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. Starting in childhood, he began to call himself Juan Soriano, preferring the maternal surname of his father. He described his family of origin as “eccentric.”

Soriano was a child prodigy, and in 1933, his sister introduced him to painter Alfonso Michel Martínez, who taught him current modes of Expressionist and 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.

At this time, Soriano 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. However, the time there 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.

The first exhibition of Soriano's work allowed him to meet artists such as José Chávez Morado, Lola Álvarez Bravo and María Izquierdo, who encouraged him to move to Mexico City, which he did in 1935 at the age of fifteen, along with his sister Martha. In 2004, shortly before Soriano's death, they founded the Fundación Juan Soriano and Marek Keller.

Soriano died in 2006 at the age of 85 at the Salvador Zubirán National Institute of Health Sciences and Nutrition in Mexico City from multiple causes.

Career

Soriano began his career early in life and fame came early as well.

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.

Artistry Bird Sculpture XIII of Juan Soriano, UNAM University Cultural Center, Mexico City.

Classified as part of the second wave of the Mexican muralism movement, Soriano's work include painting, sculpture, ceramics, graphic works, illustrations, tapestries and set and costume design for works such as those by Eugène Ionesco, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Francisco de Quevedo, Juan Ibáñez and others. His work was highly prized by various writers including Octavio Paz, Carlos Pellicer and Elena Ponatowska, with art critic Luis Cardoza y Aragón quoted as saying he was “a poet, profound painter of visual parables.” In 1998 Elena Poniatowska published the book Juan Soriano, niño de mil años. In 1999 the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana held a retrospective.

In 2000, a collection of his monumental sculptures were placed on display at the Zócalo in Mexico City for his 80th birthday. In 2001, Arturo Ripstein filmed a biography of Soriano called “Fecit-Dixit.” In 2004, he was made an officer in France's Legion of Honour, and in 2005 he received the Premio de Excelencia Universal, the Premio Velázquez de Artes Plásticas from the government of Spain, a gold medal from the Palacio de Bellas Artes and an honorary doctorate from the Universidad de Colima. His last award while alive was the Order of Merit from the Polish government. a retrospective by the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in 2006, a retrospective at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana in 2012 and a tribute sponsored by CONACULTA in 2013.

Juan Soriano Museum The Museo Morelense de Arte Contemporáneo Juan Soriano (MMAC) opened on June 8, 2018, in Cuernavaca, Morelos. 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 and was built at a cost of MXN $300 million . It houses 1,200 works by Soriano, including sculptures, paintings, drawing, and photographs. The museum also houses Soriano's library and documents. 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.

Selected works The moon, sculpture outside the National Auditorium in Mexico City La Paloma, in Colima and Monterrey La Capilla del Rosario in Mexico City