(b. Santurce, Puerto Rico, 1933).
The painter and sculptor Rafael Ferrer opened the way for Puerto Rican artists who wished to eschew the insular nationalist art that had been the rule on the island since the 1950's and join the international avant-garde. In 1961 he held a show at the University of Puerto Rico with his colleague José ("Chefo") Villamil that caused an uproar due to the uninhibited nature of the works, many which contained sexual references. He traveled to Europe and the United States and later mounted with Robert Morris an exhibition of sculptures in the College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts at the University of Puerto Rico. He then returned to the U.S. and became considered as part of the international avant-garde. He has spent most of his life in the U.S. and lives part-time in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic). His most recent work, paintings such as Narcissus and the Elements (1993), suggests a return to a tropical island environment-while he
|
