Education
Cuba
Havana High School, Havana, Cuba
San Alejandro School of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba
Havana Public Library, Course in Stage Design, with Czech National Theatre designer, Vicholyl
United States
Hunter College, New York, BA, Spanish Literature. Minor in Art and Philosophy, 1975
Graduate Center, City University of New York, PhD candidate, Spanish Literature 1975-1977.
Exhibitions, Productions and Publications
Cuba
Bohemia Magazine, Short Stories, ca. 1962
Arlequin Theatre, Havana, Produced Plays, 1962-1965
Children’s Theatre of Havana, Produced Plays, 1962-1965
Noneto: Short Stories, published, 1965, Edicions El Puente, Havana, Cuba
United States
Delaware Art Center, Invitational, 54th Salon, Wilmington, DE, 1966 (Reviewed in Wilmington Newspaper)
Blue Door Gallery, Juried Show, December 19, 2012 (Two paintings exhibited)
Irvington Public Library, Martucci Gallery, Short Stories: New Paintings, July 11- August 30, 2013, Irvington, NY (Reviewed: Rivertowns Enterprise, July 19, 2013)
BCB Art Gallery, 115 Warren Street, Hudson, NY, Gallery artist, Scherhazade, September 2017
Donald Gallery, South Presbyterian Church, Dobbs Ferry, NY, April 2017
RiverArts Studio Tours, April 2012, April 2013, April 2014, April 2015, April 2016
Upstream Gallery, Hastings on Hudson, NY, Black and White, March 2018
Upstream Gallery, Hastings on Hudson, NY, Antonio Alvarez, May 2018
Blue Door Gallery, Yonkers, NY, Group Show, Black History Month, Suite Yoruba,4 Paintings exhibited February 2019
Upstream Gallery, Hastings on Hudson, NY, Antonio Alvarez: Landscapes, March-April 2019
Woodstock Artists Association, Woodstock NY, Radius 50, Juried Show, September 2019
Private Collections
Koenigswinter, Germany
Santa Barbara, CA
Miami, FL
Wilmington, DE
Atlanta, GA
Great Barrington, MA
Carmel, NY
Irvington, NY
New York, NY
Westchester, NY
Tarrytown, NY
Statement
A painter paints in spite of himself, out of necessity for his spirit to survive gracefully and without regrets. There is not a worse painting than the one that was thought of but never executed.
When I arrived in the USA (a very young man, then) I had been practicing both Literature and Painting with promising results and with acceptance from my peers. Once that English was not my “mother” language, writing was left unattended, and Painting took prevalence, as Visual Arts have their own, non-verbal, means of communication.
In the years that ensued, I nevertheless took matters in my own hands: obtained a BA in Hunter College in Spanish Literature, while employed successfully by a restoration and conservation firm in NYC. This position exposed me- hands “on” - to art masterworks from all periods, especially to American Art. Eventually I opened my own conservation studio, specializing in art works on paper. Glad to say, my studio is still thriving and has achieved national prominence.
I returned to painting, as a creator, a few years back. Motivated by the need to find if my works could be defined as “Cuban Painting” (think Wifredo Lam, Amelia Pelaez, Servando Cabrera, Portocarrero, etc.) or if, after all these years, I had become an “American” painter. I found out that I have turned into a “New York School” abstract expressionist painter, with an “Spanish” use of dark pigments….all mixed within a lot of passionate gestures.
I paint with acrylics, once they dry very quickly. At my age, there is not time to wait for the oil colors to dry. I was fortunate to have met Antoni Tapies (as I was restoring one of his paintings) and during our several meetings had an opportunity to talk about painting. I was an admirer of his works, which belong to the “Matteristic School” of painting. This is the aspect that I am now exploring with my works: pigments “manipulated” by the artist while one half-to-a-third of the painting’s surface is left for the matter (in this case acrylic pigments) to behave as their nature require. The results are splendidly beautiful and surprising, and I cannot get enough of it.
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