Rodolfo "Rudy" Ayoroa (September 16, 1927 – October 31, 2003) was a Bolivian painter and a sculptor.

Background

Ayoroa (also known as Rudy Ayoroa, Rodolfo E. Ayoroa, Rudy Aroyoa, Rudy Ayora) was born in

La Paz La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

on September 16, 1927. His parents were Esther Soria-Galvarro of LaPaz, Bolivia, and the late Gen. Robert Ayoroa. He was educated at the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires ( es, Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Established in 1821, it is the premier institution of higher learning in the country and one o ...

in Buenos Aires,

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. In 1964, he moved to Washington, DC and was a visiting professor at

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

. In the mid 1980s he moved to Danville, Kentucky with his wife, Jane, who was born there.

Art

Ayoroa was at the forefront of the kinetic art movement in the mid-1950s. His paintings are filled with geometric elements and contrasts of warm and blue colors. His sculptures are made with Plexiglass bent into geometric shapes to look like perpetual motion. Ayoroa's art hangs in the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

; National Museum of American Art;

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

; Museum of Modern Art of Latin America at the Organization of American States, Museum of Modern Art in Bogota, Colombia and National Museum of Fine Arts in La Paz, Bolivia. During his time in Danville, he developed an interest in painting

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

battle scenes and did many pictures of the Battle of Perryville. He was commissioned by Lebanon to sculpt Confederate Major General John Hunt Morgan in 1999. However, the statue of the Confederate general, who raided and destroyed parts of the town, was never publicly displayed there. In 2015 the township put the statue out to bid. In 1999 Ayoroa created the life-size sculpture of U.S. Army Major General

George Henry Thomas George Henry Thomas (July 31, 1816March 28, 1870) was an American general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and one of the principal commanders in the Western Theater. Thomas served in the Mexican–American War and later chose ...

, which was unveiled in Civil War Park,

Lebanon, Kentucky Lebanon is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Marion County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 5,539 at the 2010 census. Lebanon is located in central Kentucky, southeast of Louisville. A national cemetery is located ...

, where it stands today.Announcement of Lebanon sculpture
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Solo exhibitions

*2003 Greater Loveland Historical Museum, Loveland, Ohio *2001 Museum of the Civil War, Bardstown, KY *1997 Chaing Kai-Shek Memorial Center, Tai Pei, Taiwan *1996 Teledyne Corporation, Lebanon, Kentucky *1994 Taipinquiri Gallery and Art Center, La Paz, Bolivia *1994 EMUSA Gallery, La Paz, Bolivia *1993 EMUSA Gallery, La Paz, Bolivia *1991 Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, D.C. *1990 EMUSA Gallery, La Paz, Bolivia *1989 Headley-Whitney Museum, Lexington, Kentucky *1988 Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, D.C. *1982–83 Multiple Galleries in La Paz, Santa Cruz and Cochabamba, Bolivia *1981 San Diego Gallery, Bogota, Colombia *1980 Norton Center for the Arts, Centre College, Danville, Kentucky *EMUSA Gallery, La Paz, Bolivia *Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, D.C. *1979 Gallery Uno, Dos, Tres, San Salvador, El Salvador *El Camino Real Gallery, Boca Raton, Florida *Fayetteville Museum of Art, North Carolina *1977 Genesis Gallery, New York City *Museum of Contemporary Art, Bogota, Colombia *EMUSA Gallery, La Paz, Bolivia *Lorenz Gallery, Bethesda, Maryland *National Museum of Fine Art, La Paz, Bolivia *1976 Washington World Gallery, Washington, D.C. *Huber Gallery, Washington, D.C. *National Library, San Jose, Costa Rica *1974 Franz Bader Gallery, Washington, D.C. *National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C. *1969 Group Gallery, Jacksonville, Florida *1968 Casa del Arte, San Juan, Puerto Rico *Pan American Union (OAS), Washington, D.C. *1967 Asociación Estimulo de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentina (Ayoroa, Bóto, Vardánega) *1956 San Andres University, La Paz, Bolivia *Bolivian-German Cultural Institute, La Paz, Bolivia

Academic appointments

*1981–82 Visiting Professor of Art, San Francisco Xavier University, Sucre, Bolivia *1974–75 Visiting Professor of Art, American University, Washington, D.C.

Critiques

Art critic

Marta Traba Marta Traba Taín (Buenos Aires, 25 January 1930 – Madrid, 27 November 1983) was an art critic and writer known for her contributions to Latin American art and literature. Biography Traba's parents were Catalan immigrants, Francisco Traba a ...

, who founded the Museum of Modern Art in Bogot said that Ayoroa was "one of the truly great artists of his generation coming from Latin America."

Death

He died in Danville,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

in on October 31, 2003. He is survived by Roberto, Leonardo and Rodolfo Ayoroa Jr., all of Potomac, Md., and Joshua Ayoroa of Danville; two daughters, Sandra Alvarado of Silver Springs, Md., and Gabriela Ayoroa of Germantown, Md.; two brothers, Jose Ayoroa of Potomac and Gaston Ayoroa of Germantown; a sister, Nazira Simon of Potomac; and four grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayoroa, Rodolfo 20th-century Bolivian artists 1927 births 2003 deaths Bolivian expatriates in the United States Bolivian sculptors Sculptors from Kentucky