Manuel Felguérez
Encyclopedia
Manuel Felguérez Aspe is a Mexican
abstract art
ist.
. At the time, in the wake of the Mexican Revolution
, there were still uprisings by small guerrillas and land ownership was nothing less than chaotic. Having to defend their land by way of armed force, the family decided, for safety reasons, to move to Mexico City
where his father died a year later.
In 1947 he traveled to Europe
where he had his first real and meaningful contact with art. He returned to Mexico and enrolled at the Academia de San Carlos but could not fit in with the program so he decided to go back to France
. In Paris
he started studying at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière
under the famous Russian sculptor Ossip Zadkine
. During his time in Paris he met the painter Lilia Carrillo who would become his wife in 1960. He went back to Mexico City in 1951 to study at the Escuela de Pintura y Escultura La Esmeralda under the direction of Francisco Zúñiga
, but once again returned to France in 1954 with the help of a grant that the French Government awarded him to study at the Académie Colarossi
. It was that same year that he had his first solo exhibition.
He was a professor at Cornell University
, at the Universidad Iberoamericana
, member of the Comite de Artistas e Intelectuales of the student movement of 1968, and professor of Design and Investigacion Visual at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). In the early 1960s Felguérez was commissioned to make more than 30 murals for public and private institutions. According to writer Octavio Paz
"Manuel Felguérez created a new muralism movement
where painting is joined with sculpture". Charging as little as possible to survive Felguérez created all those works in an effort to be recognized nationally and internationally as an artist. When his strategy finally paid off he closed the workshop and opened a studio to focus on painting.
In 1974, five years after suffering an aneurysm
which left her paralyzed, his wife Lilia died. The widower would later remarry the ex wife of Juan García Ponce
, Mercedes Oteyza.
He was inducted to the Academia de las Artes in 1973 and received the Grand Prize at the XIII Biennial in Sao Paolo in 1975, the same year he was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship
while he worked as an investigator at Harvard University
. He received the Premio Nacional de las Artes in 1988 and in 1993 he was named Emeritus Creator by President
Carlos Salinas
.
In 1998 the Museo de Arte Abstracto Manuel Felguérez was opened in Zacatecas to display works donated by the artist and his wife a year before. This institution now houses more than 100 works by Felguérez as well as works by more than 110 other artists from every part of the world. The murals that Felguérez made for the Mexican Pavilion at the Osaka
World's Exhibition of 1970 are part of the Museum' collection.
Manuel Felguérez, avid collector of all sorts of objects, taxidermist, anthropologist, teacher, investigator and master artist returned to his home in Valparaíso, Zacatecas, 60 years after his family fled the Hacienda. This time he was invited to visit the Casa de la Cultura that was named in his honor. He lives and works to this day in his homes in Mexico City
and Puerto Vallarta
.
Mexican art
Mexican art consists of the various visual and plastic arts which developed over the geographical area now known as Mexico. The development of these arts roughly follow the history of Mexico, divided into the Mesoamerican era, the colonial period, with the period after the gaining of Independence...
abstract art
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
ist.
Biography
Felguérez was born at the Hacienda de San Agustin del Vergel, in the town of Valparaíso, ZacatecasValparaíso, Zacatecas
Valparaíso is a town in the north central Mexican state of Zacatecas. It is located at on the interior plateau, 70 mi/113 km E of Zacatecas, at an elevation of 6200 ft/1890m...
. At the time, in the wake of the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
, there were still uprisings by small guerrillas and land ownership was nothing less than chaotic. Having to defend their land by way of armed force, the family decided, for safety reasons, to move to Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
where his father died a year later.
In 1947 he traveled to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
where he had his first real and meaningful contact with art. He returned to Mexico and enrolled at the Academia de San Carlos but could not fit in with the program so he decided to go back to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. In Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
he started studying at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière
Académie de la Grande Chaumière
The Académie de la Grande Chaumière is an art school in the VIe arrondissement of Paris, France. The school was founded in 1902 by the Swiss Martha Stettler , who refused to teach the strict academic rules of painting of the École des Beaux-Arts. It opened the way to the "Art Indépendant"...
under the famous Russian sculptor Ossip Zadkine
Ossip Zadkine
Ossip Zadkine was a Belarusian-born artist who lived in France. He is primarily known as a sculptor, but also produced paintings and lithographs.-Early years and career:...
. During his time in Paris he met the painter Lilia Carrillo who would become his wife in 1960. He went back to Mexico City in 1951 to study at the Escuela de Pintura y Escultura La Esmeralda under the direction of Francisco Zúñiga
Francisco Zúñiga
thumbJosé Jesús Francisco Zúñiga Chavarría was a Costa Rican and Mexican artist, known both for his painting and his sculpture...
, but once again returned to France in 1954 with the help of a grant that the French Government awarded him to study at the Académie Colarossi
Académie Colarossi
The Académie Colarossi is an art school founded by the Italian sculptor Filippo Colarossi. First located on the Île de la Cité, it moved in the 1870s to 10 rue de la Grande-Chaumière in the VIe arrondissement of Paris, France....
. It was that same year that he had his first solo exhibition.
He was a professor at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, at the Universidad Iberoamericana
Universidad Iberoamericana
The Ibero-American University is a Mexican private institution of higher education sponsored by the Society of Jesus...
, member of the Comite de Artistas e Intelectuales of the student movement of 1968, and professor of Design and Investigacion Visual at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). In the early 1960s Felguérez was commissioned to make more than 30 murals for public and private institutions. According to writer Octavio Paz
Octavio Paz
Octavio Paz Lozano was a Mexican writer, poet, and diplomat, and the winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize for Literature.-Early life and writings:...
"Manuel Felguérez created a new muralism movement
Mexican murals
Mexican murals are an important part of Mexican culture and history. Murals have been used for political, social, environmental, and cultural representation.-Mayans and Aztecs:...
where painting is joined with sculpture". Charging as little as possible to survive Felguérez created all those works in an effort to be recognized nationally and internationally as an artist. When his strategy finally paid off he closed the workshop and opened a studio to focus on painting.
In 1974, five years after suffering an aneurysm
Aneurysm
An aneurysm or aneurism is a localized, blood-filled balloon-like bulge in the wall of a blood vessel. Aneurysms can commonly occur in arteries at the base of the brain and an aortic aneurysm occurs in the main artery carrying blood from the left ventricle of the heart...
which left her paralyzed, his wife Lilia died. The widower would later remarry the ex wife of Juan García Ponce
Juan García Ponce
Juan García Ponce was a Mexican novelist, short-story writer, essayist, translator and critic of Mexican art.-Life and works:...
, Mercedes Oteyza.
He was inducted to the Academia de las Artes in 1973 and received the Grand Prize at the XIII Biennial in Sao Paolo in 1975, the same year he was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
while he worked as an investigator at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. He received the Premio Nacional de las Artes in 1988 and in 1993 he was named Emeritus Creator by President
President of Mexico
The President of the United Mexican States is the head of state and government of Mexico. Under the Constitution, the president is also the Supreme Commander of the Mexican armed forces...
Carlos Salinas
Carlos Salinas
Carlos Salinas de Gortari is a Mexican economist and politician affiliated to the Institutional Revolutionary Party who served as President of Mexico from 1988 to 1994. Earlier in his career he worked in the Budget Secretariat all the way up to Secretary...
.
In 1998 the Museo de Arte Abstracto Manuel Felguérez was opened in Zacatecas to display works donated by the artist and his wife a year before. This institution now houses more than 100 works by Felguérez as well as works by more than 110 other artists from every part of the world. The murals that Felguérez made for the Mexican Pavilion at the Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
World's Exhibition of 1970 are part of the Museum' collection.
Manuel Felguérez, avid collector of all sorts of objects, taxidermist, anthropologist, teacher, investigator and master artist returned to his home in Valparaíso, Zacatecas, 60 years after his family fled the Hacienda. This time he was invited to visit the Casa de la Cultura that was named in his honor. He lives and works to this day in his homes in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
and Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta is a Mexican balneario resort city situated on the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas.The 2010 census reported Puerto Vallarta's population as 255,725 making it the sixth-largest city in the state of Jalisco...
.