Antonio Vidal

ANTONIO VIDAL FERNÁNDEZ (Havana, 1928 - 2013) .
Untitled, ca. 1960.
Acrylic on masonite.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Attached certificate issued by the artist's granddaughter Anabelle Vidal B.
Measurements: 50,8 x 41 cm.

Antonio Vidal was a painter who cultivated all the variants of abstractionism: expressionism, informalism, dripping,,,, in such a way that sometimes the different abstract languages intermingled as in this painting where the lines are transformed into vectors, the circles into energetic points or black holes, and dripping coexists with gesturalism.

Antonio Vidal Fernández was an important Cuban artist. He was a member of the group Los Once and a founding member of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba. He introduced abstract expressionism in the island, but he was not a follower of the movement, but he kept away from fashions in order to find his own way. A graduate of the Villate Academy, he received the National Plastic Arts Award in 1999. Among his personal exhibitions it is worth mentioning: In 1993 "Antonio Vidal 40 years in the plastic", Paintings and Drawings of small format. Galiano and Concordia Art Gallery, Havana, Cuba. In 1953 he participates collectively in Los 11. Painters and Sculptors. Lyceum, Havana, Cuba. In 1963 and 1965 he participates in the First and Second American Biennial of Engraving. Museum of Contemporary Art, University of Chile, Santiago de Chile. In 1966 and 1968 in the 5th and 6th International Print Biennial. Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan. In the year 2000 "Tono a tono". Abstract Art Exhibition. Solidarity Hall, Habana Libre Tryp Hotel, Havana, Cuba, among others. In 1973 his work is recognized with the Second Prize in Painting. Salon of Professors and Instructors of Plastic Arts, National School of Art (ENA), Havana, Cuba. In 1981 Mention. First National Salon of Small Format, Lalo Carrasco Salon, Habana Libre Hotel, Havana. In 1999 National Plastic Arts Award. Ministry of Culture.

Founder of the Taller Experimental de la Gráfica de La Habana, in the 1960s, in which he developed a considerable number of works using the lithographic technique. At that time he made works for public places such as the mosaic murals in the Manuel Ascunce Domenech Theater in Ciudad Escolar Libertad and in the department store La Época. He taught painting classes at the National School of Art for two decades, in the 70's; and ten years later he experimented with sculpture but as an extension, a new support for his creations on canvas or paper. He also ventured into book and magazine cover designs; in 1977 he published his sketchbook Antonio Vidal -published by the editorial of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba-.

An important part of his work is kept in the National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba.