Tomás Batista
Luquillo, PR, 1935
Biography Details
Sculptor, restorer. Between 1955 and 1957, Batista took lessons from Spaniard Angel Botello, and he produced his first sculpture in 1957. In 1958, with a scholarship from the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, Batista spent two years in the ICP’s Sculpture Studio, which was under the direction of famed Spanish-exile sculptor Compostela at that time. In 1960, Batista went to Mexico to study at La Esmeralda School, where he also collaborated with Tomás Chávez Morado on sculptures for La Ciudadela. In 1962, he was given a Guggenheim Fellowship, and he studied in New York. In 1964, he spent time in Spain. In 1966 he became director of the ICP’s Sculpture and Restoration Studio, a program which eventuated in the creation of the Puerto Rico School of Plastic Arts. His first sculptures were in wood, and one of the best-known pieces from this period is Majestad negra (Black Majesty), although on his return to Mexico he chose to use stone. He was commissioned by the Puerto Rican government to do the Monument to the Puerto Rican Jíbaro in Cayey. His work is based on Puerto Rican themes, and his style is figurative, though stylized.
Artist Statement
Creative process: It begins in the artist’s imagination. What can be seen in a block of stone or wood? The artist gives free rein to his imagination which guides him to wear out the stone or wood block to create the shapes he sees in his mind.
The artist’s creative process is a solitary one, long, tedious, repetitive and obsessive.
Formation
Education
1960
- La Esmeralda School, Mexico City, Mexico
1958-1960
- Formal studies with the Spanish sculptor Francisco Vásquez Díaz (Compostela). Sculpture Workshop, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1955-1957
- Studies with Spanish sculptor Ángel Botello Barros, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Group Shows
1984
- Director. Francisco Oller Museum, Bayamón, Puerto Rico
1966
- Professor. Escuela de Artes Plásticas de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Director. Sculpture and Restoration Workshop, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan Puerto Rico
Exhibitions
Solo Shows
2005
- El hoy y el ahora de Tomás Batista, Caribbean University, Bayamón, Puerto Rico
1991
- Centro de Arte y Cultura, Luquillo, Puerto Rico
1990
- Museo Casa Cautiño, Guayama, Puerto Rico
1980
- Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1978
- Universidad de Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
1978
- La Fortaleza, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1977
- Universidad de Puerto Rico, Humacao Campus, Humacao, Puerto Rico
El Capitolio, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1973
- Convento Santo Domingo, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1968
- Museo de Arte de Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico
1959, 1972
- Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1957
- Ateneo Puertorriqueño, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Group Shows
2007
- Contexto puertorriqueño: del rococó colonial al arte global, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2000
- Los tesoros de la pintura puertorriqueña, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1987
- Imagen de Betances, Galería Francisco Oller, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1977-1978
- Muestra de Pintura y Escultura en Puerto Rico, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1962
- Exposición de los Talleres, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Awards, Distinctions and Achievements
1972
- Sabbatical. Madrid, Spain
1965
- Second Prize. Concurso de Escultura para Artistas Jóvenes de América Latina, ESSO Oil, Co., San Juan, Puerto Rico
1964
- Scholarship. Instituto de Cultura Hispánica de España, Spain
1962
- Fellowship. John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, New York, United Sates
1960
- Scholarship for advanced studies in La Esmeralda School, Mexico. Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1958, 1960
- Scholarship. Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1958
- Mention. Ateneo Puertorriqueño , San Juan, Puerto Rico
Collections
- Centro de Arte y Cultura, Luquillo, Puerto Rico
- Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Lincoln Medical Center, New York, United States
- Museo Casa Cautiño, Guayama, Puerto Rico
- Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Museo de Arte de Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico
- Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Museo Francisco Oller, Bayamón, Puerto Rico
- Salón de Artistas Jóvenes, Washington DC, Estados Unidos
Bibliography
Books
Hermandad de Artistas Gráficos de Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico Arte e Identidad. San Juan, P.R.: Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, 1998.
Los tesoros de la pintura puertorriqueña. Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico. San Juan, P.R. 2000.