Juan Soriano
Guadalajara, Jalisco
(1920 – 2006)
Juan Soriano was a multifaceted artist who left an indelible mark on 20th-century Mexican art. With a career spanning more than seven decades, he explored painting, sculpture, ceramics, and theater, challenging the conventions of traditional muralism to embrace a personal style filled with symbolism and creative freedom. His legacy, marked by works that merge the universal with the intimate, established him as a pioneer of the "Ruptura" generation and a bridge between Mexican art and international currents.
Childhood and Early Artistic Steps
Born on August 18, 1920 , in Guadalajara, Mexico, under the full name Juan Francisco Rodríguez Montoya. Soriano was his father's maternal surname. At the age of 12, a year after starting his first artistic endeavors, he joined the Grupo de Artistas Jóvenes de Jalisco, led by painter Jesús Reyes Ferreira, who introduced him to popular art and Mexican Baroque. Without formal academic training, Soriano enriched himself through observation and experimentation. His first group exhibition was at 14 at the Museo del Estado as part of Francisco Rodríguez "Carcalla's"workshop. Lola Álvarez Bravo, José Chávez Morado and María IzquierdoLola Álvarez Bravo, José Chávez Morado, and María Izquierdo attended this pictorial exhibition. The same year, 1934, he presented his first solo exhibition at the Museo Regional de Guadalajara. In 1935, at just 15, he moved to Mexico City for the first time, where he connected with figures like Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros, although his style soon diverged from social realism to embrace surrealism and abstraction.
Iconic Works and Recognitions
Among his most celebrated pieces are Apolo con peces (1987), exhibited at the Soumaya Museum, and La Paloma (1984), a monumental sculpture symbolizing peace, which became an icon of his mastery as a sculptor. Soriano received the National Prize for Science and Arts (1987) and Premio Velázquez de las Artes (2005), the highest Spanish award for Ibero-Americans.
Key Exhibitions and Collections
His most important retrospectives include:
– “- "Juan Soriano: 50 Years of Painting"(1987), Museum of Modern Art (Mexico City).
– “- "Retrospective"(2005), Reina Sofía Museum (Madrid, Spain).
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– “"Juan Soriano: The Golden Age"(2006), Palace of Fine Arts (Mexico City).
His work is housed in institutions such as the Modern Art Museum (MAM), Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (MARCO), Museo Reina Sofía and Museo de Arte Moderno de Nueva York (MoMA).
In His Own Words
Soriano reflected in interviews:
- "Art is a form of freedom; it cannot be created under mandates." (Proceso Magazine, 1998).
- "I don't want to be a prisoner of any style. Art must always be a constant risk." (La Jornada Newspaper, 2002).
- "Painting is a way of breathing, of existing. Without it, I would fade away." (Juan Soriano: The Thousand-Year-Old Child Documentary, 2005).
Later Years and Legacy
Juan Soriano passed away on February 10, 2006 , in Mexico City, at the age of 85, due to respiratory complications. Until his last days, he kept his creative spirit alive, working in his workshop in the Roma neighborhood. Today, his home-studio is a cultural space that preserves his artistic universe. Beyond his body of work, Soriano left us with a message: art is an act of rebellion and authenticity, without borders or labels.
