Raúl Martínez
Raúl Martínez, Cuba (1927-1995) RAÚL MARTÍNEZ is a renowned artist who works as a painter, draftsman, engraver, photographer and graphic designer. He entered the Escuela Elemental de Artes Plásticas, attached to the San Alejandro School, in 1941 and completed his studies in 1943. In 1946, he enrolled in San Alejandro, but had to interrupt his studies in 1948 due to financial problems. That same year, RAÚL MARTÍNEZ held his first solo exhibition in the lobby of the now defunct Adad Theater. In 1952, he applied for a scholarship and was accepted into the Institute of Design in Chicago, United States, an institution founded by Moholy Nagy. During his stay there, he was part of the group known as Los Once and participated in numerous exhibitions with them, including the famous Abstract Expressionism exhibition at the Galería Habana. The following year, he presented the exhibition “Homenajes” (Homenajes), where he began to move away from abstract expressionism and venture into pop art through collage. From 1966, RAÚL MARTÍNEZ began to work on the iconography of Martí, fusing elements of popular painting and pop art. His large-scale oil painting entitled “Isla 70” was highlighted in his participation in Salón 70. Throughout his career, RAÚL MARTÍNEZ has participated in numerous collective and individual exhibitions, which have contributed to enriching his extensive artistic legacy.
PERSONAL EXHIBITIONS
1966 Morales and Briel. OP and POP Drawings. Galiano and Concordia Art Gallery, Havana.
1967 OP-POP Drawings. Santa Clara Gallery, Santa Clara, Las Villas.
1968 OP Drawings. Armando Morales. Ernesto Briel. La Rampa Gallery, Habana Libre Hotel, Havana.
1971 Ernesto Briel. Drawings Exhibition. Havana Gallery, Havana.
1974 Ernesto Briel. Sala Marnez Villena, Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC), Havana. 1988 Briel.
Paintings [with Jesús Selgas]. Rivern Arts Center, West New York, New York.
1991 Briel Now Geo. Boncina Gallery Workshop, New York.
1992 Briel & Selgas. Recent Works. Chuck Levitan Gallery, New York.
____. Duo Geo [with Carmen Herrera]. Jadite Galleries, New York.
1994 An exhibition of Works by Ernesto Briel. Jadite Galleries, New York.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS (SELECTION)
1961 Art in the factories and on the street on July 26, 1961. Municipal Gallery, Havana.
1964 Twelfth Annual Exhibition of New Artists. Lyceum, Havana.
1965 1st Biennial of New Artists of Cuba. International Art Center, Havana.
1967 Provincial Salon of New Artists. Galiano and Concordia Art Gallery, Havana.
1968 National Drawing Salon 1967. Havana Gallery, Havana.
1969 National Salon of Plastic Arts [drawing, engraving and experimental techniques]. International Art Center, Havana.
___. Young Painting of Cuba. Algeria/USSR/Mongolia/Korea
1970 Salon 70. National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana.
1971 Cuban Halls. National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana.
___. (International Exhibition of Book Art). Leipzig.
1977 Exhibition of Fine Arts. Tribute to the II Congress of the UNEAC and the 60th Anniversary of the October Revolution. International Art Center, Havana.
1978 UNEAC 1978 Fine Arts Salon. National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana.
1979 Cuban Optical Art Group. Exhibit. International Art Center, Havana.
____. UNEAC 79 Fine Arts Salon. International Art Center, Havana.
1983 Fine Arts Exhibition for the Festival de Las Artes. Tamiami Park, Dade County, Florida.
____. 18 Air Three. Consolidate Bank, Miami, Florida.
1988-1989 Hispanic Expressions 88/89. Coors Naonal Hispanic Art Exhibition and Tour/Mexican Cultural Institute, San Antonio, Texas/Southwest Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California/Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanies, Arvada, Colorado./Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, California/Millicent Rogers Museum, Taos, New Mexico./Center for the Fine Arts, Miami, Florida.
1988 Small Wall Works. Amos Eno Gallery, New York.
1989 Contemporary: Juxtapoing Percepons. Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art (MOCHA), New York.
1990 Paper Visions II. Biennial of Contemporary Lan American Arts. Housatonic Museum of Art, Bridgeport, Connecticut.
1991 Contemporary Caribbean Arts. Creave Arts Workshop Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut.
1995 Art-Exhibit and Silent Aucon of Works by Contemporary Arts to Benefit FAITH Services. Jadite Galleries, New York.
____. The Geometric Abstraction. Vista Gallery, New York.