José R Oliver
Arecibo, PR, 1901 - San Juan, PR 1979
Biography Details
Painter and chemist. Oliver began to study painting under María Cadilla in Arecibo. At the age of ten his family moved to Spain, where, in time, he completed a doctorate in chemistry at the University of Barcelona and attended the Escuela de Artes y Oficios in that same city. In 1936 he returned to Puerto Rico and, with Oscar Colón Delgado, set up a painting studio in Arecibo. He worked as a chemist for some time before devoting himself totally to painting in the 1950’s. In 1955 he moved to San Juan and served as director of the Puerto Rico School of Plastic Arts until 1975. Oliver worked extensively in murals depicting scenes from history, and also in landscape, both rural and urban. His painting is characterized by a vocabulary of lines and geometric planes and by the play of light and color. The fragmentation of the images, in which color is used to create dramatic effects of light and shadow, reflects his interest in proportion and balance.
Artist Statement
“I don’t put a thing on canvas, not even a single flower, without measuring its effect on the total design.”
José R. Oliver, 1964
Source: “Two Exhibits”. The San Juan Review, San Juan, Puerto Rico, September 1964, pp. 42.43.
Formation
Education
1923
- Doctorate in chemistry and physics-mathematics. Barcelona University, Barcelona, Spain
1911-1923
- Courses in drawing and painting. Escuela de Artes y Oficios, Barcelona, Spain
1910
- Courses in drawing and painting. Dra. María Cadilla de Martínez, Arecibo, Puerto Rico
Professional Experience
1955-1975
- Director. Escuela de Artes Plásticas, San Juan, Puerto Rico
ca. 1955
- Restorer and Artistic Advisor. Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Professor. Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico
ca. 1942
- Sugar Engineer. Puerto Rico Distilling Company, Arecibo, Puerto Rico
Exhibitions
Solo Shows
2015
- Prisma: Pinturas de José R. Oliver, Museo de Arte e Historia de Arecibo, Arecibo, Puerto Rico
2003
- Paisajes, Galería de Arte, Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2001
- Physics and Chemistry Department, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Arecibo Campus, Arecibo, Puerto Rico
1978
- La Fortaleza, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1964
- Exposición retrospectiva de José R. Oliver, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1963
- La Casa del Arte, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Group Shows
2008
- Íconos de Puerto Rico, Gómez Fine Art-Galería, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2007
- Contexto puertorriqueño: del rococó colonial al arte global, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2001
- Los tesoros de la pintura puertorriqueña, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2000
- Consejo de Educación Superior de Puerto Rico, Centro Europa, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1973
- The Art Heritage of Puerto Rico: Pre-Columbian to Present, El Museo del Barrio, New York, United States
- The Art Heritage of Puerto Rico: Pre-Columbian to Present, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States
Awards, Distinctions and Achievements
1970
- Painting Award. Academia de Artes y Ciencias de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1963
- Second Prize in Painting. Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1958
- Award. Ateneo Puertorriqueño, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1955
- Ward. Ateneo Puertorriqueño, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Collections
- Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Capitolio de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Casa Museo Muñoz Mendoza, Fundación Luis Muñoz Marín, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Cooperativa de Seguros Múltiples de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Museo de Arte de Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico
- Ateneo Puertorriqueño, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Bibliography
Catalogues
“Contexto puertorriqueño: del rococó colonial al arte global”, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2007.
“Exposición retrospectiva de José R. Oliver”. Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1964.
“Los tesoros de la pintura puertorriqueña, exhibición inaugural del Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico/ Treasures of Puerto Rican Painting, Inaugural Exhibit”, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2001.
Books
Delgado, Osiris y Antonio Molina. La Gran Enciclopedia de Puerto Rico, Tomo 8: Artes plásticas en Puerto Rico. San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1981 (segunda reimpresión).
Newspapers
González Pérez, Leyra E. “Arte para todos los gustos”. El Nuevo Día (San Juan, PR), 6 de noviembre de 2008, pp. 76-77.
Magazines
“Exposición retrospectiva de José R. Oliver”. Revista del Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico, número 25, octubre-diciembre 1964, pp. 20-21.
García Benítez, Mariana. “José R. Oliver (1901-1979): Más allá de la nostalgia”. Galenus, Revista para los médicos de Puerto Rico, Vol. 19, Año 3, Número 5, septiembre-octubre 2012, p. 86.
Rivera García, Rafael. “José R. Oliver Pintor del Tanamá… Decano de los Pintores Puertorriqueños”. Artes Visuales, Revista Puertorriqueña de Arte, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Año 1, No. 6, 1971.
“Two Exhibits”. The San Juan Review, San Juan, Puerto Rico, September 1964, pp. 42.43.
Web
Humberto, Figueroa. “Mirada Caleidoscópica”. Visión Doble, Revista Digital, 15 de marzo de 2015. http://www.visiondoble.net/2015/03/15/mirada-caleidoscopica/