en persona y en obra. In 1980 he created a collection of thirty two prints with text by Sergio Piton called El único argumento. In 1989 he began illustration for the book Antológico Animalía by Alfonso Reyes. In 2003 he illustrated La Fuerza del Destino by Julieta Campos and El Aguila o Sol by Octavio Paz.[6][8]

The artist has received numerous awards and other recognitions for his art and career during his lifetime and posthumously. In 1950 he received the first prize at the Salón de Invierno, and in 1957 he received the

CONACULTA in 2013.[5][8]

In 2004, shortly before his death, he founded with his partner the Fundación Juan Soriano and Marek Keller. Other institutions have been named after the artist such as the Galería Juan Soriano of Centro Nacional de las Artes and in 2012, the Juan Soriano Sculpting Prize was established.[9][10]

Artistry

UNAM
University Cultural Center, Mexico City.
Sculpture outside the Memory and Tolerance Museum, Mexico City

Classified as part of the second wave of the

Federico Cantú.[3] One notable series of portraits were those of model and novelist Lupe Marín in the 1960s.[4] Soriano stated that he did not believe that painting was an exact reflection of time or the artists, but rather a “form of intuition that goes beyond conscious life.”[4]

From 1951 to 1953 he was in Rome where he worked on ceramics with Chileans Piero and Andrea Cacella and in the 1960s began to create works in bronze as well.[6]

His graphic work is less known but he began creating them in 1944 and continued until 2001. In 1975, he received a commission to do graphic work at the Bramsen et Colt workshop in Paris, which caused him to divide his time between Paris and Mexico City. One notable series are interpretations of works by Juan Rulfo.[4][8]

In 2003, he worked on tapestry design with a death theme for the Gobelinos Workshop in Guadalajara.[6]

Juan Soriano Museum

The Museo Morelense de Arte Contemporáneo (MMAC) Juan Soriano opened on June 8, 2018, in Cuernavaca, Morelos.[11] The MMAC is a project by JSa Arquitectura led by the architect Javier Sánchez Corral. Its location links Amatitlán, an emblematic town of Cuernavaca whose origins date back 1500 years, to the Historic Center of Cuernavaca, enriching the urban experience. It is the largest exhibition space in the state of Morelos, distributed in two galleries for temporary exhibitions: Central Gallery and Cube, in addition to an Open Forum, a multidisciplinary space. The museum includes a library, a sculptural garden, and workshops for public programs.

The museum covers 4,455 square metres (47,950 sq ft) and was built at a cost of MXN $300 million (US$14.8 million).[12][13] It houses 1,200 works by Soriano, including sculptures, paintings, drawing, and photographs.

The museum has not been without controversy. Before it opened, a group called Coordinadora Morelense de Movimientos Ciudadanos (Morelense Coordinator of Citizen Movements) sued, claiming the projected cost of $195,000,000 pesos had increased to $300 million pesos. Also, they complained because the museum is designed to highlight the work of an artist from the western part of the country while ignoring local artists.[14][15] Then after the museum opened, members of the local artistic community complained that the new governor's choice of curator for the museum was based on politics (she had been the local animal control officer) rather than on qualifications.[16]

Selected works

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Tesoros del Registro Civil Salón de la Plástica Mexicana [Treasures of the Civil Registry Salón de la Plástica Mexicana] (in Spanish). Mexico: Government of Mexico City and CONACULTA. 2012. pp. 208–209.
  2. ^ a b c "Conaculta evoca a Juan Soriano a 93 años de su nacimiento" (in Spanish). Guadalajara: El Informador. August 18, 2013. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Teresa del Conde. "Rastros y efectos Juan Soriano. Una semblanza". Revista Electrónica Imágenes (in Spanish). Mexico City: Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas-UNAM. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  4. ^
    ISBN 968-6258-56-6
    .
  5. ^ a b c d "Juan Soriano, niño permanente, sin años, malicioso, desamparado: Octavio Paz" (Press release) (in Spanish). Mexico: CONACULTA. August 17, 2013. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Biografía" (in Spanish). Mexico City: Fundacion Juan Soriano y Marek Keller. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  7. ^ a b "Un jardín escultórico para Soriano en Varsovia" (in Spanish). Guadalajara: El Informador. January 6, 2009. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  8. ^ a b c Juan Carlos Talavera (2012). "Expondrán obra gráfica de Juan Soriano" (in Spanish). Mexico City: Crónica. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  9. ^ "Galería Juan Soriano" (in Spanish). Mexico City: CENART. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  10. ^ "Entregan I Premio de Escultura Juan Soriano" (in Spanish). Guadalajara: El Informador. July 30, 2012. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  11. ^ "El Museo Morelense de Arte Contemporáneo Juan Soriano arrancará actividades el 8 de junio". www.eluniversal.com.mx. 6 June 2018. Retrieved Dec 23, 2018.
  12. ^ "Se abre al público el Museo Morelense de Arte Contemporáneo (MMAC) "Juan Soriano" en Cuernavaca". www.milenio.com. 6 July 2018. Retrieved Dec 23, 2018.
  13. ^ "Arte y vida cotidiana | Arquine". www.arquine.com. 11 June 2018. Retrieved Dec 23, 2018.
  14. ^ "Presentará la Coordinadora Morelense denuncia por presunto desvío en construcción del museo Juan Soriano – Zona Centro Noticias". www.zonacentronoticias.com. Retrieved Dec 23, 2018.
  15. ^ https://www.pressreader.com/mexico/la-jornada/20180321/282149291849770. Retrieved Dec 23, 2018 – via PressReader. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)[title missing]
  16. ^ "Inician campaña por Museo Juan Soriano". www.eleconomista.com.mx. Retrieved Dec 23, 2018.
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