The abstract universe of Oswaldo Vigas
By: Maria Alejandra Toro Vesga
El tiempo
Bogotá, Colombia. July 16, 2015
“You are in prehistory!”, the Venezuelan artist Victor Valera once said to his compatriot Oswaldo Vigas (1923-2014) when they met in Paris, where Vigas lived for two decades. The story is told by Janine, his widow, whom he met in France and who left everything to go with him to Venezuela. She recalls it because having lived in that country “reaffirmed his roots”, roots that he reflected in murals, paintings, and sculptures, which will be seen today at the Bogotá Museum of Modern Art.
Vigas is considered one of the most representative artists of his country. Before turning to art, he studied medicine, but he painted since he was 13 years old, according to his widow Janine and Lorenzo, their only son.
They are looking for keeping the legacy of the master alive through the Oswaldo Vigas Foundation. Therefore, the exhibition presented in the country has already been in Peru and Chile, and then it will travel to other countries: “It seems important that the work of a Venezuelan is touring the continent, especially in these times when the country is isolated”, Lorenzo Vigas, who is also a film director, says.
From Paris to Caracas
While passing through France left him the love of his life, great friends and experiences, like a stay with Picasso in Cannes in 1955, Vigas always yearned for Venezuela. “He knew that in Paris he would always be a foreigner, even if he was proposed the nationality. And he knew that he could give a lot more in Venezuela. That is why he came back”, his wife says.
Although the bulk of his work focused on Venezuela's pre-Hispanic figures such as the Venus de Tacarigua or those expressed in Las Brujas series, one of the best known, in Europe he made works influenced by the Constructivist movement, which was born at the beginning of the last century in Russia. His work was also influenced by Informalism and the CoBrA group (Copenhagen, Brussels, Amsterdam), and it is going to be seen in this exhibition.
By combining painting with elements of the pre-Columbian history of his country in paintings and sculptures in which he gave free rein to his emotions, he printed a hallmark of his work that won him several awards, such as the National Arts Award (1951), or the Arturo Michelena Award, both in Venezuela. Internationally, he won the Prince Rainier III Grand Prize (1992), as well as participations in many biennials like the Venice Biennale in 1954.
His work as a cultural manager in the neighboring country also stood out: he was cultural director of the University of the Andes, among other charges. In addition to painting, he wrote poetry. He published two books: Mis dioses tutelares and Poesía contra el viento.
Vigas painted until last year, when death came on April 22. Even when his right hand began to fail, and after suffering a stroke, he continued painting “with a lot more strenght in his line”, his wife says.
This Thursday, at 6 pm, a talk will be held with the curator of the exhibition Bélgica Rodríguez (Venezuela), and art critics Álvaro Medina (Colombia) and Lisbeth Rebollo (Brazil).
Where and when?
Oswaldo Vigas, Antológica 1943 - 2013 will be until mid-August at the Bogotá Museum of Modern Art. 24 Street, nº 6-00. Phone number: 286-0466.