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
