Press ReleaseThe Consulate General of Mexico announces the exhibition “Juan Soriano:
on paper, tapestry, bronze and silver”
The opening ceremony will be held on
March 28th at the
Exhibition Hall of the
Hong Kong City HallHong Kong, March 25, 2008 –The Consulate General of Mexico in Hong Kong
announced today the incoming exhibition “Juan Soriano: on paper, tapestry, bronze
and silver” that will be held in the Hong Kong City Hall exhibition hall from March 29th to
April 15th, 2008.
Within this frame, the opening ceremony will take place next Friday 28th March, at 6pm.
The ceremony will be presided over by the Consul General of Mexico, Mr. Mario Leal,
Mr. Marek Keller, curator of the exhibitions and Chairman of the Fundación Juan Soriano
y Marek Keller, A.C. and by Dr. Louis NG, Assistant Director of Heritage and Museums
of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of Hong Kong.Juan Soriano (Guadalajara 1920- Mexico city 2006) was certainly, one of the most
outstanding Mexican plastic artists of the XXth Century. For more than 70 years he
practiced a fruitful and creative art, embracing all kind of genres: engraving, drawing,
painting, sculpture and tapestry.
Born in Guadalajara (Mexico), Soriano moved to Mexico City in 1935, in the
effervescence of the post-revolutionary period, where he was surrounded by the main
exponents of the major intellectual and artistic streams of the last century. He was
contemporary of the Mexican painters Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco
and the Nobel Laureated poet and writer Octavio Paz .
Marta’s Portraits, 1934.
While Soriano was nourished by the historical events and the
artistic and intellectual influences of his time, his artistic
trajectory advances in different genres. He starts the path with a
period focused on the portrait and the self-portrait, reaching
apprehension of the spiritual and psychological complexity of its
characters. His generous style develops through the
experimentation of the “inside to the outside” painting.
Being true to himself, Soriano rejects the ongoing “Muralist
movement” and sets himself apart by becoming a profound
original artist who conceives art as a rebellious act, as a
transgression from the world.
Venue sponsored by:
In 1951, Soriano moves out to Rome and afterwards to Paris where he lives for a long
period. This stage blooming with freshness will be characterized with a capricious and
colorful fauna.
Later, Soriano concentrates in sculpture, he started using terracotta
and later on other materials as bronze and silver, keeping as main
source of inspiration the natural world dressed with humor and
graciousness.
Transversal to the very different expressions of his art, liberty is always
present as a constant factor. In 2005, he is awarded with the
“Velazquez Prize for Plastic Arts”. During the ceremony he expressed:
“If Velazquez rebelled against beauty, I feel that I have rebelled
against painting”.
Doves. Silver
During his career, his works featured in 130 exhibitions held in more than 20 different
countries including France, USA, the former USSR and China.
The exhibition “Juan Soriano on Paper, Tapestry, Bronze and Silver” has been
entrusted to the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the “Juan Soriano and Marek
Keller Foundation”, while the venue has been sponsored by the Leisure and Cultural
Services Department of Hong Kong. It comprises 28 paintings, 12 silver sculptures, 13
bronze sculptures and 5 tapestries. These works were realized from 1934 to 2005,
showing a generous overview of the prolific and uninterrupted work of Juan Soriano
through several stages of his artistic life.
For the Consulate General of Mexico in the Hong Kong SAR, it is an honor to present for
the first time in this world class city of Asia, an exhibition dedicated to the work of this
splendid Mexican artist.
The Consulate General of Mexico in Hong Kong and Macao:
For enquiries about the exhibition please contact:
Ms. Tania Libertad Hernández
Consul for Cultural Affairs
3004 Shui On Centre
6-8 Harbour Road, Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel. (+852) 2511 3351
lh@mexico.com.hk
www.mexico.com.hk
Exhibition at the Hong Kong City Hall
5 Edingurgh Place, Central
Exhibition hall
From march 29 to April 15
10 am – 8 pm
FREE ADMISSION
