Félix Juan Alberto Beltrán Concepción (23 June 1938 – 28 December 2022) was a Cuban artist and one of the most important Latin American designers. He had a career as a

graphic designer A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming ...

, painter,

draftsman A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman, drafting technician, or CAD technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawi ...

, and engraver.

Biography

Beltrán studied in the United States between 1956 and 1962, studying Graphic Design at the School of Visual Arts, painting in the American Art School and lithography at the

Pratt Graphic Art Center The Pratt Graphic Art Center also called the Pratt Graphics Center was a print workshop and gallery in New York. The Center grew out of Margaret Lowengrund's Contemporaries Graphic Art Centre. In 1956 Fritz Eichenberg became the Center's director, ...

in New York City. He also studied at the New School for Social Research, where he met Adorno, Erich Fromm and

Herbert Marcuse Herbert Marcuse ( ; ; July 19, 1898 – July 29, 1979) was a German–American philosopher, social critic, and Political philosophy, political theorist, associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory. Born in Berlin, Marcuse studied at ...

, amongst others. Beltrán had a long professional experience because he worked on different publications and institutions. Between 1953 and 1956 he was a designer for Publicidad McCann Erickson Co. After 1959, his work was closely linked to the Cuban revolutionary process as part of the creative departments of various government institutions. In those early post-revolutionary years, he created some of his most important political posters and graphic images. He was a juror in 1974 of VI Biennale des Arts Graphiques in Czechoslovakia and in 1976 of 6th International Poster Biennale in Zaçheta Gallerand,

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, Poland. He also was a professor of Graphic Design in the Instituto Superior de Diseño Industrial (ISDI) (1980–1982), Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) (1976–1982), in Havana, Cuba; at the Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Tamaulipas and the

Universidad Iberoamericana The Ibero-American University (), also referred to by its acronym ''UIA'' but commonly known as ''Ibero'' or ''La Ibero'', is a private, Catholic, Mexican higher education institution, sponsored by the Mexican province of the Society of Jesus ( ...

in Mexico. From the middle of the 1980s he went into a self-exile and resided in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. In Mexico City, Beltrán developed an important academic and professional career in the field of corporate design. In 1988 he founded the Artis Gallery and then the first Latin American International Graphic Design Archive at the

Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana The Metropolitan Autonomous University ( Spanish: ''Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana'') also known as UAM, is a Mexican public research university. Founded in 1974 with the support of then-President Luis Echeverria Alvarez, the institution a ...

where he was also a professor. A year later he founded the Codex Gallery of the National Institute of Fine Arts also in Mexico.

Death

Beltrán died in Mexico City on 28 December 2022, at the age of 84.

Individual exhibitions

Beltrán's personal exhibitions include: in 1971 ''"Símbolos de Félix Beltrán"'' in

Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana The National Museum of Fine Arts of Havana (Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana) in Havana, Cuba is a museum of fine arts that exhibits Cuban art collections from the colonial times up to contemporary generations. History It was founded o ...

, Havana, Cuba; ''"Exhibition Hall Ruski Avenue"'', in

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

, Bulgaria and after 1990 he did ''"Pinturas Deconstructivas de Félix Beltrán"'' in different galleries of Mexico City, like Gallery

Frida Kahlo Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by Culture of Mexico, the country' ...

, Gallery Santos Balmori, Gallery Artis and Gallery Trazo. Beltrán also took part in many collective exhibitions like one in 1960 at New Gallery, New York CityA.; in 1966 at the

Gutenberg Museum The Gutenberg Museum is one of the oldest museums of printing in the world, located opposite the cathedral in the old part of Mainz, Germany. It is named after Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of printing from movable metal type in Western Euro ...

, Frankfurt, Germany; International Trade Marks Exhibition, New York CityA. and in ''"Affiches Cubains"'' at the Musée d’Art et Industrie, Paris, France. Another exhibitions were in

The Latin American Graphics Arts Biennial ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...

and

Museum of Contemporary and Hispanic Art A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private collections that are used by researchers ...

(MOCHA), New York City, in 1986. His work is also featured in the collection of the

Center for the Study of Political Graphics The Center for the Study of Political Graphics (CSPG) is a United States non-profit, educational and research archive that collects, preserves, documents, and circulates domestic and international political posters relating to historical and conte ...

Awards

During his life Beltrán obtained awards and recognitions like the Prize

American Institute and Graphic Art American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

in National Exhibition of Communication Arts, California, U.S.A. in 1962; Prize International cartels contest Moscow 88 Habana, Cuba; in 1981 was Honorary Member of

Academia Mexicana de Diseño and Colegio de Diseñadores Industriales y Gráficos An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

and

International University Foundation International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

, of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

Collections

Beltrán's work can be found in permanent collections of: * Art Center,

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. *

Bibliothèque des Arts Decoratifs A library is a collection of books, and possibly other materials and media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or digital (soft copies) materials, and may be a p ...

, Paris, France. * Danish Museum of Decorative Art, Copenhagen, Denmark. * Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France. * Musée des Arts Décoratifs,

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

, Switzerland. * Museo de Arte Latinoamericano,

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital city, capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's Chilean Central Valley, central valley and is the center ...

, Chile. *

. *

Pushkin Museum The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (, abbreviated as , ''GMII'') is the largest museum of European art in Moscow. It is located in Volkhonka street, just opposite the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The International musical festival Sviatos ...

, Moscow, Russia.

References

* 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); * Jose Viegas; ''Memoria: Artes Visuales Cubanas Del Siglo Xx''; (California International Arts 2004); {{DEFAULTSORT:Beltran Concepcion, Felix Alberto 1938 births 2022 deaths Cuban contemporary artists Academic staff of Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Academic staff of the Instituto Superior de Arte Artists from Havana