Francisco Zuniga
dal 31/5/2013 al 30/7/2013
Segnalato da
31/5/2013
Francisco Zuniga
Jack Rutberg Fine Arts, Los Angeles
A Centennial Tribute. A consummate draftsman and sculptor, Zuniga's works celebrate the female form as an elemental force. Drawing on pre-Columbian and classical sources, they are often depicted as sensual, but always heroic.
Los Angeles, CA - Jack Rutberg Fine Arts in Los Angeles is presenting “Francisco Zúñiga: A
Centennial Tribute,” a formidable exhibition of works by the major 20th century artist, (b. Costa
Rica 1912 - d. Mexico 1998), opening on June 1, 2013 and extending through July 31.
A
preview reception on Saturday, June 1 will be held from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. with the attendance of
the Consul General of Costa Rica, Sylvia Ugalde and Alejandro Pelayo Rangel, Cultural Attaché
at the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles, along with Ariel Zúñiga, son and biographer
of the artist.
Celebrating the centennial of Francisco Zúñiga, the exhibition at Jack Rutberg Fine Arts follows
museum tribute exhibitions at the Ernst Barlach Stiftung in Güstrow, Germany and the Museo
Nacional de Arte (MUNAL) in Mexico City. Further museum exhibitions will soon be
announced.
A consummate draftsman and sculptor, Zúñiga's works celebrate the female form as an elemental
force. Drawing on pre-Columbian and classical sources, they are often depicted as sensual, but
always heroic. These sculptures and drawings of women - as matriarch or adolescent - have
today become powerful and iconic images, widely establishing Francisco Zúñiga as Mexico’s
and Costa Rica’s greatest modern sculptor, and according to one recent study, Mexico’s most
internationally collected artist.
This exhibition in Los Angeles presents works spanning the artist’s long career, and includes a
recently rediscovered rare stone sculpture from 1932; the period when Zúñiga came to nationalattention in his native Costa Rica as both a painter and sculptor. In 1936, the artist moved to
Mexico, where he resided the rest of his life. Also included in the exhibition are exceedingly
rare paintings on canvas from that early period, after which Zúñiga increasingly dedicated
himself to sculpture and became known as the most celebrated sculptor of Latin America.
Among the works in the exhibition are bronze sculpture, drawings, watercolors, and selected
original graphic works on paper.
Francisco Zúñiga’s works are in the permanent collections of museums internationally, including
the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Hirshhorn
Museum of Art and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C., the Los Angeles County Museum of
Art, the Museum of Modern Art, Mexico, the Latin American Museum of Art, Buenos Aires, the
Museo de Arte Costarricense, and the Middelheim Sculpture Garden, Antwerp, among many
others.
It is notable that Zúñiga’s importance was early realized in California, where his reputation and
legions of collectors – both private and institutional – is formidable. In addition to LACMA
(which also commissioned an important graphic work in 1976, included in this exhibition),
significant sculptures and drawings by Zúñiga are included in important Southern California
museums such as the UCLA Sculpture Gardens, University of Southern California, Santa
Barbara Museum of Art, Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, and the San Diego
Museum of Art.
An endeavor to document Zúñiga’s entire body of work, is currently underway, as Volume V of
Francisco Zúñiga, A Catalogue Raisonné is in development. The Estate of Francisco Zúñiga is
represented by Jack Rutberg Fine Arts.
Opening Saturday, June 1, with an opening reception from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Jack Ruberg Fine Arts
357 North La Brea Avenue, in Los Angles
Gallery hours are Tuesday
through Friday 10:00 – 6:00; Saturday 10:00 – 5:00
Admission free