José Julián Aguilera Vicente - Biography

Born in 1933 in Santiago de Cuba, Aguilera is a painter, sculptor, and graphic artist.

He has worked as a professional artist for 40 years, as well as an educator for 38 years, and an instructor at the José Joaquín Tejada Art School in Santiago de Cuba and the Art Education Department at the University of Oriente and the Higher Institute of Education (ISE), among other institutions. He has taught drawing, engraving, art appreciation, technique and more.

He is a founding member of the Raúl Gómez García Brigade, the Juan Marinello Cultural Contingent, the Commission for the Development of Monumental and Environmental Sculpture (CODEMA), and the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC), in which he has held leadership posts. He is also a member of the Provincial Committee of the National Union of Cultural Workers (SNTC).

Aguilera has won 33 provincial and national awards in the various fields of his artistic endeavor and has participated in 30 international group shows, in venues such as the Biennial in São Paulo, Brazil (1967) and Krakow, Poland (1972). He has mounted 11 one-man shows overseas and has participated in more than 100 exhibits in his own country.

Articles about his work, as well as reproductions and critiques, have been published in periodicals such as Bohemia magazine, Mella weekly, Granma daily, Caimán Barbudo magazine, and Galería bulletin, all in Cuba; as well as Revista Literaria Internacional, USSR; RDA magazine; and Gráfica Contemporánea, GDR.

His work can be found in many private collections in Cuba and abroad. The most complete collection of his work can be found in the Emilio Bacardí Museum in Santiago de Cuba.

Among the awards he has received are Professor Emeritus, the National Culture Distinction and Artist Laureate.

One-Man Shows

1961--Oriente Gallery, Santiago de Cuba
1961--Cultural Center, Camagüey, Cuba
1965--Oriente Gallery, Santiago de Cuba
1966--Centro Habana Gallery, Havana, Cuba
1966--Habana Gallery, Havana, Cuba
1966--Balcón de Velázquez Gallery, Havana, Cuba
1980--UNEAC Gallery, Santiago de Cuba
1980--Cultural Center, Palma Soriano
1980--Arts Center Gallery, Budapest, Hungary

International Exhibits

1962--São Paulo Biennial, Brazil
1975--Art exhibit in Kingston, Jamaica
1976--Santiago in Leningrad, USSR
1976--Modern Cuban Art, Oslo, Norway
1976--Modern Cuban Art, Helsinki, Finland
1976--Modern Cuban Art, Switzerland
1978--Qualifying Committee XI Festival, New York City, USA
1979--Joan Miró International Gallery, Spain
1980--Cuban Graphics, Managua, Nicaragua
1981--Santiago Graphic Exhibit, Mexico City
1982--Cuban Printmaking, Spain
1982--Cuban Graphics, Paris, France
1982--Graphics Sampler, St. George's, Grenada
1983--Cuban Graphics, Mexico City, Mexico
2003-2004--Meridian International Center, Washington, D.C.
2003-2004--Lighthouse Center for the Arts, Tequesta, Florida