Édgar Negret Dueñas (October 11, 1920 – October 11, 2012) was a Colombian abstract sculptor.

Life

Negret was born in

Popayán Popayán () is the capital of the Colombian department of Cauca. It is located in the Pubenza Valley in southwestern Colombia between the Western Mountain Range and Central Mountain Range. The municipality has a population of 318,059, an a ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. He attended the School of Fine Arts in

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...

, Colombia, where he started his first studies in the year 1938 with the founder and teacher Jesus Maria Espinosa. Initially working in stone in styles reminiscent of European modernists like

Jean Arp Hans Peter Wilhelm Arp (; ; 16 September 1886 – 7 June 1966), better known as Jean Arp in English, was a German-French sculptor, painter and poet. He was known as a Dadaist and an abstract artist. Early life Arp was born Hans Peter Wilhelm Ar ...

and

Constantin Brâncuși Constantin Brâncuși (; February 19, 1876 – March 16, 1957) was a Romanian sculptor, painter, and photographer who made his career in France. Considered one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th century and a pioneer of modernism ...

. By the early 1950s, he began working in metal in constructivist tradition. In 1955, his art was acquired by the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

. In 1963, he won the

Salón de Artistas Colombianos The Salon of Colombian Artists () is a cultural event in Colombia, considered the event with most trajectory. This event is celebrated every year between August 5 and September 12 with two main categories a national event and a set of regional conte ...

, and therein became one of the most prominent Colombian sculptors of the 20th century. In 1968, he was awarded the David E. Bright Sculpture Prize, at the Thirty-fourth

Venice Biennial The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

. In 1985, the Museum Negret opened. In 2010, he was awarded “Grado de Oficial” by order of the

Congress of Colombia The Congress of the Republic of Colombia () is the name given to Colombia's bicameral national legislature. The Congress of Colombia consists of the 108-seat Senate, and the 188-seat Chamber of Representatives, Members of both houses are e ...

. Negret died, on his 92nd birthday, in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

, Colombia. In 2016,

Google Doodle Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running annual Bu ...

commemorated his 96th birthday.

Recognitions and awards

* 1963 – XV Salón de Artistas Colombianos * 1967 – XIX Salón de Artistas Colombianos * 1968 – David E. Bright Sculpture Prize * 1975 –

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

* 1997 – Best International Artist at ARCO * 1998 – Andrés Bello Order * 2010 – Grado de Oficial by the Congress of Colombia

Gallery

La tierra y la sombra Museo La Tertulia 31.JPG, ''Gran Máscara (Escalera)'' (1972),

, Colombia Flor Sanky (1991) - Edgar Negret.jpg, ''Flor Sanky'' (1991),

, Colombia Escultura de alumnos de la Universidad Politécnica de Valencia 5.JPG, ''No title'' (1992),

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, Spain Sol Rojo, by Édgar Negret.jpg, ''Sol rojo'' (1995),

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife (; locally ), commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz, is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and one of the capitals of the Canary Islands, along with Las Palmas. Santa Cruz has a ...

, Spain Monumento al maíz (Sonsón, Colombia).jpg, '' El Maíz'' (1996),

Sonsón Sonsón is a municipality in the Colombian department of Antioquia. Sonsón is located in Eastern Antioquia. It is one of the seats of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sonsón–Rionegro. Sonsón celebrates "Las Fiestas Del Maíz"- ('Festival of ...

, Colombia Escultura Negret El Virrey.JPG, ''La gran cascada'' (2000), Bogotá, Colombia Aeropuerto JMC-Escultura El Sol de Edgar Negret.JPG, ''El sol'' (2005),

Rionegro Rionegro () is a city and municipality in Antioquia Department, Colombia, located in the subregion of Eastern Antioquia. The official name of the city is Ciudad Santiago de Arma de Rionegro. Rio Negro means "Black River" in Spanish, as the cit ...

, Colombia Museo La Tertulia - Colección - El arte como experiencia 13.JPG, Various sculptures by Édgar Negret in La Tertulia Museum

Selected works

* ''Sign for an Aquarium (Model)'' (1954), painted iron,

, New York City * ''Aparato Mágico'' (1959), painted aluminium and wood, Art Museum of the Americas, Washington D.C. * ''Acoplamiento'' (1966), bolted and painted aluminium,

Bogotá Museum of Modern Art The Bogotá Museum of Modern Art (''Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá'', known as MAMBO) is a museum of modern art located in Bogotá, Colombia. It is one of the main cultural and artistic establishments in Colombia. History The museum opened to ...

, Bogotá D.C. * ''Edificio'' (1967), painted aluminium, Miguel Urrutia Art Museum, Bogotá * ''The Bridge (Homage to Paul Foster)'' (1968), painted aluminum, Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence * ''Escalera'' (1972), painted aluminium, La Tertulia Museum, Cali * ''Navegante'' (1972), painted metal, Museum of Contemporary Art of Bogotá, Bogotá * ''Máscara'' (1974), painted aluminium and wood construction, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro * ''Sol'' (1985), painted aluminium,

Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international development finance institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America. It serves as one of the leading sources of development financing for the countri ...

, Washington D.C. * ''Cascada'' (1988), painted bronze,

Bank of Spain The Bank of Spain (, ) is the national central bank for Spain within the Eurosystem. It was the Spanish central bank from 1874 to 1998, issuing the peseta. Since 2014, it has also been Spain's national competent authority within European Banki ...

, Madrid * ''Anudamiento'' (1990), bolted sheet metal and paint, Casa de Nariño, Bogotá * ''Navegantes'' (1990), painted aluminum, Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach * ''Serpiente Emplumada'' (1993), bolted sheet metal and paint, La Tertulia Museum, Cali * ''Lake-Direction'' (1995), bolted sheet metal and paint, Museum of Contemporary Art of Lima, Lima * ''Casa de la Serpiente'' (1996), painted aluminium, Grupo Sura, Medellín * ''Espacio Ritual'' (1996-2019), painted iron, Atchugarry Museum of Contemporary Art, Manantiales

References

External links

*
"Interview: EDGARD NEGRET"
Mario Pachajoa Burbano, Septiembre 15, 1999
Colombia.com - EDGAR NEGRET (Artista Plástico)
''La Prenza Libre'', 10/08/10 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Negret, Edgar 1920 births 2012 deaths Colombian abstract sculptors 20th-century Colombian sculptors 21st-century Colombian sculptors People from Cauca Department