Oswaldo Vigas

He lived and worked in France and Venezuela.

• Name — Oswaldo Vigas • Born — 4 August 1923 • Birthplace — Valencia, Carabobo, Venezuela • Died — 22 April 2014 • Place of death — Caracas, Capital District, Venezuela • Education — Universidad de los Andes École des Beaux-Arts, Sorbonne • Alma Mater — Universidad Central de Venezuela • Movement — Late Modernism

Oswaldo Vigas was born on August 4, 1923 in Valencia, Carabobo, Venezuela. He identified as mestizo, reflecting mixed Indigenous and Spanish ancestry. After the death of his father, Vigas started painting and learned how to paint the human body at the age of 12. He studied medicine at the University of the Andes (Spanish: Universidad de los Andes) in Mérida, Venezuela and the Central University of Venezuela (Spanish: Universidad Central de Venezuela) in Caracas. He earned his medical degree in 1951. While studying, he took art classes at the Taller Libre de Artes and the Escuela de Artes Plásticas Cristóbal Rojas. During this time, Vigas became acquainted with painters including Manuel Cabré and Pedro Ángel González. Vigas enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts in 1953, where he studied etching under Marcel Jaudon and lithography under Stanley William Hayter.

Vigas' early paintings focused on the female form, and he often returned to the theme of witches (brujas) throughout his career. He also became interested in pre-Columbian culture and pottery, specifically Venus de Tacarigua figurines. Vigas's witch paintings were awarded three art prizes in Venezuela. He won the National Visual Arts Award in 1952 for his painting La gran bruja (1951) and had a solo exhibition at the Museo de Bellas Artes in Caracas. Following this recognition, Vigas moved to Paris in 1952.

Vigas lived in Paris for twelve years, where he met his wife Janine and was associated with Fernand Léger, Max Ernst, and Wifredo Lam. During most of the 1950s, his work shifted away from the human figure and toward constructivism and abstraction. Between 1953 and 1958, Vigas exhibited regularly in France and Venezuela. • Illustration — Title: Un elemento-personaje vertical en evolución horizontal. One of 5 murals completed by Oswaldo Vigas in 1954 at the Universidad Central de Venezuela. In 1953, he participated in the São Paulo Biennial and in a group show at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, among other exhibitions. He also received a commission for five mosaic murals at the Universidad Central de Venezuela, which was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000. In 1954, he was the first artist to represent Venezuela at the XXVII Venice Biennale. In the same year, he was part of the Painters of Venezuela traveling exhibition at the Pan-American Union, organised by the Museo de Bellas Artes. During the late 1950s to mid-1960s, while still in France, Vigas was invited to participate in a survey of Latin American art in which he received first prize: the Gulf-Caribbean Art Exhibition, curated by Lee Malone at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Vigas also had exhibitions at the Slater Memorial Museum of Norwich, Connecticut and the University of Nebraska Art Gallery, and participated in the Contemporary Drawings from Latin America exhibition at the Pan-American Union in Washington, D.C. He was included in another large survey exhibition, South American Art Today, curated by José Gómez Sicre at the Dallas Museum of Fine Art. After visiting Pablo Picasso in 1955, features commonly found in pre-Columbian art, particularly stylized faces, began to appear in Vigas’s paintings. While Vigas drew inspiration from Picasso, his son Lorenzo has stated he did not seek closer ties with the artist. During the 1950s, Vigas became interested in anthropology and the early cultures of the Americas. He developed a personal approach that combined gestural, geometric and figurative work. He later looked to early cultures as a way to explore personal identity, using symbols and imagery drawn from nature and myth, which is shown in his work from the 1960s onward. In 1964, he moved back to Valencia, Venezuela and continued to exhibit his work throughout the country. In 1967, his son Lorenzo was born, and in 1970, he relocated to Caracas.

During the early 1960s, Vigas explored informalism, using thick black lines to portray the figure through abstract volumes and shapes. Upon his return to Venezuela, he was named Cultural Director of the Universidad de Los Andes (ULA) in Mérida and simultaneously appointed Artistic Director of the Instituto Nacional de Cultura y Bellas Artes (INCIBA) in Caracas. INCIBA was part of the Ministry of Education of Venezuela and replaced by the Comisión Organizadora del Consejo Nacional de la Cultura (CONAC) in 1974. In his roles as Cultural Director and Artistic Director, Vigas promoted the creation of national salons and awards to help Venezuelan artists. He held both positions until 1972. From the mid-1960s onwards, Vigas' work progressively shifted from informalism to a new figurative phase. During the 1980s, Vigas produced a series of tapestries and ceramic works, as well as his first bronze-cast sculptures. In 1990, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Caracas Sofía Imber organised a major retrospective of his works, showcasing paintings, sculptures, tapestries, ceramics and jewellery. In 1992, the city of Monte Carlo honoured him with the Prince Rainier Grand Prize, and the Monnaie de Paris organised a retrospective from 1952 to 1993 showcasing one hundred and thirty-two works comprising paintings, ceramics and sculptures. In 2008, he was designated Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de France. During his later years, Vigas continued to work and exhibit worldwide. In 2012, he was invited to participate in the Un Coeur, un Monde group show that travelled through France, the United States, Vietnam, Australia, Brazil and Japan. He was also invited to exhibit at the Latin American & Caribbean Contemporary Art Today survey at the Miura Museum of Art, Tokyo.

A major retrospective of Vigas' work travelled throughout the Americas. The first instalment of Oswaldo Vigas Anthological: 1943- 2013 was held at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Lima, Peru; the show then travelled to the National Museum of Fine Arts in Santiago, Chile, and it will open in Bogotá, Colombia, in July 2015. This is a listing of select exhibitions of Vigas. • Year — Title — Location — Notes • 2019 — Oswaldo Vigas: Transformations — Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, Florida, United States • 2018 — Oswaldo Vigas: Transformations — Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States • 2016 — Oswaldo Vigas Antológica 1943–2013 — Museum of Contemporary Art at the University of São Paulo (Museu de Arte Contemporânea), São Paulo, Brazil • |2015 — Oswaldo Vigas Antológica 1943–2013 — Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Santiago, Chile • 2015 — Donación Oswaldo Vigas — Museo Jean Lurçat et de la Tapisserie Contemporaine (Jean-Lurçat Museum and Contemporary Tapestry), Angers, France • |2014 — Oswaldo Vigas: transfigurations — Dillon Gallery, New York, New York, United States • 2014 — Homenaje a Oswaldo Vigas — Galería de Arte Nacional, Caracas, Venezuela • 2014 — Oswaldo Vigas Antológica 1943–2013 — Museum of Contemporary Art, Lima, Peru • 2014 — Oswaldo Vigas Antológica 1943–2013 — Museo de Arte Moderno, Bogotá, Colombia — This was the first location of the traveling exhibition. • 2012 — El dibujo en la obra de Oswaldo Vigas, 1940-2012 — Gabinete del Dibujo y la Estampa de Valencia, Venezuela. — Retrospective exhibition that included 100 works. • 2012 — Feria Iberoamericana de Arte de Caracas, FIA 2012 — Galería de Arte Ascaso, Galería Medicci and 700 Arte of Maracaibo. • 2012 — Exposición de arte iberoamericano — Madrid, Spain — Exhibition to mark of the celebration of the two hundred years of the establishment of the Supreme Court of Spain. • |2011 — Oswaldo Vigas. Mérida, Paris, Caracas. Peintures — Centre d´Art Villa Tamaris, La Seyne-sur-mer, France — Retrospective exhibition that included 170 works. • 2011 — Feria Iberoamericana de Arte de Caracas, FIA 2011 — Galería de Arte Ascaso and Galería Medicci • |2010 — Oswaldo Vigas. De brujas a curanderas — Parque Fernando Peñalver, Valencia, Carabobo, Venezuela • |2009 — Mujeres, mujeres y mujeres, Alianza Francesa based in La Castellana — Caracas, Venezuela • 2009 — Oswaldo Vigas en InterValores — InterValores, Chacao, Caracas, Venezuela • |2007 — Oswaldo Vigas: pasión por la creación, (March) — Galería Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF), Caracas, Venezuela • 2007 — Tierra y fuego — Fundación Banco Provincial, Caracas, Venezuela • 2005 — Oswaldo Vigas: grabados recientes — French Alliance (Alianza Francesa), Caracas, Venezuela • 2005 — Oswaldo Vigas: sortilèges des tropiques — Museo Jean Lurçat et de la Tapisserie Contemporaine, Angers, France • |2004 — Ideografías de Paris, 1952–1957, Oswaldo Vigas — Museo de Arte Contemporáneo del Zulia, Maracaibo, Venezuela • |2003 — Oswaldo Vigas, recuerdos del presente — Galería de Arte Ascaso, Caracas, Venezuela • |2002 — Ideografías de Paris, 1952–1957, Oswaldo Vigas — Tenji Gallery, Tokyo, Japan • 2002 — Ideografías de Paris, 1952–1957, Oswaldo Vigas — Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Caracas Sofía Imber, Caracas, Venezuela • |1998 — Oswaldo Vigas, painting and sculpture — Aldo Castillo Gallery, Chicago, USA • |1997 — Vigas en Maracaibo — Galería 700 Arte, Maracaibo, Venezuela • 1997 — Oswaldo Vigas. Obras clave de 1952 a 1997 — Comandancia General de la Aviación, Caracas, Venezuela — tribute of the Venezuelan Air Force to Oswaldo Vigas • 1996 — Oswaldo Vigas, un hombre americano — Casa de Las Américas, Havana, Cuba • |1995 — Oswaldo Vigas. Mutants, pélélés, contorsionnistes et autres zigotos — Galerie La Tour des Cardinaux, L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, France • 1995 — Oswaldo Vigas. La obra reciente — Grupo Li-Centro de Arte, Caracas, Venezuela • |1993 — Vigas, de 1952 a 1993 — Museum Monnaie de Paris, Paris, France • 1993 — Oswaldo Vigas, la obra reciente — Grupo Li-Centro de Arte, Caracas, Venezuela • |1990 — Retrospectiva Vigas: lo figurativo y lo telúrico — Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Caracas Sofía Imber, Caracas, Venezuela • |1989 — Ceremoniales — Centro Armitano Arte, Caracas, Venezuela • |1987 — Paisajes andinos, with Marius Sznajderman — Galería Los Espacios Cálidos, Ateneo de Caracas, Venezuela • |1981 — Tapicería de Oswaldo Vigas — Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas, Venezuela • |1979 — Antológica Ritos elementales, dioses oscuros — Instituto de Arte Panameño, Panama • 1979 — Antológica Ritos elementales, dioses oscuros — Galería de Arte Nacional, Caracas Venezuela • |1977 — Oswaldo Vigas, imagen de una identidad expresiva — Galería del Instituto Nacional de Cultura, Museo de Arte Italiano, Lima, Peru • |1973 — Retrospectiva Oswaldo Vigas: 1943–1973, — Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, Bogotá, Colombia • |1970 — Mitificaciones — Fundación Eugenio Mendoza, Caracas, Venezuela • 1970 — Tapicerías — Galería Antañona, Caracas, Venezuela • |1967 — Venezuelan witches — Galería del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, Washington, DC, United States • 1967 — Vigas: pinturas 1965-1967 — Fundación Eugenio Mendoza, Caracas, Venezuela • |1966 — Retrospectiva Las brujas, árbol genealógico: 1941-1952 — Galería 22, Caracas, Venezuela • |1964 — Oswaldo Vigas: pinturas de los años 1960-1964 — Fundación Eugenio Mendoza, Caracas, Venezuela • 1964 — Vigas: grabados, dibujos, gouaches — Ateneo de Caracas, Caracas, Venezuela • 1964 — Oswaldo Vigas: retrospectiva: 1941-1964 — Ateneo de Valencia, Valencia, Venezuela • |1963 — Vigas — Galería Neufville, Paris, France • |1961 — Vigas, peintures récentes — Galerie La Roue, Paris, France • |1958 — Oswaldo Vigas of Venezuela — Pan American Union, Washington, DC, United States • 1958 — Blancos y negros — Fundación Eugenio Mendoza, Caracas, Venezuela • |1957 — Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Madrid, Spain • 1957 — Oswaldo Vigas: 1953-1957 — Fundación Eugenio Mendoza, Caracas, Venezuela • |1956 — Blanc et noir — Galería La Roue, Paris, France — large-format drawings were on display • |1952 — Retrospectiva Oswaldo Vigas: 1946-1952 — Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas, Venezuela • |1942 — Ateneo de Valencia — Valencia, Venezuela — first painting exhibition.

• 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1961, 1963, 1978, 1980 — Salon de Mai — Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, France

Oswaldo Vigas is recorded with the occupation physician. Recorded as a citizen of Venezuela.