Rafael Soriano (painter)


Rafael Soriano was a Cuban painter who lived in the United States.

Biography

Soriano was born on November 23, 1920 in Cidra, Matanzas Province, Cuba. He was studied at the San Alejandro Art Academy in Havana. During his studies, he met the critic José Gómez-Sicre and painters Víctor Manuel and Fidelio Ponce. With them he had a close friendship. He has started painting in 1940s, and soon became one of the primary practitioners of concrete art in Cuba and Latin America. In 1943, he became a professor. In 1962, he left Cuba and he came to the United States with his wife, Milagros, and their daughter, Hortensia. In November 2008, the Miami Dade College West Campus in Doral, Florida hosted an Soriano exhibit titled Between the Mystic and the Spiritual.

Rafael Soriano Foundation

After Rafael Soriano’s death in 2015, his family created the Rafael Soriano Foundation in order to encourage a deeper appreciation of his artwork as one of the major Latin American Artist of his time. In particular, this Foundation promotes exhibitions that focus on his work in order to be placed in museums and collections around the globe. They also maintain a main database that catalogues all his work that was made solely by Soriano.
Aside from their main purpose they have donated two major paintings to the Smithsonian Art Museum. Paintings donated include Candor de la Alborada 1994 and Un Lugar Distante 1972.

Exhibitions