Draft:Claudio Girola
Claudio Mario Girola Iommi (2 January 1923, Rosario – 13 October 1994, Viña del Mar) was an Argentine-Chilean visual artist, poet, and professor, known for his avant-garde sculptures, many of which are on display in Argentina and Chile.[1] He is considered one of the driving forces behind the revival of Latin American visual art in the latter half of the 20th century.[2]
Claudio Girola | |
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| Born | Claudio Mario Girola Iommi 2 January 1923 |
| Died | 13 October 1994 (aged 71) |
| Resting place | Ritoque, Chile |
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| Years active | 1945–1991 |
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He is also known for being a signatory of the Manifiesto de Cuatro Jóvenes (Manifesto of Four Young Artists) in 1942 which protested the annual National Art Exhibition of Buenos Aires (Salón Nacional de Buenos Aires) competition and its effects on art education in Argentina, as well as Argentine art education as a whole.[3]
Early life and education
[edit]Claudio Girola Iommi was born in 1923 in Rosario, Argentina, to Santiago Girola and Maria Iommi. His parents were Italian immigrants, his father from Milan and his mother from Ancona. He had two younger siblings, Enio Iommi (1926–2013) and Nidia Girola Iommi (1929–?).[4] His family relocated to Buenos Aires shortly after his birth.[5] His maternal uncle, Godofredo Iommi (1917–2001), was a notable poet, architect, and educator.[6]
Girola began studying art with his brother Enio in their father's workshop, where they learned sculpting from their father.[1] He later studied drawing under Spanish-Argentine artist Eugenio Fornells. In 1939, he began attending the Manuel Belgrano National Fine Arts School and studied under Antonio Sibellino. He attended the National University of the Arts from 1940 to 1943, where he switched from studying drawing to studying sculpting.[5]
Career
[edit]In 1942, Girola and fellow Argentine art students Jorge Brito, Tomas Maldonado, and Alfredo Hlito wrote and signed a pamphlet entitled Manifiesto de Cuatro Jóvenes which protested the annual National Art Exhibition of Buenos Aires (Salón Nacional de Buenos Aires) competition hosted at Palais de Glace and its effects on art education.[5] The document thrust the four young artists into a spotlight, which led to Girola, Maldonado, and Hlito forming the Asociación Arte Concreto-Invención (Concrete Art-Invention Association) in 1945. The group had its first exhibition in 1946 and disbanded in 1947.[6]
In 1949, he relocated to Europe where he would reside between Paris and Milan, studying sculpting under Georges Vantongerloo. His first solo exhibition was in 1949, located at the Salto Gallery in Milan.[7] His work with Group MAC in Milan allowed him to gain significant exposure in Como.[8]
In 1951, Girola briefly returned to Buenos Aires where he joined the Grupo de Artistas Modernos de la Argentina (Group of Modern Argentine Artists, GAMA) and participated in an exhibition of theirs at the Viau Gallery in Buenos Aires.[8] The following year, he was invited by the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso (PUCV) to exhibit in Valparaíso and Santiago. Following this exhibition, he was invited to become a professor of visual arts at the university, which he accepted and relocated to Viña del Mar, Chile, in 1953. That year, he was featured in the International Exhibition of Abstract Sculpture at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, as well as solo exhibitions in the Krayd Gallery in Buenos Aires. In 1956, he became a founding professor of the School of Architecture at PUCV.[7]
In 1961, Girola's works were featured in a retrospective art exhibit at the Chilean National Museum of Fine Arts in Santiago and he participated in a similar retrospective at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires in 1963, which won him the 1963 Braque Prize awarded by the French government.[5]
In 1965, Girola and his uncle Godofredo took part in the first Travesía de Amereida, an annual artistic expedition from Tierra del Fuego to Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, which consisted of designers, sculptors, poets, painters, and architects from Latin America and Europe. Girola was a contributor to the 1967 multi-authored poem about the expedition, Amereida.[6][9] Following his return from this expedition, Girola's works were featured in two high-profile exhibits at the Visual Arts Center of the Torcuato Di Tella Institute: the Argentina in the World Exhibition in 1965, and the Beyond Geometry Exhibition in 1967.[7]
In the 1970s, Girola primarily exhibited at the Rubbers Gallery Exhibition and Carmen Waugh Gallery in Buenos Aires, though he participated in exhibitions in Belgium, Switzerland, Santiago, and the 50 Years of Argentine Sculpture Exhibition at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires.[7]
Starting in 1973, Girola became a professor of graphic design and industrial design at PUCV. In 1976, became one of the founders of Ciudad Abierta (Open City), an experimental architectural project founded by his uncle Godofredo and led by PUCV in the Ritoque locality of Quintero which features several unique works of architecture. He designed the project's "El Pozo" space, an area designed to appeal to the senses individually.[6]
Throughout the 1980s, Girola was featured in several exhibitions in Argentina and Chile. In 1988, he designed seven statues in the park of the Church of Santa Rosa de Lima in Freirina.[7]
Personal life
[edit]Girola married in 1982 to a Chilean woman named Maria Eliana del Corazón de Jesús Lira Calvo in Viña del Mar. The couple did not have any children.
Claudio Girola Iommi died in Viña del Mar on 13 October 1994. He was buried at Cementerio de la Ciudad Abierta at the Open City in Ritoque.[2]
Works
[edit]- 1949: Salto Gallery, Milan
- 1952: Viau Gallery, Buenos Aires (with Modern Artists of Argentina)
- 1953: Museum of Modern Art, Rio de Janeiro (with Concrete Art-Invention Association)
- 1953: International Exhibition of Abstract Sculpture, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
- 1953: Krayd Gallery, Buenos Aires
- 1961: Retrospective at the National Museum of Fine Arts, Santiago
- 1962: 31st Venice Biennale, Venice
- 1963: Retrospective at the National Museum of Fine Arts, Buenos Aires
- 1965: Argentina in the World Exhibition, Visual Arts Center of the Torcuato Di Tella Institute, Buenos Aires
- 1967: Beyond Geometry Exhibition, Visual Arts Center of the Torcuato Di Tella Institute, Buenos Aires
- 1968: Concrete Art Exhibition, Buenos Aires
- 1968: Hall of Honor of the Catholic University of Valparaíso, Valparaíso
- 1969: Argentine Hebrew Society, Buenos Aires
- 1970-1977: Rubbers Gallery, Buenos Aires
- 1971: 11th Antwerp Sculpture Biennial, Antwerp
- 1971: Argentine Art, Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel
- 1971: Central Art Gallery, Santiago
- 1971: 50 Years of Argentine Sculpture Exhibition, National Museum of Fine Arts, Buenos Aires
- 1971-1974: Carmen Waugh Gallery, Buenos Aires
- 1981: Viña del Mar Hall, Viña del Mar
- 1982: Epoca Gallery, Santiago
- 1985: Retiro Gallery, Museum of Modern Art, Buenos Aires
- 1985: Museum of Fine Arts, Santiago
- 1985: School of Architecture, Catholic University of Valparaíso, Valparaíso
- 1986: San Telmo Foundation; Sivori Museum, Buenos Aires
- 1987: Modern Art Center, Buenos Aires
- 1990: Museum of Fine Arts, Santiago
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Claudio Girola". Artistas Visuales Chilenos. Museo Nacional Bellas Artes.
- ^ a b "Claudio Girola Iommi (1923-1994)". Memoria Chilena (in Spanish). Biblioteca Nacional de Chile.
- ^ Brito, Jorge; Girola, Claudio; Maldonado, Tomás; Hlito, Alfredo (1942). "Manifiesto de Cuatro Jóvenes". International Center for the Arts of the Americas. Houston, Texas: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
- ^ "Cronología". Enio Iommi Sculptor (in Spanish).
- ^ a b c d "Girola Claudio". Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires (in Spanish).
- ^ a b c d Rossi, Cristina (2014-04-03). "Claudio Girola and Poetry, the Owner of His History". Arte al Día.
- ^ a b c d e "Claudio Girola Iommi". e[ad] (in Spanish). Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso. Archived from the original on 2016-11-13.
- ^ a b "Claudio Girola, Biography". Virtual Center of Argentine Art. Centro Cultural Recoleta.
- ^ "Travesía de Amereida". Memoria Chilena (in Spanish). Biblioteca Nacional de Chile.