Juan T. Vazquez Martin - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Juan T. Vázquez Martín, is an abstract painter who was born on December 23, 1941 in Caibarién

Caibarién

Caibarién is a municipality city in the Villa Clara province of Cuba.Caibarien is known as "La Villa Blanca" for its sands and beaches. They are famous for their "Parrandas" along with Remedios and Camajuani.-History:The town was founded on October 26, 1832 from a map designed by Estratón Bauza...

, Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

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A Cuban painter

Cuban Art

Cuban art is a very diverse cultural blend of African, European and North American design reflecting the diverse demographic of the island. Cuban artists embraced European modernism and the early part of the 20th century saw a growth in Cuban vanguardism movements, these movements were...

who lives and works in Havana

Havana

Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

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Member of the Writer and Artists Union of Cuba (UNEAC).

Member of International Association of Art (AIAP).

Vazquez Martin was elected President and Vice-President of the Painting section of the Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) several times, in recognition of ‘his valour in defending contemporary painting in Cuba’, an office he held from 1989 to 1998.

This painter is among the Cuban abstract painters masters. His work is held in a number of prestigious collections of national and international institutions including UNESCO International Association of Art (AIAP) in Paris, the Spanish Office of the European Economic Community, New York and the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana, Cuba.

As a teacher this Cuban painter has a good pedagogy technique. He teaches with an infinite source of creative classes to introduce and stimulate the students interest to the art of painting, its history and appreciation. Vazquez Martin believes that artists should know well the world where they live and how art has contributed to its development as well as its present influence and importance for the future.

Biography

Juan T. Vazquez Martin is among of the great Cuban masters of painting; he is also considered to be one of Cuba’s leading abstract painters. Through dedication to artistic freedom he has played a seminal role in keeping abstract art alive in Cuba. The so called Grey Period or El Quinquenio Gris in Cuban culture, between 1970–1976, seriously undermined abstract art and indeed experimentation in all areas of the arts in Cuba. Art was seen as a useful propaganda tool and whilst no artist was forbidden to work in a certain way, only those artists whose work conformed to what was considered acceptable were supported. Many artists left the country. Juan T. Vazquez Martin’s refusal to leave Cuba and his steadfast commitment to his personal artistic vision exacted a heavy economic and personal cost, losing him official patronage and promotion. His courageous maintenance of his artistic vision in the face of real hardship has nevertheless enabled him to develop a unique style of painting which now has had a profound influence on the new generation of young Cuban artists.

He has been Director of a number of Schools of Visual Arts in Cuba and has taught various well known Cuban artists including Flora Fong (exhibited in London 2007), Gabriel Gutierrez, Nasario Salazar, Oscar Rodriguez Laseria and Joel Jover.

At the age of 16 he won a prestigious and highly competitive scholarship to the Academia Leopoldo Romañach in Santa Clara, renowned as the most progressive art school in Cuba at that time. His art has been influenced by his close friendship with the renowned Cuban painters Hugo Consuega and Tapia Ruano, but over the years he has developed his own and unique style of painting.

The Cuban painter and critic Manuel López Oliva writes

'Looking at Juan Vázquez Martín's paintings, what is immediately recognisable, is the Renaissance concept of 'the window', the dissolution of forms discovered by Kandinski, as well as the sense of textural beauty introduced by the contemporary painters of the matière school.

In essence, this involves a private display that allows the artist to make a series of paintings on canvas or cartridge paper, revealing to the viewer an ensemble of optical sensations that reflect the internal world of the artist.

We should not forget - because it was forgotten during the period of aesthetic and generational reductionism of the 80s - that Vázquez Martín was a direct heir, in the 60s, of the national abstract movement of the 50s.

Nor should we lose sight of the fact that Juan Vázquez Martín, even when beleaguered in his career, never deviated from his artistic logic - a logic that kept alive and active non-representational forms of plastic art. He used the criterion of symbiotic expression by joining figurative and abstract elements in his overall scheme of things, coalescing them into ectoplasmatic forms, almost veils, that distinguished him in the Cuban canon of painters of the late 60s and early 70s. This distinguishing feature of his artistic personality is revealed in simply 'beautiful paintings' - it should be no crime to say so! - paintings in which perceptions of the environment are blended with intimate poetry.

Trying to define Vázquez Martín's works of art, applying a label to his paintings from one period to another, is almost impossible, save for a tendency towards 'abstract' painting; if pressed, you might call them 'lyric' or 'art autre', 'post' or 'neo' colour paintings.

His style is a skilful blend of the organic with geometry, of order with dissonance, of precise vision with suggestion. It is a whole language in itself, sincretic, and bearing a strong current of delight springing from the possibilities that he coaxes from the materials, methods and tools he uses to work with, the very keys to his paintings.

Critique by Manuel López Oliva, Cuban Painter and Art Critic, 1996. Translated by Marigold Best and Rayner Reissenberger.

Critique by Cristina Burke-Trees, Gallery Terracina director, England

"Juan T. Vazquez Martin is an artists Artist. His paintings are unquestionably of exquisite high standard, very beautiful and complete. As we say here in England, he is an artists Artist. This means in general, that only people that are used to look at art and are reasonably well educated understand the depth of his skill and complexity of his work. "

Gallery Terracina
Haven Banks, Canal Basin,
Exeter EX2

http://www.artterracina.co.uk/Welcome.html

Charges and Formation

1963-1977 Founder, director and professor in different schools of Fine Arts.
1989-1998 Several times Painting section President or Vice-President in the Visual Arts Association of Writers and Artists Union of Cuba (UNEAC).
In 1957 he was granted a scholarship to study Visual Arts. In 1962, he was invited to participate in the São Paulo, VI Biennial, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. In 1963 he graduated as a teacher of Drawing and Painting, and in 1990 as a specialist in Silk Screen.

Personal exhibitions (resume)

2011 Opening Roads, Domingo Padron Gallery, Miami, United States
2009 Solo Exhibition dedicated to the 50 Anniversary of Cuba Revolution, Time Gallery, Vienna, Austria
2009 Solo Che Guevara Exhibition for the 50 Anniversary of Cuba Revolution, as part of the Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday
-Events :* Bloody Sunday , a demonstration in London, England against British repression in Ireland* Bloody Sunday , a day of high casualties in the Second Boer War, South Africa...

37 Anniversary Events in Derry
Derry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...

, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

, UK.

2008 Exhibition and lecture, Vienna, Austria
2008 Open Studio, Derry, Northern Ireland, UK
2005 Returning home, Caibarien gallery, Cuba
2005 ‘Abstractions in Havana Centre’, homage exhibition to Vazquez Martin by Culture Havana Centre, Chine Tradition House, Havana City, Cuba
2004 Exhibition in Mazorca, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

City, México
2004- Three ways of Abstraction, Art Plastic provincial council Gallery, Santa Clara, Cuba
2000 “Show in Blue”, Nelson Museum
Nelson Museum
The Monmouth Museum, formerly the Nelson Museum, is a museum in Monmouth, Monmouthshire, south east Wales and which features a collection of artifacts associated with Admiral Horatio Nelson...

, Monmouth, Wales, Great Britain.

Collective exhibitions (resume)

2010 'La Otra Realidad'(The other reality), anthology of the Abstract Painting in Cuba, Fine Art National Museum, Havana, Cuba.
2008 Farewell Gallery Terracina, Exeter, Devon, UK
2008 'The book of lost things', Gallery Terracina, Exeter, Devon, UK.
2007 Cinco pintores abstractos, Villa Manuela gallery, Havana, Cuba.
2006-2007 His paintings have been exhibit at Gallery Terracina, Exeter, England.
2006 Un son para Nicolas, Villa Manuela gallery, Havana, Cuba.
2004 Exhibition of Cuban and Mexican artists, Cuban embassy, Mexico.
2004 Abstraction Masters in Cuba, La Acacia Gallery, Ciudad Habana, Cuba
2003 Alive abstraction, VIII Bienal de la Habana, Galeria en el CENCREM, Habana Vieja, Cuba
2003 “Cuban Painters”, Cuban Festival, London Hilton on Park Lane.
2003 and 2002 “Cuban Contemporary Painting”, La Acacia gallery, Havana City, Cuba.
2002 'Cuban Paintings', Hilton Hotel of Park Lane, London.
2002 'Cuban Paintings', Southampton University.
2002 Collective exhibition in Trail Artists Colony, Tampa, Florida, USA.
2001 "Cuban Painting", Cuba 513 Gallery, Madrid, Spain.
2001 "Cuban Painting", several galleries, Italy.
2000 England Exhibitions at: Taurus Craft, Lydney, , Parkfield Gallery, Pontshill, Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucester, Artists Corner, Chepstow, Gloucestershire.
1999 “Cuban Painting Today”, Museum Josefina Gallery, Managua, Nicaragua.
1999 “Alive Abstraction”, Wifredo Lam Centre, Havana, Cuba.
1997 Silence Paintings, VI Biennial of Havana, La Acacia Gallery, Havana, Cuba
1995 “Cuban Painters”, Social Development Summit and Head of States Meeting, Copenhague, Denmark.
1995 “Cuban Art”, Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

and Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

, and in Sun Door Fair, Madrid, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

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1994 “A vision of Cuban Painting today”, Santiago de Chile, Chile.
1993 “Madrid House Fair”, Barcelona, Spain.
1992 Cuban stand of the World’s Fair, in Seville, Spain.
1990 “Cuban Painting Today”, Duris de Samos Gallery, Madrid, Spain.
1989 Contemporary Cuban Art, Westbeth Gallery, New York, USA.
1988 “Cuban Painting Exhibition”, travelling exhibition for different cities of Spain.
1987 I Biennial of Painting “Jaume Guash Foundation”, Barcelona, Spain.
1986 VI Triennial of India, (New Delhi,).
1985 He participated in International Prize for Drawing Joan Miró
Joan Miró
Joan Miró i Ferrà was a Spanish Catalan painter, sculptor, and ceramicist born in Barcelona.Earning international acclaim, his work has been interpreted as Surrealism, a sandbox for the subconscious mind, a re-creation of the childlike, and a manifestation of Catalan pride...

, Barcelona, Spain.
1984, 1986 VII and VIII Biennial, Kosice, Czechoslovakia.
1976 Modern Cuban Painting, La Tertulia Museum, Cali, Colombia.
1972 “Chile-Cuba”, Culture Institute. Santiago de Chile.
1970, 1971 “The IX International Prize for Drawing Joan Miró”, Barcelona, Spain.
1970, ‘70 Salon’, Fine Art National Museum, Havana City, Cuba.

Prizes and Mentions

1997 First Prize,”WineArt 97” Competition, label for the first grape Cuban wine, Fantinel S.A. and W.S.D Italian Companies, Havana, Cuba.
1988 First Prize and Especial Prize, “July 26” Competition, Revolution’s Museum, Havana, Cuba.
1987 Especial Prize of Painting, I Biennial “Jaume Guash”, Spain.
1986 “13 March” First Prize of Drawing, Havana University, Havana, Cuba.
1976 First Prize of Painting,, National Salon de Plastics Art, Ministry of Culture, Matanzas Gallery, Matanzas, Cuba.
1970 Painting Acquisition Prize, “Salon 70’ of Plastic Art”, Fine Art National Museum, Havana, Cuba.
1969 Drawing Prize, National Salon of Plastics Art, U.N.E.A.C., San Rafael International Gallery, Havana, Cuba.
1968 Painting Prize, National Salon U.N.E.A.C of Plastic Art., National Museum de Fine Art, Havana, Cuba.
1965 First Prize of Painting, Province Salon “ 26 de Julio”, Santa Clara City, Las Villas, Cuba.

Principal Collections that exhibit or store his works

_National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.
_ "La Acacia" Gallery, Havana, Cuba.
_ National Union of Cuban Writers and Artists (UNEAC).
_ UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

Collection, Paris, France.
_ Spain Office of the European Economic Community, New York, USA.
_ Latin-American Art Collection of the Essex University, UECLAA, England.
_Gallery Terracina, Exeter, England
_Also, his paintings are in different national and international institutions, as in private collections in Cuba and abroad.