Pedro Preux
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Pedro Pablo Preux (November 17, 1932 – June 16, 2011) was a Mexican tapestry maker of French origin, part of an effort to revive the craft as an art form in Europe under Jean Luçart then introducing and promoting the concept in Mexico in the 1960s and 1970s. Although tapestry making as art declined back to handcraft status starting in the 1980s, Preux’s efforts were recognized with membership in the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana and the
Sistema Nacional de Creadores de Arte The Sistema Nacional de Creadores de Arte (SNCA; ''National System of Art Creators'') is program developed by the former Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, and founded per presidential decree on September 3, 1993. Its goal is the advancem ...
.


Life

Pedro Preux was born in Paris to Roberto Preux, a painter and Sonia Lernau, a sculptor and tapestry weaver. He began to learn artistic skills from his parents, studying violin and architecture as well. He and his family immigrated to Mexico in 1942, arriving alongside a wave of Spanish exiles to the country. He later became a naturalized citizen of the country. Preux did not have any formal artistic training. However, he received scholarships from the French government in 1961 and 1965 to study tapestry making in Aubusson and in
Gobelins Manufactory The Gobelins Manufactory () is a historic tapestry factory in Paris, France. It is located at 42 avenue des Gobelins, near Les Gobelins métro station in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. It was originally established on the site as a medieval ...
, the official factory in Paris. Here he apprenticed under Jean Luçart. Although tapestry making as an art form waned after the 1970s, Preux remained an active artist until his death, in 2011 from an embolism. He left behind a daughter, Mónica Preux, a singing teacher at the
Universidad de Sonora The University of Sonora (Universidad de Sonora, abbreviated as Unison) is a public university in the northwestern state of Sonora, Mexico that has a strong research program. The university was founded in 1942 and is considered the main cultural ...
, and a large collection of contemporary tapestries from around the world.


Career

Preux and others such as Martha Palacio and Fritz Riedl introduced tapestry making with contemporary designs as an art form starting in the 1960s. The concept gained favor with the artistic community, which had begun promoted Mexico’s handcraft tradition after the
Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...
. This effort blurred the lines between fine art and “popular art” (handcrafts), attracting artists such as
Carlos Orozco Romero Carlos Orozco Romero (September 3, 1896 – March 29, 1984) was a Mexican cartoonist and painter who co-founded several cultural institutions in Mexico, including the Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda". His work was re ...
,
Francisco Moreno Capdevila Francisco Moreno Capdevila (January 18, 1926 – May 13, 1995) was a Mexican artist of Spanish origin, best noted for his engraving and other graphic work. He came to Mexico as a political refugee after the fall of the Republicans in 1939. Un ...
,
Francisco Icaza Francisco Icaza (5 October 1930 – 3 May 2014) was a Mexican artist best known for his drawings about his travels and his oil paintings. He spent much of his life living in and visiting various countries around the world. He began painting as a ...
and Marcela López to create tapestry designs. This trend peaked in the 1970s but then declined starting in the 1980s. Today, tapestry weaving is no longer considered an “art” but rather a
handcraft A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...
. Preux learned the Gobelins weaving technique in France in the 1960s. When he returned, José José Chávez Morado invited him to create workshop for this activity, in which Preux worked from 1963 to 1973. In that year, the
Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura The Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura (INBAL, en, National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature), located in the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, is the Mexican institution in charge of coordinating artistic and cultural ...
(INBAL) sponsored the workshop, transforming it into the Taller Nacional de Tapiz (National Tapestry Workshop), which Preux directed until 1984. At this time, INBAL closed the enterprise considering the making of tapestries to be “obsolete,” sending Preux and others to a newly formed textile design school. In addition to teaching at the Taller Nacional de Tapiz, Preux also taught at the art and design school of the Universidad Iberoamericana and the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas. Preux’s work has been exhibited in Mexico and abroad. During his lifetime, his individual exhibitions included the Galería Diana in Mexico City (1960), Galería Trini in Cuernavaca (1961), the
Palacio de Bellas Artes The Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts) is a prominent cultural center in Mexico City. It has hosted notable events in music, dance, theatre, opera and literature in Mexico and has held important exhibitions of painting, sculpture and p ...
(1966), Galería Pecanins in Mexico City (1967), Galería Jack Misrachi in Mexico City (1968), the Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego (1969), the Long Beach Museum of Art (1970),
Museo de Arte Moderno The Museo de Arte Moderno (Museum of Modern Art) is located in Chapultepec park, Mexico City, Mexico. The museum is part of the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura and provides exhibitions of national and international contemporary a ...
(1971, 1979), Galería de Arte Mexicano in Mexico City (1972), the Pavilion Gallery in
Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...
(1973), Galería Kin in Mexico City (1974), the Casa de Cultura in Mexicali (1976), the Consort Gallery in London (1986) and the Canning House in London (1987). He also participated in collective exhibitions in Mexico, France
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
, the United States,
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...
,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
, the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
,
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
,
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 ...
and
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. Preux collaborated in graphic design with the Colegio de México, the
Banco de México The Bank of Mexico ( es, Banco de México), abbreviated ''BdeM'' or ''Banxico,'' is Mexico's central bank, monetary authority and lender of last resort. The Bank of Mexico is autonomous in exercising its functions, and its main objective is to ac ...
and various magazines and other publications. He served both as an artist and as a jurist to the Tapestry Biennial and the Salón Michoacano del Textil en Miniatura, and offered numerous presentations on different aspects of tapestry. Preux’s work as an artist was recognized with membership in the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana and admission to the Sistema Nacional de Creadores de Arte in 1994. In 2009, his work was honored with a retrospective at the
Universidad de Sonora The University of Sonora (Universidad de Sonora, abbreviated as Unison) is a public university in the northwestern state of Sonora, Mexico that has a strong research program. The university was founded in 1942 and is considered the main cultural ...
.


Artistry

Although Preux did some work in printmaking, his notable work was in tapestry design and making, using the Gobelins techniques in a mixture of cotton and wool. Preux was part of an effort to resurrect tapestries as art in Europe, studying under Jean Luçart in Aubusson and becoming a loyal disciple of both technique and philosophy. Like his mentor he insisted that tapestries are paintings in another medium as they require the same sense of composition and create a drawing on canvas or paper, but mindful the finished work is wool or cotton. One of his most important exhibits to this effect was at the Museo de Arte Moderno in 1979, in which he placed not only tapestries, but also paintings related to the history of the craft. The idea was to show what tapestries are “wall paintings” or a kind of portable mural. He also believed that fine arts students should also study one or more crafts as part of their academic studies because many artists do not make a living from their art and those who do need to remain grounded and not elitist.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Preux, Pedro Mexican artists French emigrants to Mexico Artisans 1932 births 2011 deaths