Juan Fernando Bastos Explained

Juan Bastos
Birth Name:Juan Fernando Bastos
Birth Date:1958 1, df=yes
Birth Place:Caracas, Venezuela
Nationality:American of Bolivian descent
Field:Portrait Artist
Training:Montgomery College
Maryland Institute College of Art
Towson University

Juan Bastos (born 18 January 1958, in Caracas, Venezuela) is an Venezuela-American portrait artist of Bolivian descent who also creates other representational art, including pieces that utilize mythology and symbolism. He works primarily in painting and drawing and currently resides in Los Angeles, California.

Life and career

Born in Caracas, Venezuela, on 18 January 1958,[1] to an expatriate Bolivian family,[2] Bastos' interest in portraiture was sparked at the age of ten when he posed for a portrait by his aunt, Bolivian artist Yolanda de Aguirre.[3] At the age of eleven, he returned to Bolivia with his family and they settled once again in La Paz where he was exposed to the vast Andean landscape and the Aymaran culture with its myths and legends, which became a major influence on his work.[2] His formal training began at age 13 with de Aguirre, as well as artists Agnes Ovando-Sanz de Franck, Gonzalo Rodriguez, and another aunt, noted artist Maria Esther Ballivian.[4] [5] [6] He was introduced to the masterpieces of the great European artists, copying the works of da Vinci, Michelangelo and Cézanne.[7]

In 1977, Bastos enrolled at Universidad Mayor de San Andrés in La Paz where he studied architecture.[4] [8] He moved to Washington, D.C., in 1979, enrolling first at Georgetown University and then at Montgomery College.[1] In 1982, he was admitted to the Maryland Institute College of Art, where he continued his studies in Fine Arts graduating Cum Laude in 1984.[9] He received his Masters of Fine Arts from Towson University in 1986.[10]

From his home in Baltimore[11] Bastos began his career and, in 1988, had his first solo show at gallery Arte Unico in La Paz. It featured portraits of Bolivian society figures, including Ximena Sánchez de Lozada, the wife of future Bolivian President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada.[1] [12] His first major solo exhibition in the U.S. was held in 1989 at the Knight Gomez Gallery in Baltimore. Entitled Myths & Dreams, it showcased Bastos' emerging representational style that fused his Catholic roots with Andean mythology and symbolism.[2] [13] Two years later, the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, D.C. presented Bastos' work in a solo show, which also featured additional oils and pastels from this oeuvre.[14] Another one-man exhibition in La Paz in 1993 showcased both traditional portraits and representational works that explored the myth of the Lake Titicaca mermaids.[15] In 1994, Galeria Borkas in Lima, Peru, presented Milagros, Bastos' one-man exhibition of works depicting the interplay between the Catholic and pagan belief in miracles and the South American tradition of milagros.[16]

By the late 1980s, Bastos was accepting an increasing number of portrait commissions.[1] Consequently, by 1999 he had established a high enough profile as a society portraitist to be featured, as one of six portrait painters, in a New York Times article on the reemergence of portraiture.[17] Over a two-year period culminating in 2004, Bastos delivered eight portrait commissions to the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine that featured Deans and major donors.[3] [18] [19] The University of Southern California's Viterbi School of Engineering also commissioned a portrait of its principal donors.[20] Other institutional commissions have included Cedars-Sinai Medical Center,[21] Good Samaritan Hospital, George Washington University,[22] and Harvard University.[23] Bastos has also delivered a number of cover portraits to The Gay & Lesbian Review, featuring celebrities such as Charlize Theron,[24] Ian McKellen,[25] Barney Frank,[26] and Gore Vidal,[27] who compared Bastos' work to that of John Singer Sargent.[28] [29] Bastos has been influenced by the works of Julio Larraz, Odd Nerdrum, and Lucian Freud.[30] Notable private commissions have included portraits of high-profile art collectors, Eugenio López,[31] Pamela Joyner,[32] and Philip Niarchos.[33] [34] Hundreds of Bastos portraits hang in private residences, universities, government buildings, and corporate offices in California, and throughout the US, South America, and Europe. He works in oils, pastels, pencil, watercolors, acrylics and collage.[35] His portraits are based on live sittings with photographs used for reference.[36]

In 1996, Bastos was featured in the Organization of American States' America Viva television documentary series with the episode, "Juan Fernando Bastos: Portrait of an Artist."[10] [13]

Juan Bastos: California Portraits, a retrospective of 22 years of 40[37] of the artist's California portraits was presented by Denenberg Fine Arts in West Hollywood, California, in early November, 2017. Most of the portraits were lent by the portrait subjects, many of whom visited the show during its two-week run. The exhibition was part of the Participating Gallery Program of Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, a far-reaching and ambitious exploration of Latin American and Latino art in dialogue with Los Angeles, that ran from September 2017 through January 2018 at more than 70 cultural institutions across Southern California. Pacific Standard Time was an initiative of the Getty.[38]

Since 1996, Bastos has lived and worked in Los Angeles, California.[13]

Exhibitions

One-man shows

Selected group shows

Works

Selected portraits

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Mallo B.. Sandra. Entre Mitos y Realidades. El Diario. 16 January 1994. La Paz, Bolivia. Section 5-1. Spanish.
  2. News: Perrin de Pero. Marie France. Juan Fernando Bastos: Un Pintor Que Fluye Entre la Realidad y Los Suenos. Presencia. 25 April 1992. La Paz, Bolivia. 6. Spanish.
  3. Frias. Marisol. Juan Fernando Bastos: Las Personas se Van Pero los Retratos Quedan. Cosas. January 2009. 128. 61. La Paz, Bolivia. Spanish.
  4. News: Badani. Javier. Retratos: Bastos el Psicologo del Pincel. La Razon. 21 November 2010. La Paz, Bolivia. Section B-1. Spanish.
  5. News: Botaro. Maria Jose. Painting Portraits: Bolivian Artist Juan Fernando Bastos. Bolivian Times. 14–21 October 1994. La Paz, Bolivia. 12.
  6. News: Rios G.. Mario D.. Cinco Expresiones del Arte. Ultima Hora. 8 March 1989. La Paz, Bolivia. Section 2-1. Spanish.
  7. News: Juan Fernando Bastos y la Pintura Latino Americana. Crisol. 16 March 1989. La Paz, Bolivia. 11. Spanish.
  8. News: Rivero. Gerson. Lapiz de Alto Vuelo Bastos Retrata a Famosos. El Deber. 2 November 2008. Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Section C-2. Spanish.
  9. Web site: Pictures: Famous MICA Alumni. The Baltimore Sun. 27 April 2012. Baltimore, MD.
  10. News: La Simbologia el Retrato de Juan Fernando Bastos. El Deber. 17 August 1996. La Paz, Bolivia. 7. Spanish.
  11. News: La Paz es… Una Mujer: Entrevista con Juan Fernando Bastos, Pintor. Hoy - Bien Puesto. 18 October 1994. Auza, Denisse. Cajias, Wara. La Paz, Bolivia. 7. Spanish.
  12. News: Galeria de Arte Unico: Retrato. El Diario. 17 July 1988. La Paz, Bolivia. Spanish.
  13. Coimbra, Luiz (Producer/Director). America Viva – Juan Fernando Bastos: Perfil de un Retratista (in Spanish). Television production. Departamento de Informacion Publica, Organizacion de Estados Americanos. Washington, D.C.. 1996.
  14. News: Attwell.. Emily. Not Quite Real. Times of the Americas. 4 September 1991. Miami. 17.
  15. News: Juan Fernando Bastos en Arte Unico. La Razon. 3 February 1993. La Paz, Bolivia. 9. Spanish.
  16. News: Las Medallas y Milagros de Bastos. El Comercio. 31 October 1994. Lima, Peru. Section C-12. Spanish.
  17. News: La Ferla. Ruth. Preserved in Oil. 20 July 2011. The New York Times. 7 November 1999. Section 9-1.
  18. Pener. Degen. Paint Life Grand?!. Angeleno Magazine. December 2009. 105. 62. Los Angeles.
  19. News: Keck School Lauds Donors Whose Gifts Changed Campus Forever. 20 July 2011. USC News. 28 May 2004. Los Angeles. https://web.archive.org/web/20110826182149/http://www.usc.edu/uscnews/stories/10276.html. 26 August 2011. dead.
  20. Web site: Viterbi Museum. USC Viterbi School of Engineering. 20 July 2011.
  21. Web site: Lawrence Platt, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Juan F Bastos – Portrait Artist. 20 July 2011.
  22. Web site: Carlin. Michael Douglas. Juan Bastos Captures a Moment in Time. Century City News. 22 March 2018. 30 October 2017.
  23. Captured on Canvas. Harvard Magazine. July–August 2011. 20 July 2011. 62.
  24. Chalize Theron Cover. The Gay & Lesbian Review. November–December 2004. XI. 6. 20 July 2011. Cover. Boston.
  25. Sir Ian McKellen Cover. The Gay & Lesbian Review. November–December 2007. XIV. 6. 20 July 2011. Cover. Boston.
  26. Barney Frank Cover. The Gay & Lesbian Review. September–October 2012. XIX. 5. 16 September 2012. Cover. Boston.
  27. Gore Vidal Cover. The Gay & Lesbian Review. March–April 2007. XIV. 2. 20 July 2011. Cover.
  28. Web site: D°az de Oropeza. Gonzalo. Retratista de Personalidades. Pagina Siete. 18 September 2016. La Paz Bolivia. 6–8. es. Sunday Supplement.
  29. Maal. Pedro. Haute Couture al Pincel: Juan Fernando Bastos. Complot Magazine. October 2010. 95. 40. Miami. Spanish.
  30. News: Un Artista con Futuro: Juan Fernando Bastos. Impacto. 4 December 1990. Annandale, VA. Spanish. 10.
  31. Web site: Eugenio Lopez. Juan F. Bastos - Portrait Artist. 19 September 2016.
  32. Web site: Sargent. Antwuan. Pamela J Joyner's Mission to Rewrite Art History. Sotheby's. 22 March 2018. 17 November 2017.
  33. Web site: Habib. Yamily. Juan Bastos and the Evolution of a Latino-American Perspective in Portraiture. Al Dia News. Al Dia News Media. 18 September 2016. Philadelphia, PA.
  34. Web site: Philip Niarchos. Juan F. Bastos - Portrait Artist. 19 September 2016.
  35. Book: Pintura Bolviana Siglo XX. 1989. Jaca Book. La Paz, Bolivia. Romero, Fernando . Querejazu, Pedro. INBO. 272. Spanish.
  36. Web site: Freeman. Chris. Portrait Painter Juan Bastos on His Upcoming L.A. Show. The Gay & Lesbian Review. 22 March 2018. 30 October 2017.
  37. Web site: Levine. Debra. Juan Bastos: California Portraits: People, Places & Pets. Arts Meme. 22 March 2018. 3 November 2017.
  38. Web site: Gallery Exhibitions (Jump to Hollywood & West Hollywood). Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA. 22 March 2018.
  39. News: Dorsey. John. More Charming than Chancy. The Baltimore Sun. 31 July 1987. Maryland Live,26.
  40. News: Dorsey. John. Knight Gomez Highlights Mixed Talents of Artists. 20 July 2011. The Baltimore Sun. 8 May 1991.
  41. Book: International Biennale of Cairo 1992–1993. 1992. Ministry of Culture. Egypt. 99. Exhibition Catalogue.
  42. News: Dorsey. John. In MAP Exhibit, Only Some of the Secrets are Worth Repeating. 20 July 2011. The Baltimore Sun. 25 September 1993. Section D-2.
  43. Web site: Ricardo Perez Alcala. Juan F Bastos – Portrait Artist. 20 July 2011.
  44. Web site: Penelope – The Annunciation. Juan F Bastos – Portrait Artist. 20 July 2011.
  45. Web site: Don Bachardy and His Painting of Christopher Isherwood. Juan F Bastos – Portrait Artist. 20 July 2011.
  46. Web site: Dean Robert Tranquada, USC Keck School of Medicine. Juan F Bastos – Portrait Artist. 21 July 2011.
  47. Web site: Charlize Theron. Juan F Bastos – Portrait Artist. 21 July 2011.
  48. Tennessee Williams Cover. The Gay & Lesbian Review. November–December 2005. XII. 6. Cover. 21 July 2011. Boston.
  49. Web site: Tennessee Williams. Juan F Bastos – Portrait Artist. 21 July 2011.
  50. Web site: Gore Vidal. Juan F Bastos – Portrait Artist. 21 July 2011.
  51. Web site: Sir Ian McKellen. Juan F Bastos – Portrait Artist. 21 July 2011.
  52. Rudolph Nureyev Cover. The Gay & Lesbian Review. May–June 2008. XV. 3. Cover. 21 July 2011. Boston.
  53. Web site: Rudolph Nureyev. Juan F Bastos – Portrait Artist. 21 July 2011.
  54. Susan Sontag Cover. The Gay & Lesbian Review. May–June 2009. XVI. 3. Cover. 21 July 2011. Boston.
  55. Web site: Susan Sontag. Juan F Bastos – Portrait Artist. 21 July 2011.
  56. Web site: John Reardon. Juan F Bastos – Portrait Artist. 21 July 2011.
  57. Web site: Audrey Bahr and the Contract Program Office (CPO). Good Samaritan Hospital. 19 September 2016.
  58. Web site: Audrey Barr. Juan F. Bastos - Portrait Artist. 19 September 2016.

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