Rafael Soriano: Other Worlds Within; A Sixty-Year Retrospective

Lowe Art Museum.
From Jan 29 through Mar 27, 2011.

Cuban-born painter Rafael Soriano is one of the major Latin American artists of his generation. Soriano broke with regional and folkloric themes, which once dominated Cuban art in the mid-twenties.

Soriano first mastered geometric abstraction as a style in the 1950’s, but by the late 1960’s had defined his signature approach to painting. His work embodies a style best described as “Oneiric Luminism” combining a purely abstract form of light, form space and shadow with an interest in poetic and metaphysical impulses.

Born in 1920 in the town of Cidra in the province of Matanzas, Rafael Soriano manifested an early inclination for painting. After completing seven years of study at Havana’s prestigious Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes San Alejandro, he graduated in 1943 as Professor of Painting, Drawing and Sculpture. He then returned to Matanzas where he taught visual arts for close to two decades. He was one of the founders, and later Director, of the Escuela de Bellas Artes de Matanzas, the most important art school in Cuba outside of Havana.

In 1962 Soriano went into exile, settling in Miami with his wife Milagros and his daughter Hortensia. He worked as a graphic designer and occasionally taught, first at the Catholic Welfare Bureau, and later at the Cuban Cultural Program of the University of Miami.

Soriano’s works are included in major public collections, among them: Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes/Havana, Zimmerli Museum/Rutgers U, Denver Art Museum, Archer Huntington Gallery/U of Texas — Austin, Lowe Art Museum/ U of Miami, Museum of Art/Fort Lauderdale, Museum of the Americas/OAS–Washington DC, Galería Arte Moderno/Santo Domingo, Zea Museum of Art/Medellín.

Rafael Soriano: Other Worlds Within, a Sixty Year Retrospective will be on view at the University of Miami Lowe Art Museum from January 29 through March 27, 2011. A preview lecture and reception will be held on January 28 from 7-10 p.m. The lecture will be given by Dr. Alejandro Anreus. The exhibition is organized by the Lowe Art Museum and curated by Jesus Rosado. Sponsorship is provided by MBF Healthcare Partners.

Related Events

Preview lecture and Reception
Friday, January 28, 2011, 7-10 PM
Lecture: 7:00 p.m. Storer Auditorium, UM School of Business

Rafael Soriano: Some Thoughts on His Painting
Presented by Dr. Alejandro Anreus
Reception: 8-10 PM at Lowe Art Museum

LoweDown Happy Hour
Thursday, February 3, 2011, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Celebration of Cuban Art
Guests can enjoy a tour of the exhibition, Rafael Soriano: Other Worlds Within, a Sixty Year Retrospective along with tasty Cuban treats, and cocktails.

Film Screening
Sunday, February 13, 2011, 1:00 p.m.
La Profundidad del Silencio (The Depth of Silence)
An Intimate Portrait of the Cuban Painter Rafael Soriano
By Jorge Moya
(length is approx. 45 minutes)
Free with regular museum admission

Lowe Art Museum
1301 Stanford Drive
Coral Gables, FL 33146
305.284.3535
www.lowemuseum.org