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Ramón Banús 1938 — 2012

The Artist

Ramón Banús Mongrell

Master of Art · Guatemala City, September 17, 1938 – March 6, 2012

One of Guatemala's great visual artists. Self-taught at first, he attended the National School of Fine Arts (ENAP) and received a scholarship to the La Lonja School in Barcelona, where his maternal grandfather, the Catalan painter José Mongrell Torrent, had been director for twenty years.

Devoted to human expression, he developed a visual language that fuses surrealism and magical realism, with a constant exploration of the human figure, Guatemalan folklore and social themes. He mastered oil, ink, watercolor, crayon and acrylic, which allowed him to experiment with different textures, supports and scales.

During the 1960s he lived in Europe, exhibiting in Italy, Spain, Greece, Austria and Portugal. From 1970 he focused on the Americas —Mexico, the United States, Canada, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Cuba and Guatemala— and later showed his work in Sweden, Monaco and Switzerland, building an international career.

His work is held in private and public collections in the Americas and Europe. Over two hundred articles about him and his work were published during his lifetime; since his death in 2012 his work has continued to be shown in solo and group exhibitions.

Movements
Surrealism · Magical realism · Testimonial painting · Performance
Themes
Human figure · Guatemalan folklore · Social themes · Genre scenes · Free creativity
Media
Oil · Ink · Watercolor · Crayon · Acrylic · Mixed media

Timeline

His story

1930s

  1. 1938

    Born in Guatemala City on September 17. Maternal grandson of the Catalan painter José Mongrell Torrent, who directed the La Lonja School of Barcelona for twenty years.

1960s

  1. 1961

    Sails to Europe aboard a cargo ship; works as a dock stevedore and later settles in Spoleto, Italy.

  2. 1962

    Takes part in group exhibitions in Siena, Forlì, Florence, Terni and Rome with young painters from Umbria and Tuscany; holds a solo show at "The Old Brook" Gallery in Spoleto.

  3. 1963

    First exhibition in Guatemala, at the Fine Arts gallery. In Barcelona he works as an agent for the Bergara record label, which takes him to the festivals of Capri, Benidorm, San Remo and Cannes.

  4. 1965

    Frequents the villa of writer Franco Cerutti in Pollença (Majorca), where he spends time with Robert Graves, Camilo José Cela, José Donoso, Pablo Antonio Cuadra and Gerardo Diego.

  5. 1967

    Exhibits at Sala Rovira in Barcelona. In Rome he works as a film agent and watches Fellini and Visconti direct. With the "Il Carpine" Gallery he exhibits in Rome, Athens, Cortina d'Ampezzo and Vienna, where he meets Ernst Fuchs.

1970s

  1. 1970

    Exhibition at the Banco Nacional Agrario of Guatemala. A fire destroys his apartment in Rome along with his latest work, so he remains in the Americas.

  2. 1971

    Exhibits at the DIDECO Gallery in El Salvador and at Vittorio's Gallery in Guatemala.

  3. 1979

    Presents "Dibujos Alegres" (Joyful Drawings) at La Cúpula Gallery of the Patronato de Bellas Artes.

1980s

  1. 1981

    Privately exhibits the series "Trompudos", "Santos", "Mirones" and "Profetas". Visits New York and establishes contacts with SoHo galleries.

  2. 1982

    Receives the title of Master of Art specializing in Fine Arts from Guatemala's Ministry of Education.

  3. 1983

    The Popol Vuh Museum opens its gallery for the first time with his series "Los Soñadores" (The Dreamers), honoring twenty years of exhibiting in Guatemala.

  4. 1984

    Exhibits at Sala Enrique Echandi in Costa Rica with the Guatemalan Cultural Embassy and presents "Dibujos 84" at Galería Fórum.

  5. 1988

    Solo show at the Residence of the Guatemalan Embassy in Mexico. One of his paintings is presented as a gift to Mexico's president-elect.

  6. 1989

    Retrospective exhibition at the Guatemalan Tourism Institute featuring works from private collections.

1990s

  1. 1990

    Represents Guatemala at LatinArtCa in Montreal, Canada.

  2. 1991

    The School of Humanities of the University of San Carlos awards him the title of Emeritissimum.

  3. 1992

    Premiere of the video-art piece "Banús: un sueño, la realidad, la noche" by Alfonso Albacete. Guest artist at the Castellarte festival in Castellalto, Teramo, Italy.

  4. 1995

    Takes part in the 3Angular project (Guatemala, Mexico and Stockholm) and in the 29th Prix International d'Art Contemporain de Monte-Carlo, and exhibits at the Maison de l'Amérique Latine in Monaco. The Dante Alighieri Society names him Artist of the Year.

  5. 1996

    Tours the United States with the International Visitors Program; visits Allen Ginsberg in New York and Lawrence Ferlinghetti in San Francisco.

  6. 1998

    Presents the collection "El Cristal con que se Mira" at Casa de las Américas in Havana, Cuba. Teaches free-creativity courses at ENAP.

  7. 1999

    King Juan Carlos I awards him the Officer's Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic. Presents the book "Mesa Puesta" at the Instituto Guatemalteco Americano.

2000s

  1. 2003

    The Mayor of Guatemala City names him Distinguished Citizen for his contribution to Guatemalan culture.

  2. 2005

    Represents Guatemala at the exhibition marking the 60th anniversary of the United Nations.

  3. 2009

    Exhibition "Obra reciente" (Recent Work) at Galería El Attico.

2010s

  1. 2012

    Dies on March 6 in Guatemala City.

Explore his work

Discover the works from the estate currently available to collectors.

View the gallery Exhibitions