Fernando De Szyszlo Valdelomar (born
July 5, 1925 in Lima) is a Peruvian artist who is a key figure in advancing
abstract art in Latin America since the mid-1950s, and one of the leading
Abstract artists in Peru.
Untitled
Szyszlo
studied at the School of Fine Arts of the Pontifical Catholic University of
Peru. At the age of 24 he traveled to Europe where he studied the works of the
masters, particularly Rembrandt, Titian and Tintoretto, and absorbed the varied
influences of cubism, surrealism, informalism, and abstraction. While in Paris
he met Octavio Paz and André Breton and frequented the group of writers and
intellectuals that met regularly at the Cafe Flore engaging in vigorous
discussions on how they could participate in the international modern movement
while preserving their Latin American cultural identity. Upon his return to
Peru, Szyszlo became a major force for artistic renewal in his country breaking
new ground by expressing a Peruvian subject matter in a non-representational
style. He was married to a Peruvian poet Blanca Varela, with whom he has two
children.
Casa de Venus
Fernando
de Szyszlo is a parsimonious octogenarian but a gentleman. He’s not just an
artist, but an intellectual at the forefront of Peruvian culture for the past
50 years, a keen observer of his country’s political and social life. At times,
he has been critical of what has happened around him, at other times laudatory,
but never indifferent.
Route to Mendieta
La Habitacion
Szyszlo
has been painting for nearly 60 years, confronting the canvas on a daily basis.
He tells me that he has kept some 40 pieces and that he is always sad to part
with his works. He feels that they are never finished, a poignant source of
dissatisfaction for an artist who has produced over 2,500 paintings, which are
on display in museums or part of private collections all over the world.
Spain
El Lugar, Los Instrumentos VI
He
started out studying architecture, but explains, “To improve my drawing, I took
a night course and then changed my career goals.” He traveled to Paris in the
late 1940s and eventually had to face a difficult choice: to remain in a
challenging but stimulating environment or to return to his native country. He
decided to come back home to Peru, because “You can’t contribute to progress
from a Parisian café.”
El Innombrable (The Unnameable)
Lyricism
of color enriched by rich textural effects and a masterly handling of light and
shadow are hallmarks of Szyszlo's painting. Highly identified with the linking
of ancient cultures to a modernist artistic language, Szyszlo's art reflects a
broad culture that draws on many sources from philosophy and science to
literature. His evocative allusions to rituals, myths, and the geography of sea
and desert landscapes are often associated with pre-Columbian sacred sites.
Since his first solo exhibit in Lima in 1947, Szyszlo has had over 100
individual exhibitions in museums and galleries in Latin America, Europe and
the United States and has participated in the prestigious international
biennials of São Paulo and Venice. His work is represented in important public
and private collections throughout the world.
Ceremonia
Getting
out of the Labyrinth Ronda Nocturna
Dos
Camino a Mendieta
Pasaje Paracas
Fernando De Szyszlo
