José Mijares Fernández
José Mijares Fernández was born in Havana, Cuba on June 23, 1921. At the age of 47 he moved to Miami, Florida, U.S.A. He worked fundamentally as painter, engraver and drawer. In 1938 he studied at the Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes “San Alejandro” in Havana, Cuba. During the years 1958-1961 he was a member of the group Diez Pintores Concretos of Havana. In the year 1959 till 1960 he became professor at the Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes “San Alejandro” in Havana, Cuba. Later, from 1968 to 1973 he was a member of the Grupo Gala, Miami, Florida, U.S.A. and in 1970 he started the Art Direction of the Magazine Alacrán Azul, in Miami, Florida, U.S.A.
Individual exhibitions
In 1947 he presented the solo show Mijares in the Lyceum of Havana, Cuba to where he returned later in June 1965 to present another exhibition with the same title. Starting the 80's he exhibited Mirajes de Mijares in Coral Gables, Florida, U.S.A. and in 1989 Recordando el grito de Yara also in Miami, Florida. Four years later, in the same city he presented the show El mundo de José Mijares took place at the Marpad Art Gallery, Coral Gables in the very same North American state. Celebrating half a century of artistic labour, in 1994 he did Celebrando a Mijares. 50 Años de creación from April 29 to July 24 at the Museo Cubano de Arte y Cultura, Miami, Florida and also in 1996 Mijares en grande at the Alfredo Martínez Gallery, Coral Gables, Florida, U.S.A..
Collective exhibitions
He participated in some collective exhibitions such as the XXIV Salón de Bellas Artes in February, 1942 at the Círculo de Bellas Artes of Havana. In 1952 he took part in the prestigious XXVI Biennale di Venezia from June 14 to October 19 celebrated in Venice, Italy. In 1968 he was a member of Cuatro generaciones de pintores cubanos 1895-1940 at the Koubeck Memorial Center in the University of Miami, Division of Continuing Education, Cuban Culture Program, Coral Gables, Florida, U.S.A. In 1976 Retrospectiva de pintura cubana. Reencuentro cubano Centro Comunitario de la Pequeña Habana, Miami, Florida, U.S.A and in 1985 Arte hispanoamericano de hoy. Galería de Armas, Miami, Florida, U.S.A. And in 1994 he was present in Cuban Artists: Expressions in Graphics in the Jadite Galleries, New York, U.S.A. Orígenes as well as in Revista de Arte y Literatura... las flechas de su propia estela in the Galería Latinoamericana, Casa de las Américas, Havana, Cuba .
Awards
He've won many awards during his artistic career. Some of them are: the 2nd Prize in the III Exposición Nacional de Pintura y Escultura, Salón de los Pasos Perdidos. Capitolio Nacional, Havana, Cuba; National Prize in Painting of the IV Exposición Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado of the Centro Asturiano in Havana, Cuba, in 1950; Honorable Mention in the Pittsburgh International Exhibition, Carnegie Institute, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. in 1954. In 1956 another Honorable Mention in the VIII Salón Nacional de Pintura y Escultura in the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana, Cuba. And in 1970/ 1971 he won the Cintas Foundation Fellowship of New York, Estados Unidos.
Collections
The Cintas Foundation, New York, U.S.A. as well as the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, U.S.A.; the Marpad Art Gallery, Coral Gables, Florida, U.S.A., The Museum of Modern Art of Latin America in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. and the Museum of Modern Art, New York, U.S.A. treasure in their collections some pieces of José Mijares.