Nelson Sambolín
Salinas, P.R., 1944
Biography Details
Printmaker, graphic designer, painter, illustrator and professor. He received a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) in 1970 where he studied with Luisa Géigel, John Balossi and Carlos Marichal. In 1983 he completed a master’s degree from the Pratt Institute of New York. In the seventies, alongside Rafael Rivera Rosa and René Pietri, he founded the Bija Workshop after having created other workshops such as Quinqué. The Bija Workshop (1970‑1975) brought forth a great transformation of Puerto Rican graphic arts, which became more conceptual. He also founded the Graphic Arts Workshop at the Cultural Activities Department of the UPR where he worked from 1969 to 1981, and then became its director until 1986, a period in which numerous commemorative posters were produced for activities on the campus. He was a professor at the School of Architecture (1980‑1984) and the School of Public Communications (1987‑2000) of the UPR. His posters form part of important collections, including the Library of Congress. Music, especially Afro‑Antillean and jazz, is a main topic in his graphic and pictorial work. His graphic work also stands out for the creation of typographies, the freeform of the drawings and the refined composition that exalts the spaces.
Artist Statement
"... the awareness of design that comes from years of work discipline; but also, there is another thing: the approach, the approach to the object, texture, color; closely because I am very close. Perhaps someone else can see that as a panorama or landscape, but I am inside, remember. There indeed I belong"
Source: Acosta, Quetza. “Entre la plancha y los pinceles”. Claridad, En Rojo (San Juan, PR), 23 al 29 de octubre de 1998, pp. 22-23.
Formation
Education
1983
- Masters of Printmaking. Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York, United States
1970
- Bachelor of Fine Arts. Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Professional Experience
1986
- Professor. School of Public Communication, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1969-1980
- Graphic Designer. Cultural Activities Department, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1970’s
- Founder together with artist Rafael Rivera Rosa. Taller Bija, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Exhibitions
Solo Shows
2010
- De Olimpia a Mayagüez, Cooperativa de Seguros Múltiples de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2009
- Grabados a Poe, Galería Guiatibiri, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2004
- Nelson Sambolín, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2002
- Sambolín en cartel, 1969-2002, Museo de las Américas, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1998
- Memorial, Museo de Arte e Historia, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1994
- Hispaniola Hotel, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
1988
- Nelson Sambolín, Obra reciente, Antiguo Arsenal de la Marina Española, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1983
- Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York, United States
- Galería Guatibiri, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1976
- Galería Guatibiri, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Group Shows
2012
- Interconexiones, lecturas curatoriales de la colección permanente del MAPR, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2008
- Arte entre seis, Sexta Subasta de Arte y Compromiso de Iniciativa Comunitaria Inc., Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Más sabe el diablo…, Galería 356, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2007
- Contexto Puertorriqueño: del rococó colonial al arte global, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1994
- Máscaras, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1992
- 45 Años de expresión gráfica puertorriqueña, Pabellón de Puerto Rico en Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain
1987
- La estampa serigráfica, Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1983
- Ten Porto Rican Printmakers, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York, United States
1981
- Gráfica y poesía puertorriqueña, Dominican Republic
1978
- Muestra, Unión de Artistas Gráficos, Czechoslovakia
Awards, Distinctions and Achievements
2013
- Tribute. Municipality of Salinas, Salinas, Puerto Rico
2007
- Award for Best Poster. International Association of Art Critics, Puerto Rico Chapter, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1995
- Silver Award. International Gallery of Superb Printing, Minnesota, United States
1984
- Award. National Museum of Poznan, 10th International Biennial of Krakow, Krakow, Poland
1977
- Award. American Association of College, University and Community Art Administration, New York, United States
1974
- Posters Award. Primeros Juegos Universitarios de Centroamérica y el Caribe, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Poster Award. Ateneo Puertorriqueño, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Collections
- Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Cartón de Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela
- Compañía de Turismo de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Cooperativa de Seguros Múltiples de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Library of Congress, Washington DC, United States
Bibliography
Books
Cortazar, Julio. “Edgar Allan Poe, Obras en Prosa I”. Editorial de la Universidad: San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2009 (Portada).
Catalogues
“Nelson Sambolín”, Antiguo Arsenal de la Marina Española, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1988.
Newspapers
“De viaje por el rostro”. El Nuevo Día, Revista Domingo (San Juan, PR), 30 de enero de 1994, pp. 12-15.
Acosta, Quetza. “Entre la plancha y los pinceles”. Claridad, En Rojo (San Juan, PR), 23 al 29 de octubre de 1998, pp. 22-23.
Alvarez Lezama, Manuel. “Sambolin’s talent shines in ‘Memorial’”. The San Juan Star (San Juan, PR), 2 de octubre de 1998, p. 48.
Cobián, Mariana. “Solidarios con una joven parapléjica”. Primera Hora (San Juan, PR), 27 de septiembre de 2002.
Díaz, Carmen Graciela. “Un abrazo entre dos autores”. Primera Hora (San Juan, PR), 1 de octubre de 2009, p. 62.
Pérez Rivera, Tatiana. “Junte de amor y compromiso”. El Nuevo Día (San Juan, PR), 9 de junio de 2008.
Pérez Rivera, Tatiana. “Oro al Color”. El Nuevo Día (San Juan, PR), 11 de junio de 2010, pp. 78-79.
Torres Torres, Jaime. “Rescate del folclor a través del cartel”. El Nuevo Día (San Juan, PR), 11 de octubre de 2003, pp. 20-21.
Vázquez Zapata, Larissa. “Sambolín: Pasando Balance”. El Nuevo Día (San Juan, PR), 17 de febrero de 2002.