Juan González

Juan González (January 12, 1942 – December 24, 1993) was an important twentieth-century Cuban-American painter who rose to international fame in the 1970s and remained active until his death in the 1990s. Born in Cuba, González launched his art career in South Florida during the early 1970s and quickly gained recognition in New York City, where he subsequently relocated in 1972. While in New York González won several fine art awards, including the National Endowment of the Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts grant, and the Cintas Fellowship. González's art known is for its distinctive hyperrealism and magical realism elements delivered in a highly personal style with symbolic overtones. His work has been widely exhibited throughout the United States as well as internationally in Europe, Latin America, and Japan. He is included in the permanent collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, The Carnegie Museum of Art, and Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.

Life and career Early life Juan González was born in Camaguey, Cuba, in 1942. He spent his early life in Cuba until fleeing to the United States in 1961 as a part of the Cuban exile resulting from the Cuban Revolution. González initially resided in Knoxville, Tennessee before relocating the following year to Miami where he joined other exiled Cuban artists and members of the Cuban diaspora. González then enrolled in the University of Miami where he initially studied architecture before transferring to fine art in 1966 where he won a Kennedy Scholarship.

1970s: Rise to fame In the late 1960s, while González attended University of Miami, he was taught the airbrush painting technique by fellow Cuban artist and then-neighbor Baruj Salinas, which González then used to achieve the large-scale Realism style that would soon gain him recognition by leading art institutions. 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. In 1969, Salinas introduced González to art figures Marta and Jesús Permuy. That same year, González won the Lowe Museum's 1971 Ward Award and in November participated in the Miami Art Center's Thirty-Three Miami Painters exhibition, which precipitated González's discovery and move from Miami the following year. 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. 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.

After having established himself in New York, in 1974 González exhibited in The 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. 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 the Cintas Fellowship (1974, 1976) and also became a professor of fine art at the School of Visual Arts.

González also remained connected with his ex-wife, Josefina Camacho, her second husband Marcos Pinedo, and Marta Permuy who had each become major fine art collectors and dealers in the region. 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. González would become one of the Miami Generation's most recognizable figures. In the mid-1980s, González exhibited in the Smithsonian Institution (1985–87) and won three consecutive New York Foundation for the Arts grants (1984–87). His funeral was held in Church of the Little Flower, a prominent regional landmark in Coral Gables, where Gonzalez's art career began. (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.

Style González became known during the rise of the Hyperrealism movement in New York City during the 1970s. As such, he is known for creating paintings and collages that ranged from realism and fantasy. He is therefore often categorized as a Magical Realist. 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. Gonzalez's medium's included airbrush, oil, and acrylic paint as well as color pencil to facilitate his focused detailing.

Awards

1991, 1985, 1980 National Endowment for the Arts

Exhibitions

Select Solo Exhibitions:

1997 “Juan Gonzalez: Enchanted Visions,” Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale, Florida Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida Pinedo Collection, Miami, Florida