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Biography

Born in Guatemala, Rodolfo Abularach (1933- 2020) is one of Latin America’s most distinguished masters, best known for his dramatic close-up renditions of human eyes, an image that gripped the artist for two decades.

Abularach’s fixation with the enigmatic eye began in the mid-1960s. He saw the eye as the most expressive part of the body and therefore a visual doorway to the mysteries of the psyche. Abularach explained, “the world outside didn’t interest me as much as the world inside [that] I have always tried to find within myself.” The possibility of infinite variations within one image was another fascination for the artist. With the eye, Abularach could create endless reiterations, each with distinct and profound expressions ranging from anger to love, indifference, suspicion, distrust, or even madness. Abularach used a variety of styles including hyper-realistic, abstracted, monochromatic, or multicolored, and explored the image in diverse mediums including painting, drawing, and printmaking.

In addition to being a visual artist, Abularach studied Mayan and Greek mythology, yoga, and meditation. His interest in the esoteric and the eye fed the same compulsion to transcend space and time by accessing something beyond his external reality. Abularach continued creating eyes into the 1980s when he then shifted his focus to volcanoes. Like the eye, he saw the volcano as a transcendent portal and energy center. Growing up in Guatemala City, a valley surrounded by volcanoes, the symbol further served as a connection to home and ancient history. The artist stated, “I am inspired by both the archaic past and the chaos of the present. I am interested in universal themes, human.”

Abularach showed remarkable draftsmanship skills from a very young age and began his formal training at the age of 13 in Guatemala City. In 1958, he received a grant to continue his fine art studies in New York City. With a succession of additional prestigious grants, he remained based in New York for the next 40 years until 1998 when he fully resettled in Guatemala. Rodolfo Abularach’s work is present in many important collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museum of the Americas, Washington, D.C.; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia; Museum of Modern Art, Bogotá, Colombia; Museum of Modern Art, Guatemala City; Museum of Contemporary Art, Sao Paulo, Brazil; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Los Angeles County Museum; and the Museo del Barrio, New York, among others.

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2020   

Everything is Palpitating: Art Museum of the Americas, Washington, D.C.

2019   

Municipality of Guatemala

2017   

Centro Municipal de Arte, Correos, Guatemala City, Guatemala

2016   

Sol Del Rio Gallery, Guatemala City, Guatemala

2013   

Rayo Museum, Valle del Cauca, Colombia

2011   

Rayo Museum, Valle del Cauca, Colombia

2010   

El Túnel Gallery, Guatemala City, Guatemala

2008   

Retrospective, Santo Domingo Museum, Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala

2007   

Spain Cultural Center, Guatemala City, Guatemala

2006   

El Sitio Cultural Project, Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala

2005   

Spain Cultural Center, Guatemala City, Guatemala

2001   

Apocalyptic Landscapes, Upper Foyer Gallery, Duke University Gallery of Art, Durham, NC
Aldo Castillo Gallery, Chicago, IL

2000   

Religious Art, Ixchel Museum, Guatemala City, Guatemala

1999   

Volcanoes and other fires, CDS Gallery, New York, NY

1998   

Aldo Castillo Gallery, Chicago, IL

1997   

Valanti Gallery, San Jose, Costa Rica; Retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art Paiz, Guatemala City, Guatemala
Anita Shapolsky Gallery, New York, NY

1996   

Sculptures by Rodolfo Abularach, El Ático Gallery, Guatemala City, Guatemala

1994   

Museum of Contemporary Art of Panama, Panama City, Panama

1992   

Museo Rayo, Valle del Cauca, Colombia

1991   

Túnel Gallery; Guatemala City; Plástica Contemporánea Gallery, Guatemala City; Art Miami 91, International Exhibition, Miami, FL

1989   

Patronato de Bellas Artes Gallery, Guatemala City; El Túnel, Guatemala City, Guatemala

1988   

Patronato de Bellas Artes Gallery, Guatemala City; El Túnel Gallery, Guatemala City, Guatemala

1986   

Casa de la Cultura Gallery, Santa Cruz, Bolivia; National Museum of Art, La Paz, Bolivia; Portales Cultural Center, Cochabamba, Bolivia; Época Gallery, Santiago de Chile, Chile

1985   

1-2-3 Gallery, San Salvador, El Salvador; Ixchel Museum, Guatemala City, Guatemala

1983   

Diners Gallery, Bogota, Colombia; Etcétera Gallery, Panama City, Panama

1982   

Centro de Arte Actual, Pereira, Colombia; Borjeson Gallery, Malmo, Suecia; Workshop Gallery Museum of Modern Art La Tertulia, Cali, Colombia; Atenea Gallery, Barranquilla, Colombia; Siete Gallery, Caracas, Venezuela

1981   

Rayo Museum, Roldanillo, Colombia; Moss Gallery, San Francisco, California; Miami Dade Public Library System, Miami, Florida; EMUSA Gallery, La Paz, Bolivia; Arte 80 Gallery, Ciudad de Panama

1979   

La Galería, Quito, Ecuador; El Tunel Gallery, Guatemala City; Panarte Gallery, Panamá City

1978   

San Diego Gallery, Bogota, Colombia; El Túnel Gallery, Guatemala City; University of Medellin, Medellin, Colombia; Quintero Gallery, Barranquilla, Colombia

1977   

Arte Actual de Iberoamerica, Madrid, Spain; Artes Gallery, Quito, Ecuador

1976   

Echandi Gallery, Ministerio de Cultura, San Jose, Costa Rica; Forma Gallery, San Salvador, El Salvador; Tague Gallery, Managua, Nicaragua; Quintero Gallery, Barranquilla, Colombia; Estructura Gallery, Panama City; Alternative Center of the Arts, New York, NY

1975   

Siglo Veintiuno Gallery, Quito, Ecuador; Briseno Gallery, Lima, Peru; Center of Current Art, Pereira, Colombia

1974   

Museum of Modern Art, Bogota, Colombia; Macondo Gallery, Guatemala City; Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas, Centro Cultural, Guatemala City; Pacanis Gallery, Mexico City; Forma Gallery, San Salvador, El Salvador

1973   

Museum of the University of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico; “Sala Estudio Actual” Caracas, Venezuela; Fundación Gallery, Caracas, Venezuela

1972      

Westbeth Gallery, New York, NY

1971      

San Diego Gallery, Bogota, Colombia; Westbeth Gallery, New York, NY

1970      

Colibri Gallery, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Vertebra Gallery, Guatemala City; Graham Gallery, New York, NY; San Carlos University of Guatemala, Guatemala City; Pyramid Gallery, Washington D.C.

1969      

Bucholz Gallery, Munich, Germany

1967      

Schaefer-Diaz Gallery, Guatemala City, Guatemala

1966      

Sala L.A. Arango, Bank of the Republic of Bogota, Bogota, Colombia

1961      

David Herbert Gallery, New York, NY

1955      

Estudios en Pluma y Tinta, Escuela de Artes Plásticas, National Museum of Archeology of Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala

1954      

Arcadi Gallery, Guatemala City, Guatemala

1947      

National Tourism Office Gallery, Guatemala City, Guatemala


Selected Group Exhibitions

2013      

Bicentenario del Tribunal Supremo de España, Sala Magna, Madrid, Spain
Artists of the Bicentenary, Instituto Cervantes of New York, NY

2008      

2008 Wunderkammer: A Century of Curiosities, Museum of Modern Art, MoMA, New York, NY

1993      

Plástica Contemporánea Gallery, Guatemala City, Guatemala
Cucalon Gallery, New York, NY
Art Consult, Guatemala City, Guatemala
Anita Shapolsky Gallery, New York, NY

1992      

Museum Brattleboro, Brattleboro, VT
Espacio Gallery, San Salvador, El Salvador
Patronato de Bellas Artes, Guatemala City, Guatemala

1991      

Today’s Painting in Latinoamerica, Museum of Art, Nagoya, Japan
Cucalon Galley, New York, NY
Latin-American Drawing Today, Museum of Art of San Diego, San Diego, CA
Contemporary Artist of the South of the World, Palazo Spano Burgio, Marsala, Italy
Museum of Modern Art “Carlos Mérida”, Guatemala City, Guatemala
X International Biennale of Art, Valparaiso, Chile
Coutourier Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

1990      

Masters of Guatemalan Painting, El Tunel Gallery, Guatemala City, Guatemala
Latin-American Art Exhibition, Espacio Gallery, San Salvador, El Salvador
International Exhibition of Small Print, Camleyben Gallery, Fredrkstad, Norway
Art Works for the Collection, 1950-1990, Museo del Barrio, New York, NY
The Awakening, Exhibition of Latin-American Art from 1900 to 1990, The Discovery Museum, Bridgeport, CT
Latin Art 90, Contemporary Art of Latin-America and the Caribbean, La Galerie D’Art, Lavalin, Montreal, Canada

1989      

Mira, Canadian Club Hispanic Art Tour, Museo del Barrio; Traveling Show, Los Angeles, Texas, Miami, New York
The Latin-American Spirit, Art and Artists in the U.S.A., 1920-1970, Bronx Museum, Bronx, NY
56th International Exhibition of Miniature, The Miniature Society of Washington, D.C. 

1988      

International Drawing, Cork Gallery, Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, New York, NY

1987      

I International Painting Biennale, Cuenca, Ecuador
International Biennale of Miniatures, Del Bello Gallery, Toronto, Canada

1986      

I Ibero-American Biennale of Serial Art, Seville, Spain
II Biennial of Art, La Habana, Cuba
Centuries Testimony, Latin-American Art, National Museum of Art, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Latin-American Biennale of Graphic Arts, Museum de of Contemporary Hispanic Art, New York, NY
Latin-American Biennial of Works on Paper, Buenos Aires, Argentina

1985      

X International Competition of Miniature Printmaking, Pratt Graphic Center, New York, NY

1984      

International Exhibition of Mezzotint, The Print Club, Philadelphia, PA
Liao Show, Print Exhibition, Taiwán
New Figure Drawing, F. Wolfsonart Gallery, Miami Dade Country College, Miami, FL  

1983      

Latin-American Artists in U.S.A. 1950-1970, Goldwin Museum Terubach, Queens College, Queens, NY
Mini Grabado Internacional, Cadaques, Gerona, Spain

1982      

II Biennial of Latin-American Graphic Arts, Cayman Gallery, New York, NY
II Biennial of Graphic Arts, Maracaibo, Venezuela
Bogarin Museum, El Tigre, Anzoategui, Venezuela

1981      

Panamerican Biennale of Graphic Arts, Museum of Modern Art, Cali, Colombia
VII International Biennale of Printmaking, Bradford, UK

1980      

International Exhibition of Graphic Arts, World Council of Printmaking, San Francisco, CA
III World Biennale of Graphic Arts, Irak Cultural Center, London, UK

1979      

Biennale of Printmaking, Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan
Triennial of Printmakers, Associación de Artes Criticas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Biennale of Latin-American Printmakers, Rome, Italy

1978      

1978 Latinamerican Art of Today, Museum of Art, Caracas, Venezuela
I Biennale of Iberoamerican Art, Centro Cultural Domecq, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico

1975      

Overview of the Latin-American Contemporary Artist, Trenton Museum, NJ

1974      

Biennale of Graphic Arts, Cracovia, Poland
Latin-American Graphic Arts, Museum of Modern Art, Interamerican Relations Center, New York, NY
II Biennal of Graphic Arts, Fredrikstad, Norway
Biennial of Graphic Arts, Florence, Italy
Ibizagrafic ‘74, Ibiza, Spain
Modern Printmakers, Bevier Gallery, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY 

1973      

Biennale of Panamerican Graphic Arts, Museum of Modern Art La Tertulia, Cali, Colombia Latin-American Surrealist Painting, Aele Gallery, Madrid, Spain

1972      

II Biennal of Graphic Arts, Cracovia, Poland
Interamerican Relations Center, New York, NY
Joan Miró Drawing, Barcelona, Spain
International Biennale of Graphic Arts, Frenchen, Germany

1971      

Tamarind: Homepage to Lithography, Museum of Modern Art, MoMA, New York, NY

1970      

The Inflated Image, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Exposición Nacional de Dibujos, Museo de Arte, San Francisco, CA
Biennial de Arte, Coltejer, Medellín, Colombia
Exposición Internacional de Dibujo, Rijeka, Yugoslavia
IX Convocatoria Premio Internacional de Dibujo Joan Miró, Barcelona, Spain

1968      

Biennale of Graphic Arts, Bradford City Art Gallery, Bradford, UK

1967      

Biennale of Graphic Arts, Bradford City Art Gallery, Bradford, UK

1966      

Biennale of Graphic Arts, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
44 New Drawings: Recent Acquisitions, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY

1965      

Biennale of Santiago, Santiago, Chile
Art in a Changing World: Drawings of the Museum Collection, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY

1964      

Latin-American Painters in the U.S.A., Modern Art Institute, Washington, D.C.
Latin-American Art Exhibition, Palace of the Congress, Berlin, Germany
Museum of Modern Art, J. Paul Sachs Collection, New York, NY
Contemporary Painters as Sculptors and Printmakers, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY

1963      

Drawing U.S.A., Arts Center, St. Paul, MN
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Arte Actual de América y España, Madrid, Spain

1962      

50 drawings: recent acquisitions, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Contemporary Painting, David Herbert Gallery, New York, NY
Pratt Graphic Talent, Lever House, New York, NY
Fleming Museum, Vermont University, Burlington, VT

1961      

VI Biennale of Sao Paulo, Sao Paolo, Brazil
Contemporary Painting, Yale University, New Haven, CT
Drawings of XX Century, Collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY

1960      

Permanent Collection of Contemporary Latin-American Art, OAS, Washington, D.C.
100 Drawings from the Museum Collection, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Drawings of the Museum of Modern Art and new talents in U.S.A., American Federation of Arts, New York, NY

1959      

V Biennal of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Biennale of Paris, Paris, France
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL

1958      

International Biennale of Mexico, Mexico
Milwaukee Art Center, Milwaukee, WI

Selected Collections 

Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Metropolitan Museum, New York, NY
Museum of the Americas, Washington, D.C.
New York Public Bookstore, New York, NY
New York Interchem, New York, NY
Grundwald Collection, Los Angeles, CA
Luis Angel Arango Room, Banco de la República, Bogotá, Colombia
Institute of Hispanic Culture, Madrid, Spain
High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA
Museum of Modern Art, Bogotá, Colombia
Museum of the University of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico
Museum of Art, Caracas, Venezuela
Cardboard and Paper from Mexico, Mexico, D.F.
Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, D.C.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
Museum of Modern Art, Guatemala City, Guatemala
Museum of the “Pinacoteca Nacional”, La Paz, Bolivia
Museum of Art, Contemporary Art, Sao Paulo, Brazil
“La Tertulia” Art Museum, Cali, Colombia
Museum of Art and History, Geneva, Switzerland
Alternative Center of International Arts, New York, NY
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
National Museum of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
World Engraving Council, San Francisco, CA
University of Austin, Austin, TX
Museo Panarte, Panama
Royal Museum of Art, Copenhagen, Denmark
Museo Del Barrio, New York, NY
Banco de Guatemala, Guatemala
Museum of International and Contemporary Graphic Arts, Fredrikstad, Norway

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