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We have another fascinating artist for you
this week, Julio Bauzá who was born in 1936 in Montevideo,
Uruguay, and whose ancestors were from Mallorca.
He studied architecture in Montevideo, whilst
working in the family's building company and also studied
art, geology and archaeology.
He left the River Plate estuary at the start
of the 1970s and came to Europe to continue his studies with
his wife and his son and daughter (Alfredo and Virginia).
Their third son (Pablo) was born in Barcelona, where Julio
was working in archaeological projects, after travelling and
working in different European countries.
In 1975 they arrived on the Island where
Julio was employed in a new project with the new "Archaeology
Museum of Ibiza" in the Punic Necropolis of "Puig
des Molins," one of the most important sites of the Phoenician-Carthaginian-Punic
world.
Since he stepped on the Island he says it
was in a way like coming back home. He was completely captivated
by it and its style of living and where he was going to establish
and start a complete new life. Even though it was quite hard
at the beginning, he never left Eivissa apart from very short
periods of time.
Julio continues working in archaeology,
especially with the Punic ceramics and terracotta and for
the museum of Eivissa. He started reproducing - at full size
- the original Punic (Carthaginian) terracotta, made of local
clays, that he himself had to look for and prepare, using
the local and ancestral techniques, producing figures and
symbols of the local Punic God "Bess" and Goddess,
Queen and Mother "Tanit".
They came hot out of the oven to be sold
in the museum's shops. (There are two: the Archaeology Museum
in Eivissa, at the top of the Old Town, inside the big walls,
by the cathedral, and the "new" one in "Puig
des Molins", by the Punic Necropolis).
The terracotta artwork was a big success
and still is, but not as much as another of Julio's most commercial
creations, another decorated model of a standard "Don
Quijote" windmill. It has been a big success at the "Hippie
Markets" and in the ceramic shops.
Julio Bauzá soon opened his own ceramic
shop, "Es Mulí", where he also has his workshop,
to sell exclusively his own productions, in the little village
and artisans' centre of Sant Rafél.
His knowledge of geology most probably helped
him to produce his own personal ceramics, incorporating new
materials and different techniques of enamel in them His models
were also almost revolutionary at the time, at least on this
Island, with an abstract concept in his compositions, very
much appreciated by ceramic lovers and collectors.
There is an old, solid tradition of very
good local ceramists on the Islands ("Gabrialet"
and "Toniet" from Formentera, "Daifa"
"Kinoto" "Can Negre" and others in Eivissa).
Julio Bauzá has no doubt increased the number of local
ceramist masters. His personal techniques and style can be
distinguished from them all, because of its strong personality,
artistic feeling and very well elaborated technique.
As business was going fine, he bought a
plot of land, on which he designed and built his own house,
a mixture of a traditional Ibicenco "casa payesa"
and a functional modern house, with a very good final result.
It is indeed a pretty house, where he lives with his new family,
Estrella and Julia, their charming seven-year-old daughter,
a real gift from God into their life.
He also built a new and much larger workshop
by the side of the house, almost a little factory, with three
new ovens for the ceramics and industrial machinery to work
on his new projects. Here, I must say that Julio is an extraordinary
worker, his life is his workshop, his art and his family.
He doesn't have much time for social life, only visiting some
of his friends' exhibitions and now and then, a private dinner
with close friends.
As soon as he had the time for it, Julio
started with his sculpture and paintings, rather collage,
that the experts have described as "Dadaismo" style,
using simple natural elements for it, such as seaside rolling
stones, iron and metals, and all types of wood and rubbish
that appears by the beaches after storms. In his hands, all
this "rubbish" transforms itself into beautiful,
balanced sculptures in colourful and geometric collages demonstrating
mixed techniques of painting skill that reminds me of his
architectural past.
But his working potential and his large
artistic talent have allowed Julio to participate in quite
a few different artistic and public events, such as the creation
of the Santa Antonio "Big Egg" (the Columbus Egg)
and the project for two monuments in Eivissa Town, together
with Toni Hormigo and Luis Ojeda.
He has also been proudly responsible for
several murals, such as the one he did in the school of Buscastell
with the local children, or in the building of the popular
"Fallas Valencianas," the artistic works for San
José's night which the Valencian community of the Island
have celebrated in Sant Antoni de Portmany for the past two
years.
One of the reasons that Julio can be involved
with so many projects is that he has teamed up with a young
and very talented local artist, Pedro Juan Hormigo, who started
almost eight years ago as a pupil in his ceramic workshop.
Since then, Pedro has been by his side, helping him in most
of the big artistic projects, like the "Fallas",
part of the museum ceramics, or the Christmas decoration that
you can see this year, in "Vara de Rey" the main
square of Eivissa City, created and installed by Julio and
Pedro.
According to Pedro, another of Julio's talents
is his great quality as a teacher, as a master in most of
the Arts, basically because of his knowledge of the materials
and all the techniques to work with them, as well as his calm
and educated character. In fact, Julio is one of the Balearic
jury that gives the title as "Master Artisan" to
the local new craftsman. So, as we can see, we have in Julio's
person a complete artist, always learning, always ready to
teach.
Private and Collective Exhibitions
1980
Galería 1748, Barcelona
1981
Sala del Museo Arqueologico, Eivissa
Escuelas Nacionales de Sant Rafél
1982
VIII Semana cultural de Eivissa i Formentera
1984
V Salón de Primavera del M.A.C. Eivissa
Sala La Caixa, Eivissa
1985
VI Salón de Primavera del M.A.C.
Eivissa
1986
Galería Skyros, Eivissa
I Premio Universidad del Mediterráneo.
(Sculpture)
1987
Galería s'Hort, Sant Miquel, Eivissa
Escultura para la escuela de Sant Rafél
1988
Galería Maloney, Eivissa
Aniv. Carlos III Fundación Dudek.
Eivissa
Aniv. Carlos III, Ayuntamiento de Eivissa
1989
Seleccionado en "Premio Valladolid
de Escultura"
Galería C'an d'Aifa, Santa Gertrudis,
Eivissa
Mural en hierro "Residencia Friese"
Es Cubells. Eivissa
Finalist "VIII Premio Vázquez
Díaz de Escultura" Huelva, (Spain)
1990
Finalist "IV Certamen de Escultura
Ciudad de Burriana", Castellón
Proyecto Monumento a Colón, Sant
Antoni, Eivissa. Colaboración, Bauzá- Hormigo-Ojeda
1992
Proyecto de dos monumentos para la ciudad
de Eivissa. Colaboración. Bauzá-Hormigo-Ojeda
Inaguración del monumento a Colón,
Sant Antoni, Eivissa
Galería Es Llimoner, Sant Antoni,
Eivissa
1993
Sala Ayuntamiento Sant Josép, Eivissa
Galería Berri, Sant Agustí,
Eivissa
Bistro Art, Sant Josép, Eivissa
1994
Galería Berri, Sant Agustí,
Eivissa
Indiana Café, Sant Rafél,
Eivissa. (escultura aire libre)
Galería Alhadros (collective) Eivissa
1995
Ayuntamiento de Sant Josép, Eivissa,
(collective)
Galería Alhadros, Supermercado del
Arte. Eivissa.
1996
Ayuntamiento de Sant Josép, Eivissa,
(collective)
Galería Alhadros, "Homenaje
a Goya" Eivissa
Ayuntamiento de Zaragoza,"Homenaje
a Goya" (collective). Spain
"Artes y Oficios" "Mon Punic"
Eivissa
Galería Alhadros, Supermercado del
Arte. Eivissa
1997
Feria Internacional Arte Sur, Granada. Spain
Galería Alhadros, (collective) Eivissa
Galería Van der Voort, Eivissa. Supermercado
del Arte
1999
Galería Can Tixedo, Sant Antoni,
Eivissa
"Art Ibiza 1999"
2000 - l
"Falla Comunidad Valenciana de Eivissa"
Galería Can Tixedo, Sant Antoni,
Eivissa. (Colectiva)
2001 - II
"Falla Comunidad Valenciana de Eivissa
"Art Ibiza 2001"
Galería Can Tixedo, (collective)
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All pictures
courtesy of Julio Bauzá
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José P Ribas
josepribas@liveibiza.com
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