Arnaldo Roche-Rabell
San Juan, P.R., 1955-2018
Biography Details
Painter. He began his education at the Lucchetti Art School in Santurce, where he had Lope Max Díaz as a teacher. Later he obtained a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Puerto Rico (1978) and then studied art at the Art Institute of Chicago, where he earned a master’s degree in fine arts in 1984. Since then, he devoted himself entirely to painting. He participated in numerous international events and was awarded many awards and distinctions. He was able to show his work in numerous solo exhibitions in museums and galleries since 1984, and his paintings have been exhibited in Puerto Rico, the United States, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Germany and Venezuela, among others. His work is part of important collections in several countries of the world, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Fine Arts Museum in Caracas, Venezuela, and the Cultural Foundation in México. He developed a unique stylistic vocabulary, based on the application of brightly colored layers that he then covered with black and rubbed in with the spatula to produce dramatic and revealing images. His work is characterized as neo‑Expressionist, and he addressed themes such as identity associated with the Afro‑Caribbean culture, the sense of belonging, memory and trauma.
Artist Statement
Roche Rabell’s work is one of strong psychological content, in which he undertakes topics related to man and his nature. The artist mostly works portraits, self-portraits and landscape compositions in heroic sizes. The color and multiple textures achieved through the use of techniques such as frottage and impastos, as well as the use of other resources such as writing, result in a proposition strongly expressive and of great intensity.
Formation
Education
1984
- Master of Fine Arts. The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States
1982
- Bachelor of Fine Arts. The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States
1974-78
- Studies of architecture. School of Architecture, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Exhibitions
Solo Shows
2010-2011
- Museo de Arte de Bayamón, Bayamón, Puerto Rico
2009
- Azul Blue, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2008-2009
- Arnaldo Roche Rabell, MOLAA, Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, California, United States
2008
- Recent Works, Spinnerei, Leipzig, Germany
- Arnaldo Roche Rabell, J. Johnson Gallery, Jacksonville, Florida, United States
- Arnaldo Roche Rabell, Chicago Cultural Center , Chicago, Illinois, United States
2007
- Arnaldo Roche: New Work, Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, Miami, Florida, United States
2006
- Obra reciente, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Panamá
2005
- Obra reciente, Museo de Arte Moderno, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
2004
- At the Edge of Religion, Walter Otero Gallery, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2003
- Caín: El Paisaje Robado,Iturralde Gallery, Los Angeles, California, United States
2002
- Fraternos Vincent: El puente entre mi hermano y yo, Museo de Las Américas, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2001
- Adentro y afuera, A. Cueto Gallery, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2000
- Vuelta a la intimidad, Galería Botello, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1998
- El jardín de mi padre, Fundación Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas, Venezuela; Museo de Arte de Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico
1997
- Feria Iberoamericana de Arte,Caracas, Venezuela
1996
- Arnaldo Roche-Rabell, The Uncommonwealth Anderson Gallery, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia; Museum of American Art, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Pennsylvania; Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, Nevada; Kranner Art Museum, University of Illinois, Urbana, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Entre la vida y la muerte, Galería Botello, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Arnaldo Roche, Festivales Internacionales, Lima, Perú
- Face to FACE,George Adams Gallery, New York, United States
- Art in Chicago, 1945-1995, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Illinois, United States
1995
- Arnaldo Roche Rabell, Museo de Arte Moderno, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico
1994
- Fuegos, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Cantares, Galería Botello, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- The Legacy Frumkins, Adams Gallery, New York, United States
1993
- Arnaldo Roche-Rabell; los primeros diez años, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico
- Pinturas y dibujos, Galería Botello, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Pinturas recientes, Frumkin Adams Gallery, New York, United States
1992
- Arnaldo Roche-Rabell, Chicago International Art Exposition, Chicago, Illinois, Estados Unidos
- Pinturas Recientes, Galería Botello, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Arnaldo Roche-Rabell,Chicago International Art Exposition, Chicago, Illinois, United States
1991
- El ojo del huracán, Galería Botello, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Raptos, Museo Casa Roig, Humacao, Puerto Rico
- Arnaldo Roche-Rabell, Frumkin Adams Gallery, New York, United States
- Arnaldo Roche-Rabell, Lisa Sette Gallery,Scottsdale, Arizona, United States
- Frenetic Dreams, Organization of American States, Washington DC, United States
- Iluminaciones, Galería Alejandro Gallo, Guadalajara, Mexico
1990
- Espíritus, Galería Botello, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Arnaldo Roche Rabell, Frumkin Adams Gallery, New York, United States
1989
- Arnaldo Roche Rabell, Galería Botello, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1986
- Eventos, milagros y visiones, Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1984
- Actos compulsivos, Museo de Arte de Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico
Colectivas
2013
- Pinta 13, Miami, Florida, United States
- Chaco 13, Chile
- Puerto Rico: Puerta al paisaje, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2012-2013
- Caribbean: Crossroads of the World, El Museo del Barrio, New York, United States
2012
- Interconexiones: Lecturas curatoriales de la Colección del MAPR, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2009-2010
- Paint Made Flesh, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, Tennessee, United States
- The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC; The Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, New York, United States
2008
- Visiones: 20th Century Latin Art, Boca Raton Museum of Art, Florida, United States
2007
- Contexto puertorriqueño: del rococó colonial al arte global, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Selection of the Permanent Collection, Nassau County Museum, New York, United States
2005-2006
- Portrait, El Museo del Barrio, Nueva York; San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, California; Bass Museum of Art, Florida, United States
- The National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; San Antonio Museum of Art, Texas, United States
2005
- Figuratively Speaking, Miami Art Museum, Miami, Florida, United States
- Go Figure, Multi-Cultural Aspects of the Human Form, Selections from the Permanent Collection, Lowe Art Museum, Florida, United States
2004
- Contemporary Art From the Diane and Bruce Hall Collection, Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, Arizona, United States
2003
- Paradise Lost? Aspects of Landscape in Latin American Art, Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, United States
- Urbanity Humanity: Acquisitions and Selections from the Permanent Collection, Bronx Museum, Bronx, New York, United States
2002
- Crisis Response, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island, United States
- Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami, Florida, United States
2001
- El humor y la rabia. Cinco pintores contemporáneos de Estados Unidos, Fundación Caixa, Catalunya, La Pedrera, Barcelona, Spain
- El arte en Puerto Rico a través del tiempo. Parte II: 1970-2001, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- La Luz: Contemporary Latino Art in the United States, National Hispanic Cultural Center of New Mexico, Nuevo Mexico, United States
2000
- The Latin Caribbean: Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, California, United States
1999
- Tras la pérdida de las colonias, Centro Cultural Cariforo, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Centro Cultural Exposición Itinerante, Manila, Philipines; Museo de Arte de Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico; Castillo del Moro, Cabañas, Havana, Cuba
- La vida urbana en la región del Caribe, Museo Extremeño e Iberoamericano de Arte Contemporáneo, Badajoz, Spain
1998
- 100 años después... 100 artistas contemporáneos, Museo las Américas, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- XXXème Festival International de la Peinture Cagnes-Sur-Mer, Chateau Grimardi, France
- El papel del papel; The Role of the Paper, Guadalupe Cultural Center, San Antonio, Texas, United States
- Tras la pérdida de las colonias, Consorcio de Museos de Valencia, Valencia, Spain; Puerto Rico; Cuba; Philipines
1997
- Premios Marco, MARCO de Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico
1996
- It Figures, SFA Gallery, Nocogdoches, Texas, United States
- Going Places, Summer Group Show, George Adams Gallery, New York, United States
1995-98
- Caribbean Visions: Contemporary Painting and Sculpture, Center for Fine Arts, Miami, Florida, United States
1995
- Premios Marco, MARCO de Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico
- Azaceta, Bedia, Roche, George Gallery, New York, United States
- The Reconstructed Figure: The Human Image in Contemporary Art, Katonah Museum of Art, New York, United States
- Arts 1995, Navi Pier, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Encuentro Interamericano de Artistas Plásticos, Museo de las Artes, Guadalajara, Mexico
1993
- Carib Art: Contemporary Art of the Caribbean, Curaçao, Comisión Nacional para UNESCO, Netherlands Antilles
1992-93
- Artistas latinoamericanos del siglo XX, Estación Plaza de Armas, Sevilla, Spain ; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France; Museum Ludwig, Colonia, France
1992
- Face to Face: Self-Portraits by Chicago Artists, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Cruciformed: Images of the Cross Since 1980, Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art, Cleveland, Ohio, United States
- 40th Anniversary Exhibition: Selections from the Richard Brown Baker Collection, Frumkin Adams Gallery, New York, United States
- Uncommon Ground: Contemporary Latin American Art, Art Gallery The College at New Paltz, New York, United States
- Imágenes de la tierra (1977-1992),Pabellón de Puerto Rico, Expo 92, Sevilla, Spain; Chase Manhattan Bank, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- La tercera raíz, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Eco Art '92, Bozno Simonsen, Brazil
1991
- Awards in the Visual Arts 10, Hirshorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; Albuquerque Museum of Art, History and Science, Albuquerque, New Mexico; The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, United States
- Art and Architecture at the Harold Washington Library, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Dos islas: ocho artistas del Caribe, Galerie Samagra, Paris, France
- Mito y magia en América Latina, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico
- Arte e identidad en Puerto Rico, filme video por Sonia Fritz, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1990
- Figuración fabulación, 75 años de pintura latinoamericana, Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas, Venezuela
- The Awakening El despertar, The Discovery Museum, Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States
- New Art from Puerto Rico, Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, Massachusetts, United States
- The Decade Show, Frameworks of Identity in the 1980’s, Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art, The Studio Museum, The New Museum, New York, United States
- New Visions: Carlos Almaraz, Arnaldo Roche-Rabell and Rafael Vadia,Gloria Luria Gallery, Miami, Florida, United States
- National Drawings Invitational,Arkansas Arts Center; Little Rock, Arkansas, United States
- Signs of the Self: Changing Perceptions, Woodstock Artists Association, Inc., Woodstock, New York, United States
1989
- Chicago Artists in the European Tradition, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Bienal Internacional de Pinturas, Museo de Arte Moderno, Cuenca, Ecuador
- Earth, Latin America’s Vision, Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art, New York, United States; Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas, Venezuela
- Contemporary Puerto Rican Artists, Exhibición itinerante organizada por The State of Illinois, United States
1988
- Latin Expressions, Illinois Bell Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Nick Quijano y Arnaldo Roche-Rabell Pay Homage to Campeche, Chase Manhattan Bank, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art, New York, United States
- Adivina Chicago Expressions, Mexican Fine Arts Center, Chicago, Illinois, United States; Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico
- Latin Expressions, Illinois Bell Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, United States
1987
- Hispanic Art in the United States; Thirty Contemporary Painters and Sculptors, The Museum of Fine Arts, Washington, DC; The Lowe Art Museum, Miami, Florida; Museum of New Mexico, New México; Santa Fe, New México, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Ángeles, California; The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York, United States; Centro Cultural de Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City, Mexico
- Art of the Fantastic Latin America 1920-1987, Indianapolis Museum of the Art, Indianapolis, Indiana; The Queens Museum Flushing, Queens, Nueva York; Center of the Fine Arts, Miami, Florida, United States; Centro Cultural de Arte Contemporáneo, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico
- Puerto Rican Painting: Between Past and Present, Museum of Modern Art of Latin America, Washington, DC; The Squibb Gallery, Princeton, Nueva Jersey; Museo del Barrio, New York, United States; Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- 15th Competition & Exhibition, The Union League Club, Chicago, Illinois Estados Unidos
- XIX Bienal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- Recent Developments in Latin American Drawings, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States
1986
- Made in America; The Great Lakes Status, Alternative Museum, New York, United States
- Ocho de los ochenta, Antiguo Arsenal de la Marina Española, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Contemporary Works on Paper, Struve Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, United States
1985
- 81 St. Exhibition of Artists of Chicago and Vicinity, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Collective Exhibit, Peter Miller Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Unique Works on Paper, Antiguo Arsenal de la Marina Española, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1984
- Portraits Look Alike, University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Salón de Arte UNESCO, Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1983
- The Big Pitcher; 20 Years of Abstracted Figure in Chicago Art, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, Illinois, United States
1982
- Exposición Nacional de Pintura, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Awards, Distinctions and Achievements
2006
- The Best Museum Solo Show Award. Asociación Internacional de Críticos de Arte, Capítulo de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Special Prize. Asociación Internacional de Críticos de Arte, Capítulo de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1998
- Grand Prix Painting. I International Biennial of Art of Cumaná, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Cumaná, Venezuela
1991
- Painting Award. Muestra Nacional de Pintura y Escultura, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1990
- 10 Visual Arts Award. New York, United States
1989
- Third Prize. International Biennial of Paintings, Cuenca, Ecuador
1982
- Fellowship. James Nelson Raymond Traveling Fellowship, United States
Collections
- Archer Huntington Art Gallery, Austin, Texas, United States
- Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas, United States
- Bacardi Art Foundation, Miami, Florida, United States
- Bass Museum of Art, Miami, Florida, United States
- Bronx Museum, New York, United States
- Carson, Pirie, Scott & Company Collection, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Cisneros Capital Group Collection, Miami, Florida, United States
- Compañia de Turismo de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Continental Illinois National Bank & Trust Co.,Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Cooperativa de Seguros Múltiples de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Fundación Cultural de México, Mexico City, Mexico
- Halle Collection, Tucson Arizona, United States
- Harold Washington Library Center, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Hirshhorn Museum, Painting and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC, United States
- Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
- Leipziger Volkszeitung Collection, Leipzig, Germany
- Lowe Art Museum, Miami University, Miami, Florida, United States
- Maison d’Amérique, Paris, France
- Mexico Cultural Foundation, México City, México
- Miami Art Museum, Miami, Florida, United States
- Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Museo de Arte de Bayamón, Bayamón, Puerto Rico
- Museo de Arte de Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico
- Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Museo de Arte Moderno, Cuenca, Ecuador
- Museo de Arte Moderno, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
- Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Museo del Barrio, New York, United States
- Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States
- Museum of Contemporary Art Sofía Imber, Caracas, Venezuela
- Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, United States
- Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, Massachusetts, United States
- Museum of Fine Art, Caracas, Venezuela
- Nassau County Museum of Art, Long Island City, New York, United States
- Reynolds House Museum of American Art, Winston Salem, North Carolina, United States
- RISD Museum, Providence, Rhode Island, United States
- SADA Collection, Monterrey, México
- St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico
- The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States
- Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, Arizona, United States
- University of Texas, Austin, Texas, United States
- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Virginia, United States
Bibliography
Magazines
García, Gutiérrez, Enrique. Arnaldo Roche Agonista: La Lucha por La Identidad I, Revista Cultural de la Liga de Arte de San Juan, Puerto Rico, Año 9, Vol. 2, Número 17, Septiembre, 1977.