Juan Soriano, 85; Mexican Artist Won Numerous Awards
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Juan Soriano, 85, a Mexican painter and sculptor who was awarded Spain’s prestigious Velazquez Plastic Arts Prize last year, died Friday at a hospital in Mexico City, Mexican news media reported. The cause of death was not announced. Soriano was admitted to the hospital Jan. 25 with dehydration and pneumonia.
“For art and culture in Mexico and the world, his loss is irreparable,” said Saul Juarez, the director of Mexico’s National Institute of Fine Arts.
In his painting, Soriano experimented with the figurative and the abstract, showing a preference for portraits and self-portraits. He moved on to sculptures, first in terra cottas and ceramics and later in bronze.
Born in Guadalajara, Soriano showed an early aptitude for art. At the age of 14, he held his first solo exhibition in his hometown before moving to Mexico City. He became a member of the League of Revolutionary Writers and Artists, a group that opposed Nazism and fascism in Europe and spoke out against the United States’ polices in Latin America.
He made frequent trips to Europe, living for a time in Italy and France.
In 1987, he was awarded the Premio Jalisco and the Premio Nacional de Arte, the most prestigious prize for artistic achievement in Mexico.
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