Félix Alberto Beltrán Concepción

Félix Juan Alberto Beltrán Concepción (born June 23, 1938 in Havana, Cuba) is a Cuban artist. He has had an important career as a graphic designer, painter, draftsman and engraver.

Félix Juan Alberto Beltrán Concepción
Born	(1938-06-23) June 23, 1938 Havana, Cuba

He 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 in New York City. He also studied at the New School for Social Research, where he met Adorno, Erich Fromm and Herbert Marcuse, amongst others. Félix Beltrán has 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., and 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, Poland. Since the middle of the 1980s he has resided in Mexico City, where he became the curator of Archivo Gráfico Internacional at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana. 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 in México. At present time, he is a professor at Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana also in México.

Individual exhibitions

His personal exhibitions include: in 1971 "Símbolos de Félix Beltrán" in Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana, Havana, Cuba; "Exhibition Hall Ruski Avenue",in Sofia, Bulgaria and after 1990 he did "Pinturas Deconstructivas de Félix Beltrán" in different galeries of Mexico City, like Galery Frida Kahlo, Gallery Santos Balmori, Gallery Artis and Gallery Trazo.

He also took part in many collective exhibitions like one in 1960 at New Gallery, New York CityA.; in 1966 at the Gutenberg Museum, 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 and Museum of Contemporary and Hispanic Art (MOCHA), New York City, in 1986. His work is also featured in the collection of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics.[1]

Awards

During his life he has obtained many awards and recognitions like the Prize American Institute and Graphic Art 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 and International University Foundation, of Delaware.

Collections

His work can be found in permanent collections of:

• Art Center, Louisiana.
• Bibliothèque des Arts Decoratifs, 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, Switzerland.
• Museo de Arte Latinoamericano, Santiago de Chile, Chile.
• Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana.
• Pushkin Museum, Moscow, Russia.

References

1. "Libertad Para Angela Davis". Center for the Study of Political Graphics. Missing or empty |url= (help)

• 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); ISBN 978-0-917571-11-4
• Jose Viegas; Memoria: Artes Visuales Cubanas Del Siglo Xx; (California International Arts 2004); ISBN 978-0-917571-12-1 (in Spanish)