Pedro Álvarez Castelló
Encyclopedia
Pedro Reinaldo Álvarez Castelló (February 9, 1967 – February 12, 2004) was a Cuban artist who rose to prominence during Cuba's Special Period
.
.
He married a Cuban woman and had a child. When he wasn't travelling to promote his work, he divided his time between Málaga, Spain and Havana. According to John Becker, the attorney designated by Arizona State University
to help distribute Álvarez's work after his death, Álvarez and his wife later divorced, then they each married Spanish spouses with the intention of eventually divorcing their new spouses and remarrying each other.
On February 12, 2004, Álvarez died after jumping out of the fifth-floor window of a hotel in Tempe, Arizona
just five days after the beginning of a major solo exhibition of his work, "Landscape in the Fireplace," at the Arizona State University Art Museum. Police found no evidence of drug or alcohol use. He didn't leave a suicide note, and his death was a shock to people who had spoken with him just hours before.
in Havana
, the Museo Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo in Seville, Spain, the Arizona State University Art Museum
in Tempe
, Arizona
, the Museum of Art in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and the Museo de la Universidad de Alicante in Alicante
, Spain. He produced more than eight personal exhibitions in Cuba and Spain and more than 40 collective exhibitions in Germany, Canada, Spain, England and the United States.
ASU Art Museum director Marilyn Zeitlin said Álvarez's work "addresses questions of importance not only for Cubans and those interested in that work and place, but issues of perennial and global concern including colonialism and ways in which we perpetuate colonialism without even being aware of it."
Much of his work utilized a juxtaposition of pop culture references, such as clippings from The Simpsons
comic books, against traditional Cuban images, such as 19th century peasants and troubadours. Describing his creative process, Álvarez said, "The iconography in my paintings is a collage of found images. Clips from art catalogues, magazines, books, old postcards, bank notes are intuitively collected and stocked for some time until they are used, in a more or less fragmentary way, as backgrounds, characters or plain referents. It is a process very close to the one described in Freud's studies on jokes. I have to be "half way through" those clips and into the realm of ideas, concerns and intuitions. From that tension, the new ideas are born. The execution phase has its own rhythm and tensions, but in a general sense, the majority of the important decisions has already been taken before painting starts."
Among his personal exhibitions were "Exposición de Paisajes", Galería de Arte Universal, Trinidad, Sancti Spíritus, Cuba (1985), and "Spanish Paintings and Nuevo Arte Suizo. Pedro Álvarez_Ezequiel Suárez", Espacio Aglutinador, Havana. He also took part in many group exhibitions, including "Arte Cubano en Boston", Massachusetts College of Art (1988); "Misa por una Mueca". VIII Bienal Internacional de Humorismo, Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, Havana (1993); the Internationale Grafick Biennale, Maastricht Exhibition and Congress Center, Maastricht; the II" Bienal de Pintura del Caribe y Centro América", Museo de Arte Moderno, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (1994).
Special Period
The Special Period in Time of Peace in Cuba was an extended period of economic crisis that began in 1991 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and, by extension, the Comecon. The economic depression of the Special Period was at its most severe in the early-to-mid 1990s before slightly declining...
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Biography
Álvarez was a native of Havana, Cuba. He studied art at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes “San Alejandro” from 1980 to 1985 and the Instituto Superior Pedagógico Enrique José Varona from 1986 to 1991. He was a member of the National Union of Writers and Artists of CubaNational Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba
The National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba is a social, cultural and professional organization of writers, musicians, actors, painters, sculptors, and artist of different genres. It was founded on August 22, 1961, by the Cuban poet, Nicolas Guillen...
.
He married a Cuban woman and had a child. When he wasn't travelling to promote his work, he divided his time between Málaga, Spain and Havana. According to John Becker, the attorney designated by Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
to help distribute Álvarez's work after his death, Álvarez and his wife later divorced, then they each married Spanish spouses with the intention of eventually divorcing their new spouses and remarrying each other.
On February 12, 2004, Álvarez died after jumping out of the fifth-floor window of a hotel in Tempe, Arizona
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2010 population of 161,719. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in the East Valley section of metropolitan Phoenix; it is bordered by Phoenix and Guadalupe on the west, Scottsdale...
just five days after the beginning of a major solo exhibition of his work, "Landscape in the Fireplace," at the Arizona State University Art Museum. Police found no evidence of drug or alcohol use. He didn't leave a suicide note, and his death was a shock to people who had spoken with him just hours before.
Work
Álvarez's paintings are shown in museums around the world, including the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La HabanaMuseo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana
The National Museum of Fine Arts of Havana in Havana, Cuba is a museum of Fine Arts that exhibits Cuban art collections from the colonial times up to contemporary generations. It was founded on February 23, 1913 due to the efforts of its first director, Emilio Heredia, a well-known architect...
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...
, the Museo Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo in Seville, Spain, the Arizona State University Art Museum
Arizona State University Art Museum
The Arizona State University Art Museum is an art museum operated by Arizona State University, located on its main campus in Tempe, Arizona. The Art Museum has some 12,000 objects in its permanent collection and describes its primary focuses as contemporary art, including new media and "innovative...
in Tempe
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2010 population of 161,719. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in the East Valley section of metropolitan Phoenix; it is bordered by Phoenix and Guadalupe on the west, Scottsdale...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, the Museum of Art in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and the Museo de la Universidad de Alicante in Alicante
Alicante
Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest...
, Spain. He produced more than eight personal exhibitions in Cuba and Spain and more than 40 collective exhibitions in Germany, Canada, Spain, England and the United States.
ASU Art Museum director Marilyn Zeitlin said Álvarez's work "addresses questions of importance not only for Cubans and those interested in that work and place, but issues of perennial and global concern including colonialism and ways in which we perpetuate colonialism without even being aware of it."
Much of his work utilized a juxtaposition of pop culture references, such as clippings from The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
comic books, against traditional Cuban images, such as 19th century peasants and troubadours. Describing his creative process, Álvarez said, "The iconography in my paintings is a collage of found images. Clips from art catalogues, magazines, books, old postcards, bank notes are intuitively collected and stocked for some time until they are used, in a more or less fragmentary way, as backgrounds, characters or plain referents. It is a process very close to the one described in Freud's studies on jokes. I have to be "half way through" those clips and into the realm of ideas, concerns and intuitions. From that tension, the new ideas are born. The execution phase has its own rhythm and tensions, but in a general sense, the majority of the important decisions has already been taken before painting starts."
Among his personal exhibitions were "Exposición de Paisajes", Galería de Arte Universal, Trinidad, Sancti Spíritus, Cuba (1985), and "Spanish Paintings and Nuevo Arte Suizo. Pedro Álvarez_Ezequiel Suárez", Espacio Aglutinador, Havana. He also took part in many group exhibitions, including "Arte Cubano en Boston", Massachusetts College of Art (1988); "Misa por una Mueca". VIII Bienal Internacional de Humorismo, Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, Havana (1993); the Internationale Grafick Biennale, Maastricht Exhibition and Congress Center, Maastricht; the II" Bienal de Pintura del Caribe y Centro América", Museo de Arte Moderno, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (1994).
Influences
- Diego VelázquezDiego VelázquezDiego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez was a Spanish painter who was the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period, important as a portrait artist...
- Mark TanseyMark TanseyMark Tansey is an American postmodern painter best known for monochromatic works, elaborate paintings incorporating hidden text, images and symbols and his invented "color wheel" approach to painting, in which a large, wooden wheel consisting of three rows of ambiguous words is spun—the results...
- Ed Rucha
- Victor Patricio Landaluze
- Sandro ChiaSandro ChiaSandro Chia is an Italian painter and sculptor.A native of Florence, he was a key member of the Italian Transavanguardia movement, along with fellow countrymen Francesco Clemente, Mimmo Paladino, Nicola De Maria, and Enzo Cucchi....
Peers
- Antonio Eligio Fernandez
- Saidel Brito
- Sandra Ramos
- KchoKchoKcho , Born Alexis Leyva Machado on the Isla de Pinos is a contemporary Cuban artist. Kcho has had art showings around the world. He first attracted international attention by winning the grand prize at South Korea's Kwangju Biennial in 1995.Kcho was born in Nueva Gerona, Cuba, in 1970...
- Carlos Estévez
- Belkis AyónBelkis AyónBelkis Ayón Manso was a Cuban artist and lithographer. Her work was based on Afro-Cuban religion, combining the myth of Sikan and the traditions of the Abakuá, a men's secret society, though her work was often thought to reflect her personal issues as well. Her work began exhibition in 1988, and...
- Luís GómezLuis GómezLuis Oswaldo Gómez Cáceres , nicknamed "El Chino" is a retired Ecuadorian footballer.He played mostly for Barcelona Guayaquil, Deportivo Quito and for LDU Quito. In Argentina, he played in Ferro Carril Oeste.He played for the Ecuador national football team and was a participant at the 2002 FIFA...
- René FranciscoRené FranciscoRené Francisco was born in 1960 . He is an important contemporary artist in Havana. He first came at the ISA as a student in 1977, graduated in 1982 and studied until 1989, before becoming a professor ever since...
- Abel Barroso
- Fernando RodríguezFernando RodríguezFernando Rodríguez may refer to:*Fernando Rodríguez de Castro , Castilian nobleman*Fernando E. Rodríguez Vargas, dentist, scientist and army major*Fernando Rodriguez , American baseball pitcher*Freddy Rodríguez...
- Osvaldo Yero
- Asterio Segura