Diego Barboza (1945-2003)
Diego Barboza was born on Carabobo Street in Maracaibo, Venezuela on February 4, 1945. He was a Venezuelan Neo Figurative Painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in Latin American art history. Diego Barboza opened a new chapter in Latin America, beyond the surreal or the magical realism of the Modern Latin American Masters.
Barboza was born into an upper-middle-class family. He drew as a child and was serious, quiet, and thoughtful. He grew up in a very religious family and helped with church activities when he was 12 years old. He started loving art at 7 years old, often saying he only wanted to be a famous artist. He stopped attending traditional school at 12 years old and registered himself at the School of Visual Art in the City of Maracaibo, Venezuela.
Barboza studied at the School of Visual Arts in Caracas, Venezuela as well as the London College of Printing, London UK from 1965 to 1968. He presented his first individual exhibition at the Centro de Bellas Artes of Maracaibo Venezuela in 1963. That same year, he traveled to London when the Conceptual Art movement was beginning, receiving support from the London New Art Lab Gallery.
On March 7, 1970, Barboza displayed his first work of Conceptual Art, which he called Art of Action, in London with the performance of "30 Girls with Nets" (30 Muchachas con redes). This was followed by his second work "Nets and Hats in Markets and Restaurants" (Con sombreros y redes en mercados y restaurantes) in London, his third "The Centipede" (El Ciempiés), and his fourth "Expression on a Laundry-Mat" (Expresiones en una lavandería).
In 1974, Barboza returned to Venezuela, where he presented two very important Conceptual Art works: "The Armadillo Box" (La Caja del Cachicamo) and "From the School of Athens to the New School of Caracas" (De la Escuela de Atenas a la Nueva Escuela de Caracas), closing his cycle of Conceptual Art creation.
He created a new language of dislocation and transgression. Personages became distorted to the point of very exaggerated forms. "His figures twisted and contorted without losing their presence or their pull. Extremities, muscles, and bones burst into an explosive compound of divergent and convergent lines. Through eruptive brushstrokes and fractured outlines, Barboza created a world of illusions."
The Greater London Arts Association and the Arts Council of Great Britain organized exhibitions throughout the United Kingdom (North, Central, South London, Wales, Scotland and Ulster) to showcase contemporary Visual Arts, and Diego Barboza was invited to this event with a solo exhibition, "Expressions Around a Cylinder" (Expresiones alrededor de un cilindro).
"Barboza is recognized as one of the first true pioneers of Conceptual Art"
Diego Barboza made numerous solo and group exhibitions, obtaining awards since 1963. He is represented in the most important museums of Venezuela, as well as in England, Brazil, Colombia and Cuba.
In 1986 he was awarded the Municipal Visual Arts Award by the Municipal Council of the Federal District and in 1997 he received the prestigious National Prize for Plastic Arts granted by the National Council of Culture, CONAC.
His work continues to influence contemporary artists and is celebrated as a groundbreaking contribution to Latin American conceptual and performance art. Barboza's legacy represents a pivotal moment in the evolution of Venezuelan and Latin American contemporary art, bridging the gap between traditional forms and radical new modes of artistic expression.
Diego Barboza was born on February 4, 1945 on Carabobo Street in Maracaibo, Venezuela into an upper-middle-class family.
At age 12, stopped attending traditional school and registered himself at the School of Visual Art in Maracaibo, Venezuela.
Presented his first individual exhibition at Centro de Bellas Artes, Maracaibo. Traveled to London as Conceptual Art movement was beginning.
Studied at London College of Printing while being supported by the London New Art Lab Gallery.
On March 7, 1970, displayed his first Conceptual Art work, "Art of Action," in London with the iconic performance "30 Girls with Nets."
Returned to Venezuela and presented "The Armadillo Box" and "From the School of Athens to the New School of Caracas," closing his cycle of Conceptual Art creation.
Awarded the Municipal Visual Arts Award by the Municipal Council of the Federal District, Caracas.
Received the prestigious National Prize for Plastic Arts granted by the National Council of Culture (CONAC), Venezuela's highest artistic honor.
"El Festín de la Nostalgia" retrospective exhibition toured major Venezuelan museums including Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Maracay and Galería de Arte Nacional, Caracas.
Diego Barboza passed away in 2003, leaving behind a groundbreaking legacy as one of the first true pioneers of Conceptual Art in Latin America.
Selected solo and group exhibitions from a distinguished career spanning four decades
Diego Barboza's works are held in permanent collections of major museums, galleries, and institutions
Major Museums - Venezuela:
Cultural Institutions - Venezuela:
Galleries - Venezuela:
International:
Selected critical essays and scholarly writing on Diego Barboza's work
A scholarly examination of Diego Barboza's participatory art as educational action, exploring his groundbreaking 1968 trip to London and the development of his participatory "Expresiones" (Expressions). Chacón analyzes iconic works including "30 muchachas con redes" and "Put a net and come along," examining Barboza's revolutionary philosophy of "Arte como gente/gente como arte" (Art as people/people as art). The essay traces his participatory practice from the London period through his final work "De la Escuela de Atenas a la Nueva Escuela de Caracas" (From the School of Athens to the New School of Caracas, 1985), establishing Barboza as a pioneer who introduced Performance Art and Happenings to Venezuela.
"In Barboza's work, carnal love is interpreted in the ultimate form: brutal, without concessions, snatched and snatching. Passionate love, stripped of subtleties and courtesies, of whispers and innuendos, illustrated by an artist who makes vehemence a personal banner transferred to canvases and papers to reiterate a brutal passion at the moment of assuming the body of the beloved." Viloria Vera's analysis explores how Barboza transforms the kiss into a bite, caresses into grips, and bodies into receptacles of savage caresses that border on sadism. The critic examines Barboza's depiction of excessive, brutal passion that makes bodies integrate, mold together, making separations and distances impossible—a torrential love without compassion or complacency with the body of the other.
A deeply personal essay by Sjöstrand recounting his experience studying with Diego Barboza at Liceo "Pedro Emilio Coll." The author describes leaving his school in Los Rosales to study art with Barboza in Chacao—a journey "enriching and full of vivid experiences." Sjöstrand recalls Diego's unconventional teaching methods: "Diego would bring paper and a box of crayons, then throw them on the floor. When I shook timidly, I would ask him, 'why are you doing this?' He would respond, '...Oscar, it's just paper and it's for working.'" The essay captures Barboza's childlike force in opening crayons and scattering them across the floor, describing how "an adventure full of color and life began, impossible to describe." Through intimate anecdotes about Diego, his wife Doris (who worked at the National Library), and everyday objects that inspired the artist—pots, pans, cutlery, household items—Sjöstrand reveals Barboza's philosophy that domestic objects were an inexhaustible source of inspiration, reinvented and re-dimensioned through line and color. The essay concludes with touching memories of Diego's love of everyday life, Tarot cards, and his statement that "everything forms part of the work"—leaving something of his life, his personal traces, in each painting.
A comprehensive retrospective examining Diego Barboza's artistic evolution from his groundbreaking conceptual art period in London (1968-1973) to his return to painting in the 1980s. As Bello and Chacón write: "Como pionero de una generación que advirtió y exploró los planteamientos del arte no objetual, Diego Barboza redefinió con sus 'expresiones' las relaciones entre el hombre y el proceso creativo" (As a pioneer of a generation that perceived and explored the approaches of non-objective art, Diego Barboza redefined with his 'expressions' the relationships between man and the creative process). The essay traces his revolutionary work in London where he introduced performance art and happenings to Venezuelan art, documenting iconic pieces like "30 Muchachas con redes" (1970) and "Expression Danger King-Kong" (1972-1974). The authors examine his philosophy of "Arte como gente/gente como arte" (Art as people/people as art) and his participatory methodology that transformed passive viewers into active participants. The essay also explores his return to figurative painting in the 1980s, analyzing how his conceptual art background informed his unique approach to neo-figurative work, creating paintings that maintained the participatory spirit and conceptual rigor of his earlier performances while exploring personal narratives, Venezuelan cultural identity, and appropriations of art history.
An English-language critical essay examining Diego Barboza's contributions to Latin American neo-figurative painting. Bello argues that "Diego Barboza opened a new chapter in Latin American Neo Figurative painting. Beyond the surreal or the magical realism of the modern Latin American Master, he obsessively looked to create a new language of dislocation and transgression." The essay analyzes how Barboza's appropriation and reinterpretation of canonical art historical works—from the Mona Lisa to classical masterpieces—created a unique artistic language that challenged traditional reverence for European art history. Bello examines how Barboza inserted himself and his personal narrative into these iconic images, transforming them from distant cultural monuments into intimate personal statements. The essay explores works like "FIGURARSE" (1991), where Barboza reimagines himself as an aged Mona Lisa holding his cat, using humor and temporal displacement to question the relationship between Latin American artists and European art historical traditions. Bello positions Barboza's neo-figurative work as a bridge between his conceptual art period and a deeply personal exploration of identity, memory, and cultural heritage, establishing him as a major innovator in contemporary Latin American painting.
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