Instagram Facebook Twitter
22 de November de 2021

PEDRO GONZÁLEZ

TENERIFE, 1927 – TENERIFE, 2016

Pedro González was born on January 1, 1927 in the house of Carta de Valle Guerra, La Laguna, Tenerife. At the age of twenty he moved to Madrid to study at the School of Engineers. During the years he spent in the Spanish capital, he was inspired by Baroque painting and by Velázquez who, from that moment on, became for González “the truth of painting”. Back to his native island, he studied Chemical Sciences at the University of La Laguna and Fine Arts in Santa Cruz de Tenerife with Pedro de Guezala, Mariano de Cossío and Álvaro Fariña.

In 1955 he emigrates to Venezuela, hired by the Venezuelan Ministry of Education, and teaches at the Lisandro Alvarado High School in Barquisimeto and, later, at the School of Applied Arts in Caracas. During his stay in Venezuela he was seduced by painting, attended numerous exhibitions and became friends with other artists such as Juan Ismael, Eduardo Gregorio, Francisco Borges Salas and Antonio Torres.

In 1961 he returns definitively to Tenerife, settles in La Laguna and begins his series Icerse. That same year he participates in the exhibition Testimony of Abstract Art. In those years a new pictorial stage of abstract tendencies is established, very influenced by informalism. In 1963 he founded, together with other artists -Miguel Tarquis, Vizcaya Carpenter, Enrique Lite- the group Nuestro Arte, a rebellious and nonconformist group of great transcendence in the insular artistic panorama. A year later he began his Cosmoarte series, one of the most extensive and prolonged in time (it lasted more than twenty years). Between 1965 and 1970 he participated in all the exhibitions of the group Nuestro Arte, which sought to bring a renewing and committed vision of art, which tried to get out of the well of statism in which many of the artists of the time were plunged. He also worked as an art critic and wrote some essays for the press.

In the eighties he ventured into politics and in 1983 he was elected mayor of the City Council of La Laguna. In 1988 he was awarded the Canary Islands Prize for Fine Arts and Interpretation. In addition, he exhibited his work at the Universal Exposition in Seville. Between 1983 and 1999 he was President of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of the Canary Islands and two years later, in 2001, he was named Honorary Academician.

It is worth mentioning his pedagogical work, first as a professor of Art at the Escuela Superior and, later, at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of La Laguna, where he became Dean. He was considered a great teacher and source of inspiration for the new pictorial generations of the Canary Islands. He died on May 14, 2016 in La Laguna.

BIO

Exhibitions

Estremecimiento
2022

List of works

PEDRO GONZÁLEZ

TENERIFE, 1927 - TENERIFE, 2016

Pedro González comienza en los años 50 a exponer sus primeras obras en Tenerife, realizando su primera exposición individual en 1953, en la Sala Provenza de Santa Cruz de Tenerife. En estos años con varios amigos pintores y poetas, forma en la Laguna un grupo llamado “Garage”, donde comparten ilusiones y proyectos artísticos.


En 1954, finaliza sus estudios de Ciencias Químicas y realiza un viaje por Cataluña. Durante este viaje visita iglesias románicas del Pirineo, quedando maravillado por la magia del primitivismo y el vigor estructural. Por otro lado, en Barcelona contempla a Picasso, Rusiñol, las acuarelas de Ceferino Olivé y de Lloveras o los grandes óleos de los modernistas catalanes como Anglada Camarasa o Ramón Casas. El pintor expone sus paisajes pirenaicos, acuarelas que realiza en este viaje, en la Residencia de Oficiales de Lérida. En 1955 vuelve de su viaje por Cataluña y decide emprender un nuevo futuro en tierras venezolanas, hasta su regreso a Tenerife en 1961.


Contratado como docente en el Liceo de Barquisimeto y en la Escuela de Artes Aplicadas de Caracas, participa en varias exposiciones mientras toma contacto con la escultura inglesa contemporánea de Hepworth, Chadwick, Sotherland y la pintura americana. En 1955 recibe el Segundo y Tercer Premio de pintura en el Salón Julio T. Arce, donde presenta un mural titulado “Baile de tamunangue” que es expuesto un año después en el Museo de Bellas Artes de la ciudad.
Durante su estancia en Venezuela expone tanto en colectivas como en individuales en: la Asociación de Escritores Venezolanos de Caracas, el Salón Arturo Michelena, el Salón Oficial de Arte Venezolano, el Liceo Lisandro Alvarado, el Museo de Bellas Artes de Caracas, el Salón D’Empire y en el Salón Mendoza. La crítica alaba su habilidad para captar la luz del paisaje venezolano, escritores canarios como María Rosa Alonso, José Rial o José Pérez y Sicilia participan en los coloquios de sus exposiciones.


El pintor traslada su residencia a Caracas, donde es llamado para dar clases en la Escuela Politécnica. En la capital se introduce en los círculos artísticos más selectos conociendo a pintores como Soto Cruz Díez, Alejandro Otero, Herminy o Calzadilla. En esta época se celebran grandes exposiciones antológicas de arte contemporáneo en el Museo de Artes Plásticas de Caracas, dándose el entendimiento y la práctica del arte abstracto. Pedro González se verá atraído desde el primer momento por este tipo de arte, su avance hacia la abstracción y el informalismo, en contacto con la pintura que se hace en Estados Unidos, subraya la importancia de su aventura americana.


En 1960, obtiene el primer premio de la exposición regional de Pintura y Escultura de Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Este premio constituye que sea premiada, por primera vez en Canarias, una obra moderna de una figuración tan libre que algunos llaman abstracta, titulada “Mujeres y casas”. Al regresar a Venezuela, después de esta breve estancia en Tenerife, expone una serie de monotipos en el Museo de Bellas Artes de Caracas, volviendo definitivamente a la isla en 1961.
Poco después crea su primera serie no figurativa, “Icerse”, expuesta por primera vez en el Círculo de Bellas Artes de Santa Cruz, en 1962, y en la sala Neblí de Madrid. El Instituto de Cultura Hispánica organiza ese mismo año la exposición “Spanick Kulturinstitut”, con Lola Massieu, Pedro González y Felo Monzón, en el Instituto de Cultura Hispánica de Munich, Alemania, y sus obras están presentes en la X Bienal de Sao Paulo, junto a Felo Monzón, en 1969.


A su regreso de Venezuela asume el papel de teórico y defensor de las ideas estéticas y artísticas renovadoras. Enrique Lite ofrece, en 1962, una reflexión sobre lo que significó la emigración en la maduración de los artistas canarios, en “La pintura que emigra”, una conferencia que dicta en la clausura de la muestra de Pedro González, en el Círculo de Bellas Artes de Tenerife. En los años 60, Pedro González y Felo Monzón continúan la labor crítica, apadrinando y apoyando a las nuevas generaciones de artistas, junto a la determinante figura de Eduardo Westerdahl. Con el retorno de Pedro González y la incorporación de Enrique Lite al debate crítico, se asiste a la discusión entre postulados figurativos y abstractos. El animado ambiente de la tertulia del Café el Águila da pie a disputas y debates artísticos en Santa Cruz.


Desde su llegada al archipiélago hasta su fallecimiento, no cesa de exponer sus obras: en el Círculo de Bellas Artes de Tenerife, el Museo Municipal de Santa Cruz de Tenerife, el Centro Icodense de Tenerife, la Modern Art Gallery de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, el Ateneo de la Laguna, la Sala Neblí de Madrid, la Dirección General de Bellas Artes de Madrid, la Galería Rayuela de Madrid, la Galería Sen de Madrid, Aritzar, Bilbao, el Fondo de Arte Contemporáneo de Madrid, el expositor en Arco 85 por la Galería Proyecto de Madrid, la Art Expo de Montreal, en Nueva York, Washington y Caracas, entre otras muchas.


A finales de 1988, con una antológica de su obra se inaugura en Las Palmas de Gran Canaria la galería dirigida por Saro León, comprometida con la plástica canaria y la internacional. También muestra su obra en la Exposición Universal de Sevilla de 1992.


Su genialidad también es reconocida por numerosos premios y nombramientos en el ámbito artístico-académico, pero también en otros como el político: profesor en la Escuela de Bellas Artes desde 1963, en 1965, es nombrado profesor de dibujo técnico en la Facultad de Ciencias de La Laguna y, en 1968, en la Escuela de Artes Aplicadas y Oficios Artísticos, así como primer decano de la Facultad de Bellas Artes de la Universidad de La Laguna. En los años 80, se aventura a la carrera política y en 1983 es elegido alcalde por el partido socialista del Ayuntamiento de La Laguna. La política también le aparta durante años de la práctica artística, aunque en las últimas décadas la retoma de manera libre y muy productiva.

 

Doctor en Bellas Artes, Pedro González ha sido reconocido con diversos premios y distinciones en Canarias, destacando entre ellos el Premio Canarias de Bellas Artes e Interpretación en 1988. Miembro de la Real Academia de Bellas Artes San Miguel de Canarias, en 1979, también ocupa la Presidencia de la Real Academia desde 1983 hasta 1999, nombrado Académico de Honor en 2001. El Museo Español de Arte Contemporáneo adquiere una de sus obras de la serie “Cosmoarte”.


Asimismo, en 2007 es descubierta una placa con su nombre en el parque de la Vega de Santa Cruz de Tenerife. A su muerte en 2016, el Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno (CAAM) realiza un homenaje al pintor exhibiendo las obras del pintor pertenecientes a su Colección.

PEDRO GONZÁLEZ

TENERIFE, 1927 - TENERIFE, 2016

Pedro González began to exhibit his first works in Tenerife in the 50’s, holding his first individual exhibition in 1953, at the Sala Provenza in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. During these years, together with several painter and poet friends, he formed a group called “Garage” in La Laguna, where they shared their illusions and artistic projects.

In 1954, he finished his studies in Chemical Sciences and made a trip to Catalonia. During this trip he visits Romanesque churches in the Pyrenees, being amazed by the magic of primitivism and structural vigor. On the other hand, in Barcelona he contemplates Picasso, Rusiñol, the watercolors of Ceferino Olivé and Lloveras or the great oil paintings of the Catalan modernists such as Anglada Camarasa or Ramón Casas. The painter exhibits his Pyrenean landscapes, watercolors made during this trip, at the Residencia de Oficiales de Lérida. In 1955 he returns from his trip through Catalonia and decides to undertake a new future in Venezuelan lands, until his return to Tenerife in 1961.

Hired as a teacher at the Liceo de Barquisimeto and at the Escuela de Artes Aplicadas de Caracas, he participates in several exhibitions while making contact with contemporary English sculpture by Hepworth, Chadwick, Sotherland and American painting. In 1955 he receives the Second and Third Prize in painting at the Julio T. Arce Salon, where he presents a mural titled “Baile de tamunangue” which is exhibited a year later at the Museo de Bellas Artes of the city.
During his stay in Venezuela he exhibits both in group and solo shows at: the Venezuelan Writers Association of Caracas, the Arturo Michelena Salon, the Official Venezuelan Art Salon, the Lisandro Alvarado Lyceum, the Museum of Fine Arts of Caracas, the D’Empire Salon and the Mendoza Salon. The critics praise his ability to capture the light of the Venezuelan landscape, writers from the Canary Islands such as María Rosa Alonso, José Rial or José Pérez y Sicilia participate in the colloquiums of his exhibitions.

The painter moves to Caracas, where he is called to teach at the Polytechnic School. In the capital he is introduced in the most select artistic circles, meeting painters like Soto Cruz Díez, Alejandro Otero, Herminy or Calzadilla. At this time great anthological exhibitions of contemporary art are held at the Museo de Artes Plásticas de Caracas, giving the understanding and practice of abstract art. Pedro Gonzalez will be attracted from the first moment by this type of art, his advance towards the abstraction and the informalism, in contact with the painting that is done in the United States, underlines the importance of his American adventure.

In 1960, she won the first prize in the regional exhibition of Painting and Sculpture of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. This award is the first time in the Canary Islands that a modern work of such a free figuration that some call it abstract, entitled “Women and houses”, is awarded a prize. On his return to Venezuela, after this brief stay in Tenerife, he exhibits a series of monotypes at the Museum of Fine Arts in Caracas, returning definitively to the island in 1961.
Shortly afterwards he creates his first non-figurative series, “Icerse”, exhibited for the first time at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Santa Cruz, in 1962, and at the Neblí Gallery in Madrid. The Institute of Hispanic Culture organizes that same year the exhibition “Spanick Kulturinstitut”, with Lola Massieu, Pedro González and Felo Monzón, in the Institute of Hispanic Culture of Munich, Germany, and his works are present in the X Biennial of Sao Paulo, together with Felo Monzón, in 1969.

Upon his return from Venezuela he assumes the role of theoretician and defender of aesthetic and artistic renovating ideas. Enrique Lite offers, in 1962, a reflection on what emigration meant in the maturation of the Canary artists, in “The painting that emigrates”, a conference that dictates in the closing of the exhibition of Pedro González, in the Círculo de Bellas Artes of Tenerife. In the 60’s, Pedro Gonzalez and Felo Monzon continue the critical work, sponsoring and supporting the new generations of artists, together with the decisive figure of Eduardo Westerdahl. With the return of Pedro Gonzalez and the incorporation of Enrique Lite to the critical debate, a discussion between figurative and abstract postulates took place. The lively atmosphere of the gathering at Café el Águila gave rise to artistic disputes and debates in Santa Cruz.

From his arrival to the archipelago until his death, he never stopped exhibiting his works: At the Círculo de Bellas Artes of Tenerife, the Municipal Museum of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the Centro Icodense of Tenerife, the Modern Art Gallery of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the Ateneo de la Laguna, the Sala Neblí of Madrid, the Dirección General de Bellas Artes of Madrid, the Galería Rayuela of Madrid, the Galería Sen of Madrid, Aritzar, Bilbao, the Fondo de Arte Contemporáneo of Madrid, the exhibitor at Arco 85 by the Galería Proyecto of Madrid, the Art Expo of Montreal, in New York, Washington and Caracas, among many others.

At the end of 1988, with an anthology of his work, the gallery directed by Saro Leon, committed to the Canarian and international plastic arts, was inaugurated in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. He also shows his work at the Universal Exposition of Seville in 1992.

His genius is also recognized by numerous awards and appointments in the artistic-academic field, but also in others such as politics: professor at the School of Fine Arts since 1963, in 1965, he is appointed professor of technical drawing at the Faculty of Sciences of La Laguna and, in 1968, at the School of Applied Arts and Artistic Trades, as well as the first dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of La Laguna. In the 80’s, he ventured into politics and in 1983 he was elected mayor for the socialist party of the City Council of La Laguna. Politics also kept him away from the artistic practice for years, although in the last decades he took it up again in a free and very productive way.

Doctor in Fine Arts, Pedro González has been recognized with several prizes and distinctions in the Canary Islands, among them the Canary Islands Prize for Fine Arts and Interpretation in 1988. Member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts San Miguel de Canarias, in 1979, he also held the Presidency of the Royal Academy from 1983 to 1999, and was named Honorary Academician in 2001. The Spanish Museum of Contemporary Art acquires one of his works from the “Cosmoarte” series.

Likewise, in 2007 a plaque with his name was unveiled in the Vega Park in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Upon his death in 2016, the Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno (CAAM) pays tribute to the painter by exhibiting the works of the painter belonging to its Collection.