Cruz, Juan Alberto
Juan Alberto Cruz, (Cataño, P.R., 1941)
Pintor y escultor. Comenzó a dibujar a temprana edad, tiempo después su familia se mudó a los Estados Unidos, donde desarrolló un interés por trabajar con la pluma y la tinta, utilizando este medio para manifestar el choque cultural. En la década de los sesenta comenzó a pintar al óleo y en 1975 estudió en la Liga de Estudiantes de Arte de la ciudad de Nueva York. En este mismo año, se le otorgó una beca para estudiar pintura en la Universidad de Syracuse, School of Visual and Performing Arts en Nueva York, donde estudió escultura. En los ochenta viajó a América Central, España, México y Cuba buscando las raíces de sus antepasados. Su trabajo ha sido expuesto en Estados Unidos y Puerto Rico. En el 2006 participó de la feria ARWI (Puerto Rico Art & Wine Fair). Instituciones prestigiosas tales como Cultural Resources County, NYS Council on the Arts y Hereward Lester Cooke Foundation, entre otros, le han otorgado premios. Sus trabajos van inspirados en temas socio-culturales y describen conflictos religiosos, políticos y rinden homenaje a su país natal y al resto de Latinoamérica. Este artista es un incansable defensor de la naturaleza.
Juan Alberto Cruz, (Cataño, P.R., 1941)
Painter and sculptor. He began drawing at an early age and, some time later, his family moved to the United States, where he developed an interest in working with pen and ink and used this medium to express cultural clash. In the sixties he started working with oil paints, and in 1975 he studied at the New York League of Art Students. During that same year, he received a scholarship to study painting at Syracuse University’s School of Visual and Performing Arts in New York, where he studied sculpture. During the eighties he traveled to Central America, Spain, Mexico, and Cuba searching for his ancestors’ roots. His work has been shown in the United States and Puerto Rico. In 2006 he participated in ARWI, the Puerto Rico Art & Wine Fair. He has received awards from prestigious institutions such as Cultural Resources County, the NYS Council on the Arts, and the Hereward Lester Cooke Foundation, among others. His work is inspired by socio-cultural themes, describes religious and political conflicts, and pays homage to his native country and the rest of Latin America. This artist is a tireless defender of Nature.
