Agustín de Andino
San Juan, PR, 1952
Biography Details
de Andino, Agustin (San Juan, P.R., 1952). Ceramist and sculptor. He has been pottery and sculpture instructor at The Art Students’ League of San Juan, Puerto Rico (1977-78), ceramics and sculpture teacher at Inter American University of San Germán, Puerto Rico (1979-81) and Assistant Reader in ceramics and Art History at the Kingsborough's School of Brooklyn, New York (1981). His work originates from pieces based on vases and dishes from traditional formats of pottery, then he takes the nearest vertical format closest to the sculpture, of irregular and geometric forms. In terms of color, his works are dominated by the use of whites and ochres remaining always, a moderate expressionism.
Artist Statement
"In my new work I again attempt to disassemble the perception of reality through the iconographic memory." In this task the concept of atavism has been useful because it reconstructs the notion of time: implies simultaneously the existence of an ancient trait and its reiteration in the present. It fuses immediacy with history, and confronts the alleged progress with the inevitable past.
An atavism is a present feature that reverts to the remote past, the reappearance of a primitive trait; the unexpected recurrence of an attribute of our ancestors that had disappeared in our predecessor; the prevalence of a vestige. Atavism is the best proof that history's ghosts inhabit today. It is no coincidence that Borges insisted on it remembering the quote from Bacon, who in turn repeated King Solomon: "novelty is but oblivion".
Agustín de Andino, 2007
Source: “Atavismos”, Museo de Las Américas, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2007
Formation
Education
1979
- Master’s in Fine Arts. Rochester Institute of Technology - School of American Crafts, Rochester, New York, United States
1974
- Bachelor’s in Fine Arts. University of Denver, Colorado, United States
Professional Experience
1992-present
- Instructor. Personal workshop, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1984-1989
- Faculty. Parsons School of Design, New York, United States
1981-1991
- Faculty. City University of New York, Brooklyn, New York, United States
1979-1981
- Faculty. Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico, San Germán, Puerto Rico
Exhibitions
Solo Shows
2011
- Contra Vientos y Corrientes, A Cueto Gallery, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2009
- Concatenación, A Cueto Gallery, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2007
- Atavismos, Museo de Las Américas, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2004
- En busca de Arcadia, A Cueto Gallery, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2001
- Recorridos Imaginarios, A Cueto Gallery, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1989
- Elegía a la Naturaleza Perdida, Antiguo Arsenal de la Marina Española, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1980
- Galería Coabey, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1977
- Galería Coabey, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Group Shows
2012
- Interconexiones: lecturas curatoriales de la colección del MAPR, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Colectiva de Verano, A Cueto Gallery, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2011
- … y del Barro surgió el Arte, Ciudadela, Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2010
- Colectiva de Navidad, A Cueto Gallery, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2009
- Subasta Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2008
- Alquimia, Museo de Arte de Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico
- Congelado por el fuego, Museo de Arte de Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico
- Casa Candina: La Colección, Universidad del Turabo, Gurabo, Puerto Rico
2007
- El Grand Tour, Museo de Arte de Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico
- Omix Factum, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2005
- City Art, Exhibición sobre arte público de la Ciudad de Nueva York, New York, United States
2002
- De esta Tierra, A Cueto Gallery, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2001
- 15mo. Aniversario, A Cueto Gallery, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Arte a Través de los Tiempos, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2000
- Cinco Escultores Urbanos, Atrio, Citibank, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1999
- Bienal de Cerámica, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1998
- Cinco Artistas, A Cueto Gallery, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Intercambio III, Cerámica de Pequeño Formato, Caracas, Venezuela
1997
- Intercambio III, Cerámica de Pequeño Formato, Monterrey, México
1993
- Cerámica Puertorriqueña Hoy, Museo de Arte e Historia, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- La Vasija, Casa Roig, Humacao, Puerto Rico
1987
- Plural Dimensions, City University of New York, New York, United States
1984
- Earth Transformed by Fire, Rotunda Gallery, Brooklyn, New York, United States
Awards, Distinctions and Achievements
2005
- Commissioned by Amgen Corporation to develop the main mural entitled "Shades of life" located at the entrance of their new international facilities located in Juncos, Puerto Rico
2000-2004
- Several private commissions for murals and sculptures
1994-96
- First prize. Commission from the Public Art Program of the State of New York, to design and develop a mural and architectural details for the "P.S. 376A" complex in Brooklyn, New York, United States - ("The Faded Remembrance of Color," installed in May 1996.)
1989-1990
- First prize. Commission for the design and development of a mural at the entrance of the historical station of Mott Street, City University of New York Campus Compound, Bronx, New York, United States ("Unification of the Americas"), installed in 1990; architects Voorsanger & Mills, Manhattan, New York
1987
- Selected to develop ceramics to restore a mural originally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the fireplace in one of his "Prairie Houses"
1985
- Commissioned by Haines Lundberg Wæhler, Architects, Manhattan, New York, United States to, jointly with master Raúl Acero, develop the architectural ceramics details for the main world-wide offices of Prudential Life Insurance Company in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Installed in 1985
Collections
- Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Bibliography
Books
Departamento de Asuntos Culturales de Nueva York, “City Art,” Editorial Merrell, 2005.
Acero, Raúl. “Creación de esculturas en cerámica: técnicas, proyectos, inspiraciones”. New York: Lark Books, 2001.
Premios Latin American Art, Otoño, 1991.
Revista Vista, Tributo en azulejos, marzo 1991.
Ceramics Monthly, “Agustín de Andino’s Mural”, Summer, 1990.