Julio Larraz, 1944 | Surrealist/Figurative painter

Julio César Ernesto Fernandez Larraz was born in Havana, Cuba, on March 12 1944.

The son of a newspaper editor, he began drawing at a very early age.

In 1961 his whole family moved to Miami, Florida.

In 1962 they moved to Washington, DC and in 1964 to New York.

There he began to draw political caricatures that were published by the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune and Vogue magazine, among others.

In 1967 Larraz began to work full time as professional painter. Larraz credits several New York artists such as Burt Silverman, for teaching him different painting techniques.

In 1971 his first individual exhibition took place in the Pyramid Gallery in Washington, DC.

In 1972 his work was exhibited in the New School for Social Research in New York and in 1973 he carried out another exhibition with the FAR Gallery in New York.

In 1976 he won both the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the National Institute of Arts and Letters awards.

The same year he was also rewarded with the Cintas scholarship of the International Education Institute.

One year later, Larraz moved to San Patricio, New Mexico, fascinated by the light and atmosphere of Valle Hondo’s arid hills.

There he met Ron Hall, whose gallery in Dallas, Texas harbored his work for several years.

Ron Hall would become one of his best friends.

In 1983 he moved to Paris, where he stayed for two years. In this new environment he found inspiration for his paintings.

While living in Paris, Larraz also travelled to Morocco. In 1984 he moved again to the United States.

In 1983 he met Nohra Haime whose New York gallery represented him until 1994.

In 1998 he began to work with the Marlborough Gallery in New York which represented him for fifteen years.  Larraz moved to Florence, Italy, in the year 2000, staying there until 2004.

Once again he found new sources of inspiration there.

In 2004, Larraz began to work with Galleria D’Arte Contini in Italy, marking the beginning of yet another great professional and personal relationship that continues to the present day.

Larraz frequently visits Italy, where in 2006 he worked on jis monumental sculptures which were exhibited in Pietrasanta.

Julio Larraz is best known by his precise and detailed technique, his imagination, and his subtle touch. Nowadays, Julio Larraz’s work is more solid than ever.

His art has become more concise and suggestive, not only in the brushstrokes that reflect the dexterity of a master painter but in the metaphors of his brilliant themes.

Julio César Ernesto Fernandez Larraz nasce a L'Avana, Cuba. Figlio di Julio Fernandez - un editore di quotidiani - inizia a disegnare già in tenera età.

Nel 1961 la famiglia lascia Cuba per trasferirsi a Miami, Florida, e l'anno successivo a New York, dove Julio vive per cinque anni.

Qui comincia a realizzare caricature a sfondo politico che vengono pubblicate sul “New York Times”, “Washington Post”, sul “Chicago Tribune” e sulla rivista”Vogue”, per citarne solo alcune.

Nel 1967 inizia a dedicarsi a tempo pieno alla carriera di pittore. Larraz riconosce a numerosi artisti di New York, tra i quali Burt Silverman, il merito di avergli insegnato varie tecniche pittoriche.

Il 1971 è l’anno della sua prima personale alle Pyramid Galleries di Washingon, D.C. . nel 1972 Larraz espone alla New School for Social Research a New York e un anno dopo la FAR Gallery, sempre a New York.

Nel 1976 Julio Larraz vince i premi dell’American Academy of Arts and Letters e dal National Institute of Arts and Letters e nello stesso anno ottiene la borsa di studio Cintas dall’Institute of International Education.

Un anno dopo Larraz trasferisce la sua residenza a San Patricio, Nuovo Messico, affascinato dalla luce e dall’atmosfera delle aspre colline della Hondo Valley.

Qui incontra Ron Hall, gallerista del Texas, che in seguito diverrà il suo agente.

Nel 1978 Larraz acquista una casa a Grandview, nello stato di New York, e qui incontra Nohra Haime, la cui galleria newyorkese lo rappresenterà fino al 1994.

Nel 1983 si trasferisce a Parigi dove vivrà per due anni. Un anno dopo Larraz si trasferisce a Miami, Florida.

L’artista, utilizzando l’ironia, ci fa conoscere le sue invettive espressioniste e i ritratti burleschi fortemente ostili ad ogni genere di sopruso, ad ogni prevaricazione, a ogni ingiustizia, in una contestazione morale velata e giocosa.

La varietà dei suoi quadri abbraccia numerose tematiche dalla politica al paesaggio, alle donne, uno dei suoi temi prediletti.

Nelle sue opere si ritrovano molti i riferimenti culturali alla nativa Cuba ed al Surrealismo.

Julio Larraz deve la sua notorietà a una tecnica precisa fin nel dettaglio, alla grande fantasia e a un tocco delicato ed unico, tre elementi che hanno contribuito a farlo annoverare tra i pittori latinoamericani più importanti della scena contemporanea.

Dopo aver vissuto a Firenze per tre anni, si è attualmente stabilito con la famiglia a Miami, Florida.