Julio Larraz

Julio Larraz was born in Havana, Cuba, 12 March 1944. The son of a newspaper editor, he began drawing at a very early age. In 1961 his whole family moved to Miami, Florida. In 1962 they moved to Washington, DC, and in 1964 to New York. There he began to draw political caricatures that were published by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune and Vogue magazine, among others.

In 1967, Larraz began to work full-time as professional painter. Larraz credits several New York artists, such as Burt Silverman, for teaching him different painting techniques. In 1971 his first individual exhibition took place in the Pyramid Gallery in Washington, DC. In 1972 his work was exhibited in the New School for Social Research in New York and in 1973 he carried out another exhibition with the FAR Gallery in New York.

In 1976 he won both the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the National Institute of Arts and Letters awards. The same year he was also rewarded with the Cintas Scholarship of the International Education Institute.

One year later, Larraz moved to San Patricio, New Mexico, fascinated by the light and atmosphere of Valle Hondo’s arid hills. There he met Ron Hall, whose gallery in Dallas, Texas harbored his work for several years. Ron Hall would become one of his best friends. In 1983 he moved to Paris, where he stayed for two years. In this new environment he found inspiration for his paintings. While living in Paris, Larraz also travelled to Morocco. In 1984, he moved again to the United States.

In 1983 he met Nohra Haime, whose New York gallery represented him until 1994. In 1998 he began to work with the Marlborough Gallery of New York, which has represented him exclusively for the last fifteen years. Larraz moved to Florence, Italy, in the year 2000, staying there until 2004. Once again, he found new sources of inspiration there. In 2004, Larraz began to work with Galleria D'Arte Contini in Italy, marking the beginning of yet another great professional and personal relationship that continues to the present day. Larraz frequently visits Italy, where in 2006 he worked on his monumental sculptures which were exhibited in Pietrasanta.

Julio Larraz is known by his precise and detailed technique, his imagination and his subtle touch. Nowadays, Julio Larraz’s work is more solid than ever. His art has become more concise and suggestive, not only in the brushstrokes that reflect the dexterity of a master painter but in the metaphors of his brilliant themes.

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