Julio U. Alpuy

Julio Uruguay Alpuy (January 27, 1919 – April 5, 2009) was an Uruguayan painter, sculptor, and muralist. During his early career, Alpuy was a part of the Taller Torres-García (School of the South) and the constructive art movement. While his early works were greatly influenced by Torres-García's theories about what he called Constructive Universalism, Alpuy drew from a wide variety of cultures and myths to create works that broke the boundaries of the constructive grid. Additionally, his studies in Europe and Latin America helped develop an interest in Cubism and myths that influenced later works. Alpuy had a prolific career and his works are exhibited throughout the world.

Biography Alpuy was born in Tacuarembó, Uruguay, the capital of the Tacuarembó department in northern Uruguay, on January 27, 1919, to Sixto Alpuy and Virginia Bevans. When Alpuy was 18 months old his mother died, so he was raised by his paternal grandmother and aunts.

While in Montevideo, Alpuy became friends with members the Libertarian Youth (Juventudes Libertarias). Alpuy attributes these years in association with the Juventudes Libertarias to have helped further his understandings of freedom, justice, and respect. During these early years, Alpuy had little to no interaction with art. He taught his students how to create with various mediums including stone, wood, and clay, as well as the theory of Constructive Universalism. Torres-García hoped to construct a universally understandable form of art that transcended the bounds of time and culture. He composed his works through the use of a grid or as he called it "structure" whose proportions were set with the geometry of the Golden Mean, a recurrent number in the history of art that also appears in natural forms. He then chose archetypal symbols which he believed communicated universal messages and situated them inside the structure that organized the composition. The theory of Constructive Universalism began to shape Alpuy's work, and by the mid-forties he was painting in a style similar to the artists at the Taller.

While Alpuy and the other artists at the TTG focused on creating a form of art linked to the more general tradition of abstraction, they were also interested in the art of ancient cultures, especially those of South America. In December 1945, Torres-García encouraged Alpuy, and several others at the Taller, to travel in Latin America and study pre-Columbian art. Alpuy traveled primarily in Bolivia and Peru, and visited the "Gate of the Sun" in Tiwanaku. He additionally visited "Island of the Sun" and "Island of the Moon" at Lake Titicaca and Machu Picchu. Alpuy credits this experience in helping him understand Torres-García's ideas.

1956 - Sociedad Amigos del Arte, Montevideo Uruguay

1985 - Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art, New York

1988 - Galería Dialogo, Brussels

1989 - Galería Palatina, Buenos Aires, Argentina

1990 - Walter F. Maibaum Fine Arts, New York

1997 - Works on Paper, Cecilia de Torres, Ltd., New York

1999 - Centro Cultural Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina

2003 - Cecilia de Torres. Ltd., New York

Group shows Source:

1942/1960 - All Collective shows of Taller Torres-Garcia in South America, Europe, and United States

1952/1954 - Bienal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

1957 - Museum of Modern Art, Amsterdam, Holland

1964 - Washington Gallery, New York

1964 - Bonino Gallery, New York

1964 - Jockey Club, Montevideo, Uruguay

1965 - The Emily Lowe Gallery, Hofstra University, New York

1966 - Cisneros Gallery, New York

1967 - Center for Inter-American Relations, New York

1969 - Zegri Gallery, New York

1970 - Marymount College, Tarry1own, New York

1970 - The Staff Assoc. of The Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, D.C.

1970 - Zegri Gallery, New York

1970 - Exposicion Panamericana de Artes Graficas, Cali, Colombia

1970 - II Bienal de Arte Coltejer, Medellín, Colombia

1970 - Center for Inter-American Relations, New York

1971 - Greenwich Library, Greenwich, Connecticut

1971 - Museum of Stamford, Stamford, Connecticut

1971 - Primera Bienal Americana de Artes Gráficas, Cali, Colombia

1972 - Columbia University, New York

1972 - III Bienal de Arte Coltejer, Medellín, Colombia

1973 - Queens County Art and Cultural Center, Queens, N.Y.

1973 - University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts

1974 - III Bienal del Grabado Latinoamericano, San Juan, Puerto Rico

1976 - III Bienal Americana de Artes Gráficas, Cali, Colombia

1976 - The New York Botanical Garden Museum, New York

1977 - The Alternative Center for International Arts, New York

1977 - Arte Actual de Iberoamérica, Instituto de Cultura Hispánica, Madrid, Spain

1978 - Latin American Art Show, Great Neck Library, Great Neck, N.Y.

1978 - Arte Ibero Americano, Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas, Venezuela

1979 - Window to the South, Henry Street Settlement, New York

1983 - 17 Bienal de São Paulo, Sáo Paulo, Brazil

1983 - Museo de Arte Moderno y Arquitectura, Buenos Aires, Argentina

2002 - Sicardi Gallery, Houston, Texas