MIAMI.- Julio Larraz receives me in Ascaso Gallery like someone who greets a neighbor who arrives at his house, and this gallery where his paintings hang has become a home for him. Here he celebrates eight decades of life with the exhibition 80 Circumnavigations of the Sunwhich opens this May 16 at 6 pm.
We walk through the spacious white rooms of the gallery, where those dreams that haunt the artist and those narratives of the impossible that he manages to reflect so well, both on the canvas and in the sculpture, stand out, as if seen from another world. This exhibition, which can be seen until July 5, offers an overview of the painter’s legacy and is a luxury opportunity to delve into his creative universe that encompasses engraving, caricature, sculpture and painting.
Organizing the exhibition took almost two years, says Antonio Ascaso, gallery director. No wonder, more than 40 works are gathered here: oil paintings on canvas, watercolors on cardboard and sculptures. For Antonio it is a true honor, he is a master of realism, and an artist who has a very important place within international art. As he indicates, the gallery has been working with Larraz’s work for 12 years. Antonio also recognizes the work of Ariel Larraz in the conscientious organization of the exhibition.
Dreams on the canvas
Julio tells me that some of the paintings he exhibits are recent and that others are about two years old.
What catches your attention the most?, asks me. I can’t help but tell you that the piece What are you looking for? It is very powerful and although there is no human figure it says a lot about us, about restlessness, the search for knowledge.
It is a series that I started this year about the experiments that are being done today in space, which are very interesting, he says. “I think the people of this world want to expand and create pollution on Mars and the Moon,” she says, laughing. I’m interested from a visual point of view. I imagine that an alien would ask themselves that question, what are they looking for here?, he adds.
Larraz points to a mysterious ship that seems to be erasing itself, as if the past were biting its stern. It’s about the piece The Inexplicable Disappearance of the M.Y. Lower Matecumbe. He reveals to me that that image was born from a dream that haunted him in some way. Not only did I dream it, but the dream disturbed me because it was continuous, one of those dreams that turn into nightmares, and you have to get up and draw it, she confesses.
The Inexplicable Disappearance of the M.Y. Lower Matecumbe. Cortesa/Ascaso Gallery
Courtesy/Ascaso Gallery
We drink a delicious coffee and talk about writers, painters and historical sites. I take advantage of the comfort of the conversation to ask him where that creative energy comes from that makes him stand in front of the canvas at 80 years old. It is a necessity, she says, it is curiosity, and it is being able to see something that you have dreamed of, imagined.
In 80 Circumnavigations of the Sun there are open, unreal spaces, human figures, animals; We see breathtaking seascapes, myths revisited and, above all, a lot of blue in its multiple shades and depths. How not to stay up late with so many characters, and how not to get carried away by their fine fabric of humor that borders on criticism at times.
Julio Larraz paints to see what he dreams, and he does it with that freedom that, he claims, is what fosters creation.
More about Julio Larraz
Julio Larraz (Havana, 1944) is one of the most important contemporary painters in Latin America. He creates powerful, dreamlike paintings that reflect the influence of painters from Velzquez to Sargent and Hopper, and surrealist artists such as Dal and Magritte.
Larraz’s education was marked by the political turmoil of his homeland. Her father, a political activist, was the owner and editor of La Discussion, a prominent Havana newspaper, while her mother studied law before taking over the direction of the family publication. The upheaval of the Cuban dictatorship in 1959 led Larraz and his family to seek asylum in the United States when he was only 16 years old.
Upon arriving in the United States, Larraz channeled his experiences into moving political cartoons, which were published in The Washington Post, Vogue, and Time, among others. Larraz perfected her craft with the guidance of her mentor, Burt Silverman, emerging as a luminary in the world of painting.
Larraz’s professional recognition blossomed with his first solo exhibition at the Pyramid Gallery in Washington, DC in 1971, and he subsequently exhibited his work in galleries in the United States, Europe, and South America. While he gained renown primarily as a painter, Larraz’s foray into sculpture in the 1970s produced notable pieces that have adorned public spaces and art galleries alike.
Throughout his career, Larraz has received wide recognition, with his works exhibited in prestigious galleries and museums around the world. He has received numerous awards and honors, including recognition from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the National Institute of Arts and Letters in New York, cementing his status as a true master of contemporary art.
Ascaso Gallery, open Monday to Saturday, 11 am – 5 pm. 1325 NE, 1st Ave. Miami, FL, 33132. Contact: 305.571.9410 (email protected)
