Carlos Irizarry (1938 - )

  Painter and engraver Carlos Irizarry was born in Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico, in 1938. He studied at the School of Art & Design in New York City. At the first Bienal de San Juan del Grabado Latinoamericano y del Caribe, celebrated in 1970, his work received honorable mention from a panel of international judges.

In 1972, he was awarded first prize at Exposición Internacional del Grabado de Protesta, in Vienna; and was honored by "Sin Nombre" magazine in 1975. He was a teacher at Liga de Estudiantes de Arte, and co-founder and director of Centro Nacional de Las Artes en San Juan, PR.

In 1975, Carlos Irizarry paints a politically loaded work of art, titled "La Transculturación del Puertorriqueño", pictured on the right. Inspired in a work of art by Ramon Frade, he juxtaposes the figure of the typical Puerto Rican peasant with a dark, rotting image of itself, which represents the loss of identity and the process of cultural assimilation to the US.

As much has been said about Carlos' temperament as his art. After his training in New York, he returned to the island in 1966, where he contributed much to the graphic arts movement that was flourishing then. His style at the moment was influenced by abstract expressionism.

During the early 80's, he begins to explore more fully the concept of art as political movement. During this decade, he creates one of his better known masterpieces, Julia de Burgos, 1983, pictured to the left. Burgos is one of the better known poets of Puerto Rico.

His work has been featured in numerous individual exhibitions: Museo de Bellas Artes, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña; Museo de Arte de Ponce; and Museo de Arte e Historia de San Juan, all in PR.