Juan Boza Sánchez

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Juan Boza Sánchez
Born 1941
Camaguey, Cuba
Died March 5, 1991
New York City, New York

Juan Boza Sánchez (1941 in Camagüey, Cuba - March 5, 1991 in New York City, New York) was a gay[1] Afro-Cuban-American artist specializing at painting, drawing, engraving, installation and graphic design.

Boza studied at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes “San Alejandro” from 1960 to 1962 and then from 1962 to 1964 at the Escuela Nacional de Arte (ENA) both located in Havana, Cuba. He was expelled from San Alejandro due to "political issues" and became a lithographer with the Experimental Graphic Workshop in 1965.

Boza was fired as a result of the Congress of Education and Culture which convened in 1971 and led to the censorship of many artists in Cuba. In the years between 1971 and his exodus from Cuba in 1980 Boza restored religious statues to earn a living.

In 1980 Juan Boza managed to escape Cuba to New York via the Mariel boatlift. Boza described New York as a "tremendous shock" and upon arriving in New York "had to re-build Juan Boza from scratch." Boza began developing an Afro-Cuban theme that he realized was part of his culture after leaving Cuba, as well as his participation in the Santeria (also known as Lukumí) religion. According to Jaun Boza, "There is no distinction between my faith and my aesthetics." He lived in New York City from 1980, when he arrived during the Mariel boatlift until his death, at Brooklyn Memorial Hospital, working at the Printmaking Workshop, the Lower Eastside Printshop and the Art Student League.

Contents

[edit] Individuals Exhibitions

[edit] Collective Exhibitions

  • 1960 - "Libertad para Siqueiros", Edificio Seguro Médico, Havana, Cuba.

[edit] Awards

  • 1966 Exhibición Nacional de la Habana
  • 1967 - Premio Portinari en Litografía - "Exposición de La Habana 1967", Galería Latinoamericana, Casa de las Américas (Havana), Havana, Cuba.
  • 1968 - Premio - "Salón Nacional de Dibujo 1967", Galería de La Habana, Havana, Cuba.

1981 Jerome Foundation, New York

[edit] Collections

Boza' work is in the permanent collections of :

[edit] References

  1. ^ Randy P. Conner & David Hatfield Sparks, Queering Creole Spiritual Traditions: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Participation in African Ispired Traditions in the Americas; (Haworth Press, Binghamton, New York, 2004); ISBN 1560233516
  • Jose Veigas-Zamora, Cristina Vives Gutierrez, Adolfo V. Nodal, Valia Garzon, Dannys Montes de Oca; Memoria: Cuban Art of the 20th Century; (California/International Arts Foundation 2001); ISBN 978-0917571114
  • Jose Viegas; Memoria: Artes Visuales Cubanas Del Siglo Xx; (California International Arts 2004); ISBN 978-0917571121 (Spanish)
  • The Miami Herald, JUAN BOZA CUBAN PAINTER, March 7, 1991
  • Randy P. Conner & David Hatfield Sparks, Queering Creole Spiritual Traditions: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Participation in African Ispired Traditions in the Americas; (Haworth Press, Binghamton, New York, 2004); ISBN 1560233516
  • Ed. Fuentes-Perez, Ileana et al. Outside Cuba: Contemporary Cuban Visual Artists; 1989.

ISBN 0-935501-13-4

[edit] External links

Cuba Portal