Fernando de Szyszlo
Fernando de Szyszlo (Lima, 5 July 1925 – 9 October 2017) was a Peruvian painter, sculptor, printmaker, and teacher who was a key figure in advancing abstract art in Latin America since the mid-1950s, and one of the leading plastic artists in Peru.
Szyszlo planned to study architecture but abandoned his plans to pursue art as a professional path. After graduating from the School of Plastic Arts of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, he traveled to Europe to continue his studies. There, he absorbed the varied influences Cubism, Surrealism, Informalism, and abstraction. While living in Paris, he met Octavio Paz and André Breton and was part of the group of expatriate Latin American artists and writers who met regularly at the Café de Flore, engaging in vigorous discussions on how they could participate in the international modern movement while preserving their Latin American cultural identity. He developed a personal style fusing abstraction, pre-Columbian roots and the international avant-garde movement. Thus, 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.
His work is included in public and private …
Fernando de Szyszlo (Lima, 5 July 1925 – 9 October 2017) was a Peruvian painter, sculptor, printmaker, and teacher who was a key figure in advancing abstract art in Latin America since the mid-1950s, and one of the leading plastic artists in Peru.
Szyszlo planned to study architecture but abandoned his plans to pursue art as a professional path. After graduating from the School of Plastic Arts of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, he traveled to Europe to continue his studies. There, he absorbed the varied influences Cubism, Surrealism, Informalism, and abstraction. While living in Paris, he met Octavio Paz and André Breton and was part of the group of expatriate Latin American artists and writers who met regularly at the Café de Flore, engaging in vigorous discussions on how they could participate in the international modern movement while preserving their Latin American cultural identity. He developed a personal style fusing abstraction, pre-Columbian roots and the international avant-garde movement. Thus, 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.
His work is included in public and private collections throughout the world, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Anita Shapolsky Gallery, New York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Art Museum of the Americas, Washington, D.C.; Museo de Arte de Lima, Peru; Museu de Arte Moderna, São Paulo, Brazil; Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Museo Nacional de Arte, La Paz, Bolivia; Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Arequipa, Peru; Museo de Arte Moderno de España; Museo de Arte Moderno de Mexico; Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas; National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seul; and the Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, California, among others.
Courtesy of Praxis
