MUS E O
C O L LA Z O© Raphael Collazo Foundation2004.All rights reserved.
MUS E OC O L LA Z O
© Raphael Collazo Foundation2004.All rights reserved.
CurrentExhibition:
A Healing Garden
EnglishSpanish
FeaturedEssay:
TheArtof Raphael Collazo: Rupture and ReconciliationSpanish
Catalog:
The Paintings of Raphael Collazo
CONTENTS
ColorPlateof Raphael Collazo with Ernest Acker-Gherardino, 1985
ColorPlateof Raphael Collazo, 1989
PROPHECIES (1975-1976)
TAPESTRIES (1984-early1986)
Early Tapestries (early-middle1984)
Middle Tapestries (late1984-early1985)
Late Tapestries (middle1985)
Epic Tapestries (late1985-early1986)
NYMPHAL INSTARS (middle-late1986)
HEALING GARDENS (1987-1988)
Early Healing Gardens(early-middle1987)
Middle Healing Gardens(late1987-early 1988)
Late Healing Gardens(middle-late1988)
TRANSCENDENCE (early-middle1989)
Black Figures (early1989)
Yaddo (middle 1989)
Note on the Color Plate of Raphael CollazowithErnest Acker-Gherardino, 1985
A selection of prophetic paintings, all currently knownmaturepaintings and a selection of mature works on paper arecatalogedin approximate chronological order.
Introduction to the Prophetic and Mature Paintings
INDEX OF PROPHECIES(1975-1976)
INDEX OF TAPESTRIES (1984-early 1986)
IndexofEarly Tapestries (early-middle 1984)
IndexofMiddle Tapestries (late 1984-early 1985)
IndexofLate Tapestries (middle 1985)
IndexofEpic Tapestries (late 1985-early 1986)
INDEXOFNYMPHAL INSTARS (middle-late 1986)
INDEX OF HEALING GARDENS (1987-1988)
Index ofEarlyHealing Gardens (early-middle 1987)
Index ofMiddleHealing Gardens (late 1987-early 1988)
Index ofLateHealing Gardens (middle-late 1988)
INDEX OFTRANSCENDENCE(early-middle 1989)
REFERENCE
The Collages and Boxes of RaphaelCollazo
Index of Collages and Boxes(1969-1983)
The Rococo Works of Raphael Collazo
Index of Rococo Works(1969-1983)
The Mature Works on Paper of RaphaelCollazo
IndexofMature Works on Paper (1984-1989)
The Figure in the Art of RaphaelCollazo
Index of FigurativeWorks(1961-1988)
One-Person Exhibitions (1984-Present)
The Paintings of Raphael Collazo:Notes
The Collages and Boxes of RaphaelCollazo:Notes
The Rococo Works of Raphael Collazo:Notes
The Mature Works on Paper of RaphaelCollazo:Notes
The Figure in the Art of Raphael Collazo:Notes
RaphaelCollazo:Catalogue Raisonné
Martin Haggland, 2001-2002
Martin Haggland, 1997-2004
-- Raphael Collazo
Most of the information on this world wide web site and intheaccompanying catalog would have been lost were it not forthe meticulouscollection of Collazo's documents by Kay Acker.These documentsare now preserved in the Colección de lasArtes of the LibrarySystem of the University of Puerto Rico throughthe efforts ofIris R. Parrilla and Oscar Mestey-Villamil. Equallyindispensableis Steve Bates' photographic record of the artist'sworks.
The author gratefully acknowledges the time and effort thatWilbertCruz and Oswaldo Flores contributed over a period of severalyearsto preserve and to document that work. As well, the followingmuseumsand institutions deserve recognition for their commitmentto preservingand exhibiting Collazo's artistic legacy:
Colección de las Artes
Library System, University of PuertoRico,San Juan, Puerto Rico
The Hispanic Society of America Museum
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de PuertoRico
San Juan, PuertoRico
Museo de Arte de Ponce
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Museo de Arte e Historia de San Juan
Museo de Historia, Antropología yArte
El Museo del Barrio
New York
Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art
New York
Museum of New Mexico, Museum of Fine Arts
New Britain Museum of American Art
New Britain, Connecticut
The Parrish Art Museum
Southampton, New York
State University of New York Albany MuseumofArt
Albany, New York
Tampa Art Museum
Tampa, Florida
Tucson Museum of Art
Tucson, Arizona
The University of Arizona Museum of Art
The University of Utah, Utah Museum of FineArts
Yaddo
SaratogaSprings,New York
By establishing this world wide web site and publishing theaccompanyingcatalog, the trustees of his artistic estate hopeto introduceRaphaelCollazo to a wider public. First,some prophetic works areconsidered, then a selection of paintingsfrom the last six yearsof the artist's life. Reference materialsfollow; including threemonographs (on the collages and boxes,the influence of the Rococoand the works on paper of 1984-1989),a chronology, manuscriptsand statements by or about the artist,a list of one-person exhibitions,a record of works in museumcollections, a description of sourcematerials and notes. Thetitle, date, medium and dimensions ofeach work appear with itsimage. Additionally, the collection,location and relation toother works in its series are shown inthe index.
The late Ernest Acker-Gherardino (1924-1995)isfrequently quoted. An artist himself, Acker-Gherardino wasCollazo'slife-long friend, his patron from 1984 onward and thecurator ofmost of his exhibitions.1
Raphael Collazo (1943-1990) was a New York painter of PuertoRicanbirth; whose work is rooted in Abstract Expressionism, inthe Italianmasters and in the eighteenth century French painters,particularlyWatteau. Prophetic, abstract expressionist paintingsof 1975 and1976, such as Emergence and The Annunciation preceded the artist'smaturework by nearly a decade.
Collazo had always been burdened by the necessity of workingfora living until 1984, when his patron gave him the freedomto devoteall of his time to painting. The result was a remarkableaccelerationin his artistic development and the production ofthe body of hismature work in the six-year period before hisuntimely death, atthe beginning of 1990. The known, mature workconsists of 119 paintingson canvas or wood panel and 184 workson paper, notably the 30painting-like works on paper of the HealingGardens series.2
The first mature paintings, the Early Tapestries (early-middle1984),often have maze patterns or girder structures, as seenin
The Tapestries were followed by the Nymphal Instars(middle-late1986), a series of paintings inspired by themetamorphosis of insects,which in Collazo's work refers to thecreation of life and to spiritualawakening, as in Nymphal Instars II and Wing Venation.
After the Nymphal Instars, the artist struggled foranew approach. This, he attained in the Healing Gardens (1987-1988);whichare composed predominantly of human and biomorphic shapesratherthan lines, marking a fundamental shift in his formal approach.Alsodistinctive is a light palette with an extensive use of white.Multiplelandscape vignettes characterize the Early HealingGardens (early-middle1987), such as Vermont and Arcadia; while works of the Middleseries(late 1987-early 1988), such as A Healing Garden and All Souls' Day, radiate a healingpower.Late Healing Gardens (middle-late 1988), such asManinChina and Fresher by the Minute, evoke theimmenseforces of nature that shape the Earth.
The Transcendent series comprises the Black Figureandthe Yaddo paintings. The introspective and etherealBlackFigure paintings (early 1989) contain a single blackfigure,perhaps engaged in some heroic task, in an achromaticand mythicrealm, as in Fata Morgana and New World Rider. In contrast tothatethereality, the Yaddo paintings (middle 1989) expressalove for the physicality of nature. Inspired by the woods oftheYaddo art colony, the artist used forest colors and thick,texturedimpasto in the form of stones, earth, leaves, cones andbark; inlandscapes, such as A Bower and Forest Rendezvous, one of his finalworks.
In his recent analysis of the painter, critic José AntonioPérezRuiz concluded:
"Throughout his life, Raphael Collazo... put all of hisdeterminationinto developing a body of work that reflected hismultifacetedcharacter. He directed his task in a very personalway. The useof private symbols let him bring together in hiscanvases bothconscious and subconscious subjects. His searchfor ever widerand more distant expressive horizons did not permithis task tobe circumscribed by ephemeral fashions, nor did itlet the transitoryimpose restrictions on his works. Rather, itallowed his innerimpulses to act and to call forth the elementsthat he incorporatedin his paintings. What was necessary in hiscreations dependedupon whatever he believed to be right at themoment of paintingthem. Observing his work as a whole, we perceivethat he maintainedan aesthetic independence. It is difficultfor us, therefore, toascribe him to any schools or movements.Nevertheless, we can affirmthat Expressionism constituted theliberating catalytic agent ofa labor for which he was forcedon many occasions to interruptthe sequentiality of time....
At other times, the artist made use of chance occurrences,extractingfrom them images susceptible of interpretation, whosefunctionis to stimulate the imagination. In these cases, hisrealizationsprovide rich interpretative challenges. In them,we find pathsthat branch off to give way to subjective manifestations.Thus,he favored individual interpretations that transform eachcanvasinto a place where all of these understandings meet."3
"Looking back", said Collazo in 1984, "I seethatintimations of my present style flashed forth periodicallyin mywork of previous years. Many times, these isolated paintingsseemedto me of no consequence. Actually, they were prophecies,the fullrealization of which is now on display."4Suchpaintings include The Ladies, Left Behind For Cythera, SoutholdFen,ByA River, Emergence and The Annunciation. These works reflecttheinfluences of Abstract Expressionism, the Italian mastersand theeighteenth century French painters, as commented uponin the
"In The Annunciation, which significantlyheoriginally called Desecration, we see perfectly illustratedtheall-encompassing awareness that gives Collazo's work its uniquethrust.In his searching antiquarianism combined with an acutesense ofpassing through time, he presents us with a sense ofthe trulynew....
The Annunciation is a seminal work in Collazo's oeuvre,aprophecy of what we see marvelously realized in the 'tapestry'paintingsten years later. As he describes the painting of thispicture:he had done a large rendering of Leonardo's Annunciation,sofascinated was he with this master work of the Renaissancepainter.Then, he proceeded to 'bring it up to date' by overpaintingwithsgraffito-like gestures. He 'attacked' the renderedworkas time attacks everything, symbolically obscuring it inskeinsof event, enriching it with experience.
What Collazo is saying is that we are not fixed in some permanentpastwhere everything is new, as it was when first completed.Neithercan we escape back into some former world. We are here,now; thecenturies intrude between us and that once new thing,though itstill shines through with a continuing richness....
Unlike most painters of his age: self-imposed moderns, cutoffin their own small time, eschewing the past in the misplacedrageto be new, Collazo approaches all time, the truly new.
Annunciation is exciting because it shows us the startingpointof Collazo's developed philosophy of painting: to live inall timeand to see all..."5
Acker-Gherardino curated Collazo's first mature exhibition, in September 1984,choosingfrom the Early Tapestries and including the firsttwo paintingsof the Middle Tapestries series. All 34 paintingsshownwere from the preceding nine months with the exception ofone mucholder work. Acker-Gherardino explained that exception:
"...Emergence...,paintedin 1976, was a prophecy, eight years in advance, of Collazo'smaturemodern style. It was also a prophecy of paintings to comeafterthe present date. In this painting, as in the paintingsproducedin the last nine months, the brush ranges at will overthe canvas,free, without constraint or presuppositions. Here,the artist isthinking with his hand, that is: the thought andthe stroke aresimultaneous. Long threads and swirls are builtup to form theimage, with a layered, cumulative force. Suddenly,they are slatheredtogether to form a new ground. This is scratchedinto with newlines, the way ruins build up. New slashes of paintand skeinsare woven over this. A chalky yellow shines throughthe predominantlyblue lines."6
While Abstract Expressionism had the greatest influence onCollazo,his painting is firmly rooted in the Italian traditionof figureand landscape painting: "I am well versed in theItalian Mastersfrom Cimabue to de Chirico and they have beena constant inspirationin my work."7Again: "The thingsI think a painting should achieve, inmy era, or in any era, arein the Italian masters, from Cimabueto de Chirco, in Giotto, inGiorgione, Bellini..."8A lesser, butstill important, influence were the eighteenth centuryFrench painters,especially Watteau.
With few exceptions, the Early Tapestries are figuraland,without exception, all are landscapes. One common element,notedAcker-Gherardino, "...is the maze-grid, which is aningeniousway of establishing perspective and at the same timea transparentfloor, also a way of folding space... or, more aptly'warping space'.In none of Ralph's paintings do we come up againsta solid wallof resistance. This is a floating world...."9The maze-grid can be seen in Furnished Landscape, Court and Nervous Environment.
"...Lost Ground is a pivotal painting",saidAcker-Gherardino, "This painting has more empty spacethanall the others. It marks the abandonment of "pretty","nostalgic"subject matter and the first bold step intothe brutal modern landscape,as embodied in the girder structureon the left. It is a spare,confident clearing of the decks. Soon,the paintings that followwill fill up with contemporary references....To me, the significanceof these elements, the girder and thegrid-maze, is that everythingcan be penetrated and allows usthe layering of experience, visualexperience...."10
Sardonyx,withits girl on a swing and its splendid sense of air andmovement,shows the early, but lasting, influence of Watteau onCollazo'ssensibility; in this instance, The Swing (c.1712, The Museum,Helsinki).
The shifting planes of the maze-grids float lyrically in
One of the late paintings of this series, So Lonely Since You Went Away, isameditative scene with seated figures at the edge of a forestpooland standing figures in the distance. It is similar to theearlierworks, but is more sophisticated in creating a mood.
In ItalyForYou, which portrays the Eternal City, the artist initiatedthegrand themes that would occupy him during this period. Emboldenedbythe success of the Early Tapestries and inspired byhisrecent tour of Italy, Collazo explored historical and philosophicalthemescentered around the concept of time; a reflection of hisdesirefor an "all-encompassing awareness", to "liveinall time and to see all":
"For me, the present is not just today. It is the sumofeverything I have seen and felt and read before, plus today.Nowis the oldest age, a hundred years older than 1884, for instance;notthe newest.
Older is better. We are not in a capsule of the present. Weareliving for all time. That is how I live in my paintings. Thiscumulativeexperience is missing from the truncated lives in whichwe trapourselves by trying to be new. A work of art frees usfrom thistortured circumstance."12
Matching the 80 x 70 inch size favored by de Kooning, theselargeabstract expressionist canvases are dominated at first bywebsand then by triangular grids, as seen in The Anxious Rate of the Heart, The Beginning of Time (inspiredbya mathematical diagram of that event in Stephen Hawking's ABriefHistory of Time), Style of the Month, Nekofi Cerkafi, and Moon in the Window.
Later, pages from books and fragments of tapestries enrichthepaintings' allusions. Collazo delighted in shopping at storesalongNew York's 14th Street, buying vulgar tapestries, cuttingthemup in his studio and applying the fragments to his canvases.Remnantscontinue to appear in his paintings for more than a year.The sophisticatedhumor of How to Draw & Paint, for example,derivesfrom its pages from a "how to" book on making"art"and pieces of a notoriously kitsch tapestryof bulldogsplaying pool.
The entire surface of Archeology is collaged with pagesfromone of the artist's favorite books on that subject, evokingthepassage of human time; while Terrible Lizards, with pages fromabook on dinosaurs, is a contemplation of time on the geologicalscale.In later works, the tapestry fragments depict biblicalthemes;also creating a sense of history, deepening the meaningand enhancingthe grandeur of the paintings.
The distinguishing features of the Late Tapestries areboldareas of black, virtuoso abstract expressionist passages,aggressivecollage elements (even tarpaper) and the use of woodpanel insteadof canvas, as seen in Landscape with Saint John the Baptist,anearly painting of the series. Such energy could not be constrainedwithinthe confines of the rectangle for long.
Vibrant freeform constructions, such as Squid, N.G.C. (New Galaxy Cataloged) and
"...we can affirm that Expressionism constituted the liberatingcatalyticagent of a labor for which he was forced on many occasionsto interruptthe sequentiality of time. When that happened, hecould revealan esoteric knowledge that can place us in futuristicspaces andeven can bring to mind transgalactic cultures. Theseare panelsdominated by spiraling strokes that create turbulentsensations.Among those brushstrokes, isolated visions begin toappear, notyet completely materialized before our eyes. Whenwe look at thesepanels, we note how those pictorial whirlwindsact. They seem tobehave as if demarcating the space in orderto establish theirown world. At times, we seem to discern compositionsplanned tocontain within them new paradises. Those brushstrokesseek to emulatethe action of the Almighty when he gave orderto preexisting chaos."13
From this time onward, the artist painted primarily on woodpanel,a stable support for his collage elements and increasinglythickimpasto.
Works on paper, sometimes cut out and collaged onto the paintingsoronto other works on paper, include the remarkable Destructure, in which the web andgridstructures have disintegrated, revealing an expressionist,painterlystyle.
The freeforms were quickly followed by the Epic Tapestries,theastonishing climax of the Tapestries series.
"Goodbye Rococo shows an energetictropicalworld of water, vegetation and animal-like forms. Vibrantcolorsenhance the painting's movement and beauty, while the largesizeof the work immerses the viewer in this imagined world."14
"Goodbye Rococo was a sort of valedictory for Collazo",saysPeter Bermingham, "a fond farewell to the flowery sentimentsandstylish motifs that keynoted much of his work in the earlyeighties.Goodbye Rococo captivates by its insistent contrasts.Forexample, a beautifully rendered swampscape is completed byflowerson musty wallpaper; a cloth duck and a sandpaper satellitefloatupon the scene, while sumptuously painted waves are transformedintofish or 'completed' by dry bark. It all works, I think, ina waybest described by Joshua Taylor's reflections on RobertRauschenbergwritten in 1974. 'The most stirring beauty,' he wrote,'comes fromorder found, not order given, as if its permanentharmony existedprecariously in a transient and unpredictableworld.'"15
By the summer of 1986, Collazo had become fascinated with "nymphalinstars",an early form of certain insects before they metamorphoseand developwings. His interest was likely sparked by a collectionof Lepidopteraspecimens given to him by a friend fouryears before. Paintingsof this series contain images of cocoons,within which creaturesare transforming or from which they areemerging; and patternsof venation as seen in the wings of flyinginsects, such as dragonfliesor butterflies. This imagery became,in Collazo's paintings, apowerful reference to the creation oflife and to spiritual awakening.In comparison to the swamps andforests of the Epic Tapestries,the Nymphal Instarsare like jungles filled with exoticcreatures and rich coloration.
Metamorphoses,awork on paper, perfectly embodies the essence of the artist'srealization,developed on a large scale in Nymphal Instars I, Nymphal Instars II, Bug Out, Complete Metamorphes and the magnificent
"Essentially, my work consists in placing anonymous, mostlybiomorphicshapes and volumes at different distances in a dramatic,deep spacerealized by careful juxtapositions and gradations ofcolor. I userenaissance space, both atmospheric and geometricand strive fora grandeur of arrangement and gesture in my forms.By this I hopeto achieve a timeless and limpid environment inwhich the eye canwander...."16
After these achievements, Collazo struggled for a new approach.
In the major shift in his formal methods which divides theTapestriesand Nymphal Instars from the HealingGardens andTranscendent paintings, Collazo began composinghis worksprimarily of human and biomorphic shapes, rather thanlines.17 Also distinctive is a light palettewith anextensive use of white. In the Early Healing Gardens,theshapes are highly varied in form and define multiple landscapevignettes.These simultaneous vignettes are conceptually similarto the Cubist'suse of multiple perspectives to more fully depictan object. Comparedto the sequestered swamps, forests and junglesof the earlier series;there is a great sense of light, air, opennessand distant horizons,as seen in Fast Forward, Vermont, Paseo, Paradiso and Arcadia. Speaking of his month-longstayat the Vermont Studio Colony, the artist relates:
"The different perspective and surroundings deepened thework.Removed from the familiarity of my own city, outside ofmyself,I clarified my forms and added new ones. They began tocombinehuman and biomorphic shapes interchangeably.
At the same time, the space in my paintings has shifted toaddsize perspective to geometric perspective and de-emphasizeatmosphericperspective. Forms overlap. They relate more to eachother ratherthan float independently. While still striving fora grandeur ofarrangement in a timeless environment, I have nowdrawn back, sothat what formerly occupied an entire canvas maynow be only asegment of a larger landscape. I am paradoxicallyinvolved in asynthesis of modernist flatness with a simultaneousconveying ofdepth. I am tending toward more classic arrangementswhile notlosing baroque drama..."18
Observing St. Augustine's dictum to "always proceed"thatthe artist had inscribed on an early work, Collazo movedbeyonddepicting the natural world as a metaphor for the mysteriesofthe human soul. For the first time, in the Middle HealingGardens,his paintings attained a heavenly transcendence.The extensiveuse of white, the soothing rounded forms and theunitary spatialcomposition (as compared to the more varied shapesand multiplevignettes of the Early Healing Gardens) contributeto thesense of harmony and well-being.
These triumphant works are radiant with a healing power andwerecreated in the artist's heart felt desire to assuage thepain ofhuman suffering. Speaking about The Visitors and A Healing Garden, he said:
"...I was reading about visualizations, and I knew someone,aclose friend who passed away, several friends who passed away,andthe last one was a cancer patient and I was thinkin' -- Ireada lot about the people meditating and visualizing and helpingtoah have their illnesses go into remission. So, I was thinkingalongthese lines and I was reading, and I had listened to thistapeabout meditating and visualizations; and when I listenedto thistape it was like everything was up in space, in the airand inthe light. And they talked about this beautiful white light,andit's a healing light. And this gave me great inspiration formypaintings; I thought 'Oh, this sounds beautiful' and I wantedtohave a place like that so people would look at my paintingandsay 'Oh this is a beautiful, peaceful place I can sit downandmeditate', and feel this wonderful warm light, healing light...."19
Although not religious in a traditional sense, the paintingsaredeeply spiritual. In The Visitors, the first in thisseriesof epic-scale works, the ancient, wise and beneficent red-robedguardianfigures seem of another world; in the upper right ofAHealing Garden, a grey-robed "guide"leads theway to a world where pain and suffering no longer exist;in
Collazo also painted several joyous works of moderate size,includingLepidoptera,
"I have been intent upon expanding my paintings' images",explainsCollazo, "synthesizing diverse elements of my previoustechniquesand becoming, at the same time, freer and more skillful.For me,economy is not an object. I want to put everything inmy paintings:constantly invent new forms, employ every colorand shade I canconcoct, vary my surface, create new texturesand use collage,or rather appliqué elements I make myself.
Thus, I mean to touch some deeper reaction source, achieveexcitement,beautiful excitement, painting excitement, the excitementof paint,as opposed to the numbing excitements of violence anddisorderthat is our everyday and TV experience.
My paintings have a landscape basis, with foreground, middledistanceand sky. Aggregations of forms are like gatherings ina crowd,open areas in between, air passing through. Within thisspace Itry to make something happen that will give the viewer,andmyself, a whole and satisfying experience, liftingus out ofeveryday life by symbolizing something wonderful, amemory, oran expectation of what can be: Drama and anticipation,conveyedwith paint, color, form."20
The Late Healing Gardens continue the series of smallpaintingson paper. However; in an abrupt departure from the earlierworks,there are no heavenly scenes, nor idyllic beaches. Here,we areconfronted with the raw power of nature: mountains risefrom thesea in Manin China, cosmic events unfoldin Gethsemane,an avalanche crashesinto a surging river in Punta Rocosa and rudimentary lifeformsbattle for survival in Fresher by the Minute. These worksarea prelude to the profound paintings that were to come duringthelast year of the artist's life.
"Collazo worked arduously", wrote critic Nilda M.Peraza,"to finish his ultimate series, the TranscendentSeries,which illustrates in a profound visual manner hisfarewell,his passage from the earthly to the spiritual, workscompletelyinterlaced with memories, experiences, ruptures, premonitionsanddreams, achieved in his pictorial language of profound lyricismandemotional depth. Here, the art of Collazo comes together andoffersus a painting intuitively connected by his dramatic senseof life.
Without becoming pessimistic, his visions explore the depthsofhis spirit and from his silences emerge, in tranquility, aclearsense of triumph before the undoing of death."21
The Transcendent series, composed of the Black Figureandthe Yaddo paintings, may be viewed as the final floweringofthe Healing Gardens. Shapes remain the primary formalelement,but now there is more "empty" space or "air",createdby unbroken areas of subdued color and subtle gradations.
In early 1989, the artist's painting transcended to an etherealandmythic realm, virtually devoid of color and characterizedby asingle black figure in a cream and neutral space, as in
"Among Collazo's creative variations, exist monochromaticpanelsin whose nucleuses emerge diffused figures that seem toconstitutethemselves through a process of molecular assemblage,making ussee those beings in the processes of formation, likespecters whosemotions do not obey the laws of physics. Thosepersonages enterinto the scene like irresistible forces.... Theyact in desertedenvironments where it is almost impossible todelineate the horizonfrom the sky. The surfaces are marked byirregular textures....Those scars accentuate the aridity existingin these conceptionsand contrast with the saturated atmosphereprevailing in others."22
The Black Figure paintings are the most searching, introspectiveandpsychologically penetrating of the artist's conceptions. In
In contrast to the ethereal Black Figures, the worksofthe Yaddo series express joy in the physicality of naturebymeans of their subdued forest colors and thick, textured impasto.Perhapscontemplating his own mortality; Collazo, like an awakeningdreamer,seems to grasp onto something solid to assure himselfof its andof his own reality. Inspired by the woods ofthe Yaddo artcolony, the heavy impasto of these paintings takesthe form ofstones, earth, leaves, cones and bark. Here, in thesummer of 1989,he painted Conspiracy [of 1989], A Walk in the Woods, Concordia Domus, Model of Decorum, Walking Stick, A Bower, The Jokers and the sublime
"...I want my work to say it all to the viewerbyjust looking. It could mean so many things to so many people,sowhat I say is irrelevant. I want it to mean what it means toyou.Not what it means to me."24
-- Raphael Collazo
The most striking aspect of Collazo's paintings is the marvelousdiversityof shapes and colors awaiting our discovery. Abstract,sometimesgestural, these forms often bring to mind objects innature --importantly, the human figure. In other cases, the formsare enigmaticand our attempt to decipher them leads to a multiplicityof possibleinterpretations, or none at all. Perhaps those formsrepresentobjects in the process of formation and, thus, the creativeprincipleitself. Or, perhaps, they are chance elements that theartist decidedto leave and, thus, are best understood as representingthe unknown,or unconscious. That uncertainty resonates throughouteach painting,precluding any simple explanation of its meaningbut, thereby,creating its power. While the recognizable forms,with their manyassociations, may be the ones we first noticeand enjoy; the indecipherableones bring a sense of wonder tothe painting.
Together, the multitude of forms define the landscape-likespacein which they reside. "...something is definitely happening,"remarkedAcker-Gherardino, "some crucial, mysteriously important,normallyunnoticed event. But these are not story-telling paintings,althoughsomething significant and dramatic seems to be goingon. They startyou imagining what might be, producing your ownfantasy."25 A form at the center ofICarve Up the Space suggests a fairy-talehouse in thewoods where magical events might occur or extraordinaryadventuresbegin. Or perhaps it reflects a longing for home. Thehouse andthe other readily-interpreted forms, such as a womanholding anenormous bundle of pink flowers on her shoulders anda bent bicycle,combine with the enigmatic forms to suggest a dream-likenarrativeof significant, yet not-quite-apprehensible events. Thismysterymotivates us to ponder the many possibilities in orderto resolveour mental perplexity; although, ultimately, we areunable todo so. That explains why the paintings exert a continuingfascination.
In Paseo,anearly work on paper of the Healing Gardens series,recognizablenatural objects, including the human figure, andother less-identifiable,but intriguing, even fantastic formspopulate the garden landscape-- more exactly the multiple landscapevignettes -- and createa flat, modernist, but paradoxically dimensionalsurface. The eventin this work, as reflected in its title, isa paseo, ora walk, though a grand one, as through oneof Watteau's fêtesgalantes. (The eighteenth centuryFrench painter's courtlygarden scenes were beloved by Collazoand were a continuing sourceof his inspiration."26)The shapesand colors of the forms delight, but also engage adeeper levelof our minds. By combining the familiar and the enigmatic,theartist stimulates us to gaze, inquire and devise possiblescenariosfor the existence of his rare and delicate worlds. Aswe explorethose worlds, Collazo sets off within us a stream ofvisual memories,associations and novel impressions. PérezRuiz noted how:"At... times, the artist made use of chanceoccurrences, extractingfrom them images susceptible of interpretation,whose functionis to stimulate the imagination. In these cases,his realizationsprovide rich interpretative challenges. In them,we find pathsthat branch off to give way to subjective manifestations.Thus,he favored individual interpretations that transform eachcanvasinto a place where all of these understandings meet."27
Unlike the paradisal Paseo, the figures and landscapesofthe artist's late, Black Figure series are psychologicallypenetratingand stark. New World Rider suggests a queen-likefiguremounted on a horse passing through the rocky, desertedlandscapeof a mythological world suspended in time. This evocativeeventstarts us musing over its meaning. As we contemplate possibleinterpretations,we begin our own imaginative journey. But, afterall of our fantasies,the mystery remains and with it the enduringpower of Collazo'spaintings to enchant us.
In her essay for Collazo's 1994-1995 retrospective exhibition at theMuseode Arte e Historia de San Juan, Peraza declared:
"This was a painter who defined and linked his visionofart, strongly rooted in tradition, with a very specific personalvisionand a strong expressive power, in a process where heterogeneousresources,by means of discordant textures, brilliant colors,assemblages,rapid brush strokes and unfinished passages, sustainin equilibriumhis intuition and the painting's unity.... Collazohad a uniqueand authentic sense of the art that he brought forth,on one hand,giving free rein to his gestural and spontaneousnature and onthe other, to his predominant passion for color....The themesproceed from his personal experiences, from his environment:landscapes,allusions to art, religion, to the experience of thePuerto Ricanin foreign surroundings, to his constant search forexpression,at the highest level....
He always remained solitary in his work, sculpting his independentmeansof expression, expanding his constant investigation of formandspace, the purity of color, the force of texture; from whichcentralpoint flowered his own, so personal, style. The form,of precisecontours, the use of pure and intense colors, the predominanceofhis refined drawing although always nervous, dense, lacinghispainting with past styles but utilizing modern pictorial methods,theresonance of color, the texture of great relief and the dramaticeffectsof profound contrast, all were resources that took hispaintingto a high degree of visionary intensity accentuated byan impactfulexpression, intuitive and vital....
What previously has been the property only of family, collectorsandfriends now has become... the common patrimony of the PuertoRicanpeople. And in the process, reveals to us the universalityof RaphaelCollazo's art."28
A friend of Collazo and a collector of hispaintingssince 1979, Martin Haggland, now director of RaphaelCollazo Foundation,was director of Art Lobby, a New York exhibitionspace, which presentedthe artist's first mature paintings, theEarly Tapestries, inthe exhibition Recuerdo (I Remember): The Paintings of RaphaelCollazo,Art Lobby, New York, September 29-December 31,1984, extendedthrough April 18, 1985, curated by Ernest Acker-Gherardino.
Raphael Collazo, unpublished statement, AutobiographicalStatement:Raphael A. Collazo, New York, c. 1983.
This photo was taken on November 19, 1985 atthereception for the R. C. Erpf Gallery's inaugural exhibition,NeoModern,a show of gallery artists. Collazo exhibitedSheWho Knows What Happened There, seenin the background.
Martin Haggland, 1998-1999
The Performers Gesvaldo isafine example of the figurative drawings of 1969 that immediatelyprecededthe artist's earliest collages, in 1970. Such delicate,figurativeworks were shown with the collages in his first one-personexhibition,at the Galería Santiago in San Juan, PuertoRico in 1971.The collages titled Lady Lovely & Lover and
By 1972, Collazo was assembling boxes with the "intimatenuances"2 of Joseph Cornell's (1903-1972).This homageto a revered artist began before Cornell passed away,at the endof that year, and continued throughout 1973. Amongthese EarlyBoxes; Swaneria:Marina's Dream is a tributeto Collazo's mother, seen ina bathing suit in the lower left,with plastic swans, ballerinas,parakeets and toy Spanish fansset against a landscape paintingand a map of the constellations.The opulent Elephant Palace displays a multifariouscollectionof souvenirs and ornamental objects, including a bejeweledelephant.French Castle juxtaposes a Renaissancecastleand a noble steed of the Feudal Age with an IndustrialAge autojunkyard, inducing contemplation about time and the "progress"ofcivilization. Planetary Box is a reminiscenceonearly scientific investigation with references to astronomy,chemistryand electricity. Royal Brighton Swan Box rises toanindefinable poetry.
Appearing to date from the same period are an assemblage,
Against color fields of copper and turquoise, 18th Century Abstract, of 1975,containsan Abstract Expressionist cherub and a collage of eighteenthcenturyFrench figures reminiscent of those in The Best from Vogue and Palace Theater. The Rococo wasacontinuing influence on the artist, despite his supposed farewelltoit in GoodbyeRococo, of 1986.
The prophetic Annunciation, circa 1976, is collagedinthe upper right corner with a print of Leonardo da Vinci'smasterpieceof the same name, the inspiration for this ambitiouswork. Referringto Collazo, Acker-Gherardino wrote: "As hedescribes the paintingof this picture: he had done a large renderingof Leonardo's Annunciation,so fascinated was he with thismaster work of the Renaissancepainter. Then, he proceeded to'bring it up to date' by overpaintingwith sgraffito-likegestures. He 'attacked' the renderedwork as time attacks everything,symbolically obscuring it in skeinsof event, enriching it withexperience."4
In 1980, the artist delighted himself and his friends withahumorously-titled creation, Low Fat & Fish Eye, in whichagoldfish swims upside-down in an aquarium and, in the room behind,adecidedly not "low fat" personage is seated.Ayellow "wall" suggests yet another room in an "endless"series.This work, therefore, contains four distinct spatial entities:theaquarium itself, containing its watery realm and inhabitant;theroom containing the aquarium; the room containing the figure;andthe distant yellow "room", which could just as wellbethe sun-filled world outside, opening onto space and at thesametime containing all of the interior volumes. Collazo thusachievedgreat depth and, thereby, psychological dimension: anintrospectivepondering of the infinite.
Low Fat & Fish Eye was followed by a second seriesofboxes during the latter part of 1980 and throughout 1982. TheLateBoxes include Everything in Life, with an upside-downrécamiersofa, a sideways horse and a harmoniouscrowd of memorabilia;the witty St. Joseph of the Concourse, withacellophane-covered saint, plastic ivy and lace doilies; theluxurioustriptych Whose Favorite Bird was the Peacock?,withartificial leaves and ferns, an ornamental, plastic peacocklandscape,a latticework trellis and peacock feathers; and thebucolic
Collazo's use of collage and assemblage continued in the maturepaintings,of 1984 to 1989, reflecting his love for Rococoembellishment;now elevated to impart a richness of meaning,rather than decorativeeffect. In the Early Tapestries, suchas Courtand LostGround, he applied model landscapingmaterials onto hiscanvases; and in the Middle Tapestries, suchas Howto Draw & Paint, Archeology and Terrible Lizards, he collaged pagesfrombooks and fragments of dime store tapestries. In the LateTapestries,such as Squidand Arc(K), he assembled freeform constructionsand covered themwith tarpaper and cutouts from his drawings;and in the EpicTapestries, he incorporated a surprisingvariety of collagematerials -- even the triangular palette fromwhich he had beenpainting Veduta.5Fragments of wallpaper and the cheap tapestriesbecame transformedinto objects of marvelous beauty in paintingssuch as BugWorld and The Magic Is Back.
Rosemary C. Erpf, the artist's dealer of that time, later wrote:"Collagedelements were also present. Pieces of gold moldingand street-vendors'plastic flowers were presented in the scaleand manner of salonpaintings. These decorative fragments wereunfettered by the ironyusually associated with kitsch, becauseof the painterlyhand in which they were integrated. In a paintingtitled
This passion continued to the end of the artist's career, asseenin his last paintings. A Walk in the Woods combines a blueplasticguitar pick, miniature glass flowers on wire stems, glass-headedpinsand cabochons. Concordia Domus has thick, rounded,paintmasses that resemble stones, small leaves glued togetherto createa convincing effect of pine cones and rough-surfacedlayers ofpaint that form the illusion of tree bark. Walking Stick contains only thetimeless,stone-like forms more typical of the Black Figure series. Finally, his masterpiece,
Martin Haggland, 1999
Two major themes may be observed in Collazo's early works,before1984: assemblages inspired by the boxes of Joseph Cornell(1903-1972),which are discussed in The Collages and Boxesof Raphael Collazo,and paintings with a Rococo exuberanceinspired by Jean-AntoineWatteau (1684-1721), best known as thepainter of fêtesgalantes (scenes of gallantry).These romantic and idealizedscenes, in fanciful outdoor settings,depict elaborately costumedladies and gentlemen in pleasant dalliance.
Rococo, a style of art that originated in early eighteenthcenturyFrance, grew out of the Baroque and is characterizedbyprofuse ornamentation, such as graceful and delicate shellandfoliage patterns. It can also connote immoderate embellishment.Distinctiveto the paintings of Watteau is a moderation, a delicacyand a greattenderness of feeling, which undoubtedly attractedthe sensitive,young Collazo, who penned "I Love Watteau" on an early watercolor.
However, the artist did not always follow his finer instincts.Abettedby his facility as a painter, he often lapsed into excessivedecoration.The influence of the Rococo was, thus, a blessingand acurse, reaching a nadir of prettiness in the Floribundiapaintings,of 1983. Fortunately; Collazo was able to overcomethis defectand afterward his lavish color and opulent texturesdeepen, ratherthan diminish, the power of his work.
Extremely delicate, old-master-like, pencil drawings and watercolors,exemplifiedby the sepia-toned Maiden and the exquisite ChineseLandscape,preceded a figural series which includes
Many years later, the artist explained: "...my visionswerefantasies of a longed-for past; or of huge rooms, when Iactuallylived in small; or of grandiose scenes, when I livedin squalor,paintings that in essence were an escape from an unsatisfactoryandhurtful present: the need to work for a living and paint inmyspare time."2
After the exhibition, Collazo painted many small oil paintings.Twolandscapes on panel, Three Graces and Trellis, are the finest and showWatteau'sever-beneficent influence.
LeftBehindFor Cythera, of 1975, shows a psychologicaltwiston Watteau's The Embarkation for Cythera (L'Embarquementpourl'Île de Cythère, 1717, Louvre, Paris) andisprofoundly introspective. It is unfortunate that such insightwasso often subordinated to mere decorative effect in Collazo'sRococopaintings, a weakness that remained until 1984.
18th Century Abstract, anotherstrongwork, contains an Abstract Expressionist cherub and a collageofeighteenth century French figures reminiscent of those in
BlondBronxalso demonstrates Collazo's tendency to AbstractExpressionism;while later paintings, such as Fish Lips and Bellezzata Calmata, although expressionistinfeeling, became hard-edged. Many works of this period havethesolitary figure recurrent in Collazo's ouevre and the"endless"rooms, originally seen in the Early Rococo.
Acker-Gherardino comments on individual paintings in the artist's1980exhibition, some as early as 1975:
"Here, with an exuberance of line, an immersion in color,afascination in creating high-ceilinged, endless rooms for hispersonagesto move around in, Collazo follows wherever his fantasiesand abundanttalent lead him. He means to charm, to give pleasure.Indeed, thisis an art of enjoyment, pure and simple; so that,with Fellini,he might well say: 'Life is a holiday, let us enjoyit together'....
[In Bellezzata Calmata], we see an extravagantlyberibbonedand scarved creature in a tiny, enigmatic mask, poisedat the edgeof a lake, which dissolves into clouds and mist withthe ever-presentfloor planks and with perspective lines surroundingher in a prismaticspace....
But it remains for a master adequately to describe the atmosphereofa Collazo work. As though looking forward over the decadesandsingling out the painting of a large, blue toucan, a ladyand theghost of a Giotto village [Reality Being Too Thorny for My Great Being];ArthurRimbaud wrote in his poem Bottom:
'Reality being too thorny for my great personality -- I foundmyselfat my lady's, an enormous gray-blue bird soaring towardthe moldingsof the ceiling and trailing my wings through theshadows of theevening.'"3
In 1983, the Rococo flourished vibrantly, then to excess, asisits nature. Preceded by Whose Favorite Bird was the Peacock?andTopiaryGarden,the Pleasure Gardens were exhibited inSeptember. "Subjectsare animals, birds (many peacocks),ladies and gentlemen in eighteenthcentury attire, lush vegetationand gazebos, summer houses, rivers,streams, fish, boats, mansions,corridors and arcades arrangedaccording to the precepts of abstract-expressionistspace."4 A Scene From The Life of Giotto,basedon that artist's The Vision of Anna, c. 1307, ischaracteristic.Other works include Aquaria and the inward-looking
With that exhibition in progress, Collazo started a seriesofa dozen paintings, including The Astronomy Lesson, High Tea and Floribundia. The "Floribundia"paintingsmark the abandonment of "pretty", "nostalgic"subjectmatter.5 A second series of a dozenpaintingsfollowed immediately -- the first of the Early Tapestries, the beginning of theartist'smature work.
The Rococo never disappeared from the artist's sensibilityandWatteau's influence was not restricted to early works, suchasLeftBehindFor Cythera. The Rococo found its genuine,mostpowerful expression in the rich colors, in the luxurianttextures,including collage and appliqué, and in the many-layeredallusionsof Collazo's mature, abstract paintings; and the Frenchpainternever ceased to exert an irresistible fascination. A wonderfulexampleis Sardonyx(compareto The Swing, c. 1712, The Museum, Helsinki).
Of the late 1985 and early 1986 paintings, Rosemary C. Erpf,theartist's dealer at that time, wrote: "His work was thenmovingfrom a lyrical landscape style steeped in Watteau, andlacy withRococo embellishments, to full palette paintings knitloosely withbiomorphic automatic drawings, punctuated by bravadopassagesof collage and collage-like surfaces. A key paintingduring thisperiod was Veduta...".6
In Veduta and five other large paintings, "Collagedelementswere also present. Pieces of gold molding and street-vendors'plasticflowers were presented in the scale and manner of salonpaintings.These decorative fragments were unfettered by the ironyusuallyassociated with kitsch, because of the painterlyhand inwhich they were integrated. In a painting titled
Peter Bermingham, curator of the artist's 1992 retrospective,describesthe same painting as "a sort of valedictory forCollazo, afond farewell to the flowery sentiments and stylishmotifs thatkeynoted much of his work in the early eighties. GoodbyeRocococaptivates by its insistent contrasts. For example,a beautifullyrendered swampscape is completed by flowers on mustywallpaper;a cloth duck and a sandpaper satellite float upon thescene, whilesumptuously painted waves are transformed into fishor 'completed'by dry bark."8
While painting works such as Nymphal Instars I, Complete Metamorphes and WingVenationin middle and late 1986, Erpf observed that:"Raphaelmoved from dense, jungle-like landscapes packedwith fantasticorganisms to airier, richly colored abstractions."9Specific to Watteau's influence is WatteauBack, a charming outdoorscene with gowned figures, includingone in Watteau's signaturepose.
Paseopresentsthe same theme with a modernist flatness achievedthrough the useof varied shapes that define multiple landscapevignettes. SaidCollazo: "I am paradoxically involved ina synthesis of modernistflatness with a simultaneous conveyingof depth."10Its superb color, diverseshapes and subtle restraint simply cannotprepare us for the extravagantand absolutely delightful work tocome -- Paradiso,which "resemblesFrench garden scenes of the late 1700swith its topiary, edgedshrubs, roses and even a mandolin."11Both works date to 1987.
In the following year, Collazo painted the splendorous
"I want to put everything in my paintings...", theartistsaid, "constantly invent new forms, employ every colorandshade I can concoct, vary my surface, create new texturesand usecollage, or rather appliqué elements I make myself."12
Erpf stated: "During 1987 and 1988, he painted many successfulsmallerworks on paper. Torsos and personages began to emergefrom thesepieces -- at first in the guises of angels and fairies,returningto his homage to Rococo salon paintings [see Fold-a-Rolland PassageII]. But this also pavedthe way for the later and lastfigurative paintings, The Jokers and Bon Vivant."13
Collazo's final works were painted in his studio in the woodsofthe Yaddo art colony. The subdued, forest colors and thickimpastotextures of Concordia Domus demonstrate hiscontinuinglove of Rococo richness; Model of Decorum is clearly basedonWatteau's L'Indifférent(c. 1716, Louvre,Paris), proving that artist's life-long influenceon him; andForestRendezvous is enriched withkitsch, plastic, walldecorations of flowers and birds.Attached to the wood panelsand overpainted, they give crucialcolor, form and meaning tothis glorious composition.
Martin Haggland, 2000
Raphael Collazo's works on paper during the Early Tapestriesperiodconsist primarily of sketches for paintings, such asFurnishedLandscape, which followsthe drawing closely and retainsits spontaneity. Of special interestare a series of six feltpen sketches on tracing paper for theTunnel series, suchas In the Midst of Life Sketch, uponwhichthe painting In the Midst of Life is based.
In the Middle Tapestries period, several 12 x 9 inchworkson paper composed of pencil, charcoal, paint stick and gouachearesketches for Collazo's large and ambitious paintings, suchas
Many works from that portfolio exhibit the black, freeformshapescharacteristic of the Late Tapestries series, asdoes
Lady of the Swamp displaysthedense forest and swamp environment seen in Collazo's EpicTapestriespaintings, such as Slithy Toves. Contention, Nest and Bug World Series #2 evidence moresubduedand painterly versions of the black, freeform shapes whichoriginatedin the previous period. These subtler shapes also appearin thepaintings, as in The Magic is Back. Of his worksonpaper, his art dealer observed:
"At this particular time, Collazo's paintings were informedbyan incessant, automatic-type drawing much in the traditionof Mattaand early Gorky. Raphael drew constantly when he waspainting,and when he was not. He filled notebooks with penciland ball pointpen drawings while watching television at night.Some of the createdorganic forms appeared in the studio the nextday."1
The works on paper of the Nymphal Instars series exhibitthecharacteristics of the paintings: a concern with the emergenceoflife and the opening of the soul to its spiritual qualities;symbolizedby forms resembling cocoons, chrysalises and the venationof insectwings. The swamp-and-forest effect remains; but now,like a tropicalrain forest, the environment contains exotic andbrightly-coloredcreatures. Flora & Fauna shows these qualities;whileBramble,uniquein its monochromaticity, contains the winged-insectforms; andMetamorphosesis the epitome ofthe artist's Nymphal Instars conception,as a comparisonwith the paintings Nymphal Instars II and Wing Venation will reveal.
These works reflect the major shift in Collazo's painting fromlinearforms to impasto shapes and occur in three series: theEarlyHealing Gardens with marvelous, varied shapes; theMiddleHealing Gardens with soothing, rounded shapes; andthe LateHealing Gardens with powerful, tumultuous shapes.
The delightful variation in the shapes and colors of theseworksdisplay Collazo's immense invention. The application ofpaint isgenerous, but rarely impasto. Some of the finest examplesof theEarly Healing Gardens include Sweet Dreams, with its Watteau-likemiseen scène, including gowned figures in a gardenlandscape,a fragment of a statue with classical drapery and theModernistupdate of an orange "DeKooning" woman;
During the Middle Healing Gardens period, the artistcreatedsome of his most important paintings, such as A Healing Garden and All Souls' Day, on 8 x 8 wood panels(composedof two or four smaller panels, bolted together). Thesepaintingsare dominated by round, impasto shapes and a white tonalitythatcreate the soothing, meditative feeling desired by the artist.Uponthe closure of his gallery in August 1988, Collazo changedfromthe use of the large panels to sheets of archival paper measuring30x 22 inches, continuing to apply the paint and impasto muchasbefore. Although some of the works on paper are sweet and sentimental;thoseworthy of mention include, among others, Fold-a-Roll, Passage III (compare to A Healing Garden) and
... "I like his work a lot. I like him the best ah becauseofwhat he does with the paint -- I like thick paint, as of latelyI'vebeen just thinking of swimming in paint; and ah, I'm just-- Ilove his work. It's very beautiful. It's very lush, and verygenerousand I love that. I feel that I want to be -- I love thatidea:to be generous with paint and to just use as much paintas youlike, with no obstacles. This is the way I've come to thinkofmy work lately: to use as much as I want or as little as Iwantwithout any obstacles; and if it costs me hundreds of dollarstogo out and buy paint, I can go out and buy hundreds of dollarsworthof paint and put it on one painting. So I want to be generouswithmy materials."2
In the Late Healing Gardens period, Collazo reinvigoratedhisworks on paper with a great strength, as in Man in China; Gethsemane, with its strikinglyboldcolors; PuntaRocosa and Fresher by the Minute. The largerworksin this series are double the previous size and, more importantly,theshapes have become powerful and tumultuous, like geologicalandcosmic forces, moving the Earth and the heavens. At the sametime,the color has lost its former, cloying sweetness and hasbecomerobust. This renewal of strength led to the profound andsereneworks that were to follow -- the Transcendent series--of which three are known to be overpaintings of Early andMiddleHealing Gardens paintings that presumably no longersatisfiedthe artist.
For the smaller works of this period, Collazo glued his customary,archivalpaper onto wood panel. The edges and some uplifted cornersof thepaper are visible under the paint. At least some, perhapsall,of the painting was done after the paper was attached. Thisfortunatechange in materials provided a stable support for theimpasto thatCollazo enjoyed using. Such works include FataMorgana of the Black Figureseries, which may becompared to the larger works painted directlyon panel, such asNewWorld Rider and Bon Vivant. Of the Yaddo series;
It seems unlikely that an artist of Collazo's talent wouldreturnto expressing his vision in the restricted medium of awork onpaper after having fully expressed it in a painting. Itis morelikely that he would try to expand upon his vision, incorporatingevolvedand new elements into his next series of paintings. Ifwe acceptthe premise that Collazo used works on paper as a convenientwayto evolve his ideas and explore new ones, we arrive at a usefulprinciplein determining the chronology of his works on paper:that theyimmediately preceded the paintings of a similar style.Therefore,the work on paper Metamorphoses may be viewed as abreakthroughthat, in turn, led to the major paintings of theNymphal Instarsseries, such as Nymphal Instars II. Such an approach,combinedwith the "evolutionary" principle that intermediateworkscombine elements of immediately earlier and immediatelylater works,may prove beneficial in improving the chronologyof Collazo's workson paper and, thereby, arriving at a betterunderstanding of hisartistic development.
Martin Haggland, 2002
This essay is an account of that work, examining the evolutionofhis figures from their humble origins into the powerful expressionofinward searching, love and joy that radiates from the canvasesofthe artist's final years. Although there were strong premonitions,thosefigures did not achieve a sustained expressiveness until1984.Beginning in that year, the representational façadesgaveway. Rather than the outward appearance of the figure, theanimatingand psychological forces within came to be the subjectof Collazo'sart, as powerfully stated in Bon Vivant, of 1989.
Collazo's earliest work, mostly produced while he was a studentatthe School of Visual Arts, in New York, shows a singular interestinthe human figure in all of its particular manifestations ofsexand age. While there is some degree of abstraction, the worksareprimarily representational.
The theme of the solitary figure, usually standing, was toreappearcontinually throughout Collazo's oeuvre, withincreasingpscyhological profoundness. However, over the years,the representationaland particular depiction of individuals thatis seen in these earlyworks changed into an abstract and universaldepiction of the essenceof all human beings.
Girlina Landscape, from the artist's last year inhighschool, is his earliest documented work. No. 724 and No. 599, although undocumented,arebelieved to date from just afterward.
No.844["Le Grande Caggia"] depicts ErnestAcker-Gherardino,who was to have a long and significant influenceon Collazo's artisticdevelopment. This portrait is believed tohave been drawn soonafter Collazo met the older and, at thattime, more accomplishedpainter in late 1965 or early 1966.
Collazo was a natural, without a sense of art history, whereasAcker-Gherardinowas a graduate of Cooper Union, where he hadacquired a comprehensiveknowledge of artists and art movements.His advanced Cubistic figure-and-landscapeabstractions had astrong effect on the younger artist over thenext two years. Ingeneral, Collazo was easily influenced by otherartists and adoptedthe more experienced artist's approach fora while, in the sameway that he was later inspired by the AbstractExpressionists,particularly Rauschenberg, Pollick and deKooning1,the Italian masters "from Cimabue todeChirico"2, Jean-Antoine Watteauand the other eighteenthcentury French artists3,Joseph Cornell4 and, more contemporaneously,in the 1980s,by the strong biological basis of Terry Winters'work, reflectedin Collazo's Nymphal Instars series, of1986.5
In 1966, living with Acker-Gherardino and observing his approachtopainting, Collazo became analytical. He strove for increasinglyabstractfigural compositions, using simplified planes of color,in paintingssuch as No.257 and No.079. The correspondences betweenthe latter and Aggregations,of two decades later,illustrates the artist's comment in theyear of this work:
"I have now drawn back, so that what formerly occupiedanentire canvas may now be only a segment of a larger landscape."6
The figure, by necessity, exists in an environment of somesort,be it a landscape or interior, and Collazo took a greatinterestin that setting. Even the paintings without figures areof interestbecause they demonstrate Collazo's approach to thelandscape inwhich, at a later time, his figures would exist.Therefore,this essay will consider those environments -- withor withoutfigures -- ranging from the semi-abstract or representationallandscapesand interiors of the early years, to the artist's lateand grandBaroque compositions of vast and ever-receding space,to the mist-shroudedworlds of his final year.
In 1967, colorful landscapes came to the fore, exemplifiedbyNo.365,LandscapeIIand No.40.They display a concept of space forged by AnalyticalCubism,undoubtedly the influence of the paintings that he sawAcker-Gherardinocreating.
Collazo was trying to work out an abstract means of expressingthelandscape. Particularly intriguing is the relationship betweentheearly canvases and those painted two decades later. In theearlypieces, the artist was struggling to find a means to expressthelandscape abstractly; in the later ones, it came naturallyto him.
Over those twenty years, a work such as No. 365 evolved into a Paseo, populated with numerous abstractfigures.In LandscapeII, one can observe theorigin of the multiple landscapevignettes that became fully developedin For the Good of Us All and the other
Although most of the 1967 series are landscapes without figures,thereare some figural works, such as No. 725 and No. 178.
The year of 1968 brought more freedom with the brush and asofteningof the hard edges formerly seen. From works such asSemi-AbstractHouse and No. 600, Collazo moved to No.743,an isolated gem of an abstract painting. Certainpaintingssuggest the influence of Watteau. No. 527 ["I Love Watteau"],awarm and soft-edged watercolor, is even inscribed "I LoveWatteau".It seems to mark the beginning of his continuinginfatuation withthe French artist.
In 1969, Collazo created delicate drawings and watercolorsthatshow the influence of Watteau or, at least, the eighteenthcenturyFrench painters. Maidenis, perhaps, the finest ofthe pencil drawings. Among worksof this period is a charmingcircus scene, The Performers Gesvaldo. In
Not only idyllic garden scenes, but fanciful Rococo interiorswitharched openings leading from one room to another were commonsettingsfor Collazo's figures, as in Picture Box. He elaborated on themotifin 1979. However, the Rococo influences were to lead Collazotoan overly decorative style that he had to resist.
After the first bout with Cubistic landscapes, the artist revertedtoa conventional concept of space, while he experimented withotherapproaches. The Cubist lessons were long abandoned, butnot forgotten.
In 1971, small paintings of Puerto Rico's green hills, suchasNo.775occupied the artist for a while, probably inspiredby his visitto the island for the inauguration of his first one-personexhibition.The space in all of these works is strictly representational.
By the next year, the landscapes became hard-edged and geometric;manywith rectangular shapes reminiscent of Hans Hoffman's canvases.Allare devoid of figuration. Key themes revolve around scientificexplorationof distant places on and off Earth, and there is thevastness ofspace, never before depicted by Collazo. The mostimportant paintingis the ambitious Jansky's Aerial, whose subject isthefirst radio telescope. Arctic Probe seems to continue themountainmotif, but in a geometricized form with triangular shapes,whileNo.186transforms an abstract, rectangular composition intoa Manhattanlandscape, by adding the recognizable profile of theEmpire StateBuilding.
Afterwards, Collazo created a series of boxes inspired by JosephCornell(see: TheCollages and Boxes of Raphael Collazo).Based on his subsequentwork, it appears that Collazo then attendedlife drawing classesat the Art Students' League to ground hiswork more solidly inan understanding of the human figure. Itwould take another decadebefore his figures would speak forcefullyto the viewer.
From his visits to the Metropolitan Museum of Art when he wasgrowingup, Collazo became quite conversant with the Italian masters.7 In 1986, the artist stated: "I am wellversedin the Italian Masters from Cimabue to de Chirico and theyhavebeen a constant inspiration in my work." and "Iuse renaissancespace, both atmospheric and geometric and strivefor a grandeurof arrangement and gesture in my forms. By thisI hope to achievea timeless and limpid environment in which theeye can wander."8 In a 1987 interview,he mentions the "Italianmasters of the quattrocento throughthe fifteen hundreds".9 And, in 1988,he stated: "The things Ithink a painting should achieve,in my era, or in any era, arein the Italian masters, from Cimabueto de Chirico, in Giotto,in Giorgione, Bellini..."10
The major effect of the Italian masters on Collazo seems tohavebeen an ambition to create paintings worthy of that exaltedtradition.However; in a few cases, more specific references canbe found.Of these, The Annunciation, inspired by LeonardodaVinci's painting of the same name (Annunciation, c. 1472-1475, temperaonwood, Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy) is the most obviousandbest documented. Leonardo's fantastic trees, in particular,wereto appear frequently in Collazo's landscapes. Collazo's Expressionistversionis discussed below. A Scene From The Life of Giotto isbasedon that artist's The Vision of Anna (c. 1307, fresco,ArenaChapel, Padua, Italy). Others paintings where the influenceofthe Italian masters seem evident, if elusive to document, are
The years of 1975 and 1976 were formative for Collazo, bothpersonallyand artistically. After 10 years of living with Acker-Gherardino,heasserted his independence by moving into this own apartmentat253 West 91st Street in Manhattan and living by himself forthefirst time in his life. Using the apartment as his studio,he begana series of paintings reflecting his assimilation ofAbstract Expressionism.These were prophecies of his mature work,as Collazo later acknowledged.11 Amongthe Expressionists, Collazo was mostattracted to Rauschenberg,then to de Kooning and Pollack:
"... when I was growing up in New York, I used to -- Irememberliking Rauschenberg a lot and as a teenager and reallylooking-- and seeking his work out in the museums and -- andde Kooningand Jackson Pollack, I used to love his work. EspeciallyRauschenberg.It really meant a lot to me and I remember likinghis work. Everythingabout it, the way he applied paint, the texture,the space, threwpaint. That was very important: I realized thatartists like thatwere smearing paint around and just gettingin there with lotsof paint."12
Collazo's figural works of this period include Left Behind For Cythera, 18th Century Abstract, Aurora Borealis, and Emergence. The stairs, zigzags,pole-likestructure and Expressionist figure of Aurora Borealis seems to presage
Along with these significant achievements, the artist producedwhatmight be called his "masterpieces": two paintingsofhitherto unimagined size, which synthesized the diverse elementsofhis earlier work and completely new ones, such as a giganticparrotand what has been described as the "ghost of a Giottovillage".13
Collazo's advance to epic-sized canvases seems to call foranexternal stimulus. Perhaps, it was the inspiration of a triptoEngland and Europe in 1974. Or, perhaps, a feeling of independenceinbeing on his own for the first time in his life. Or, perhaps,hisalcoholism, which may have freed him from his inhibitions,butexerted a negative effect on his life and art until 1981.Likely,it was all three.
The two milestone works, the first revelation of the artist'sgrandambitions, are RealityBeing Too Thorny for My Great Beingand The Annunciation, a homage to Leonardo.Acker-Gherardino'scommented on the importance of the latter paintingin Collazo'sbody of work:
"In The Annunciation, which significantly he originallycalledDesecration, we see perfectly illustrated the all-encompassingawarenessthat gives Collazo's work its unique thrust. In hissearching antiquarianismcombined with an acute sense of passingthrough time, he presentsus with a sense of the truly new. Onethinks of Piranesi and deChirico, but Piranesi and de Chiricowithout nostalgia and regrets.
The Annunciation is a seminal work in Collazo's oeuvre,aprophecy of what we see marvelously realized in the 'tapestry'paintingsten years later. As he describes the painting of thispicture:he had done a large rendering of Leonardo's Annunciation, so fascinated washewith this master work of the Renaissance painter. Then, heproceededto 'bring it up to date' by overpainting with sgraffito-likegestures.He 'attacked' the rendered work as time attacks everything,symbolicallyobscuring it in skeins of event, enriching it withexperience."14
Unfortunately, the surprising promise of the "prophetic"paintingswas not sustained; the artist himself failed to understandwhathe had accomplished. Indeed, at the time, he deemed someof theworks of so little importance that he threw them out whenmovingfrom his studio in 1976. Fortunately, they were saved byAcker-Gherardino.The following two years seem to have been unproductive,with theartist producing only some minor Expressionist workson paper.
While one might have expected a future of bold, expressionistabstractions;however, that did not come to pass. Instead, theartist's figuresbecame elegantly-costumed ladies in flowery gardensor ornate interiors,harking back to the worst extravagances ofthe eighteenth centuryFrench painters. Proceeding neither fromWatteau's moderation,delicacy nor tenderness of feeling, Collazo'scanvases became elaboratedto a prettiness that would have shamedeven the most flagrant ofthe Rococo artists. He had to strugglecontinuously against hisfacility to create superficially "beautiful"paintings,in order to achieve a meaningful expression. But, atthis time,he just couldn't resist the temptation. The figurecontinued topreoccupy him, but in a be-feathered or be-ribbonedform, as inBlondBronxand Bellezzata Calmata. Such works arediscussedin more detail in Middle Rococo.
Characteristic of this period are interiors composed of a seriesofrooms with one or more arched openings leading from one roomintoanother, sometimes creating an effect of infinity. The themeofthis "arched interior", upon which Collazo now elaborated,hadfirst occupied him in his collages of 1970.
In 1980, the artist temporarily regained his strength in thedelightfulportrait of Low Fat & Fish Eye and its companionpieceMrs.LowFat. He honored his life-long companion, mentor andpatronin PortraitofErnest, a no-nonsense work with traces of AbstractExpressionism.Each work shows a variation of a simple archedinterior. Such works,including a later series of Cornell-inspiredboxes, are discussedseparately in The Collages and Boxes of Raphael Collazo.
Once again, during 1983, the artist succumbed to the "beautiful"ina series of paintings depicting figures in flowery landscapes.Oneof the stronger pieces, unusual in its aquatic setting, is
What was Collazo's motivation in painting his "Rococo"works?In the announcement card for his 1984 exhibition, he explained:
"Formerly, my visions were fantasies of a longed-for past;orof huge rooms, when I actually lived in small; or of grandiosescenes,when I lived in squalor, paintings that in essence werean escapefrom an unsatisfactory and hurtful present: the needto work fora living and paint in my spare time.
With the good fortune of being able to paint full time, allmypowers came into play: I was able to live in the present, notescapeit, to include it in the kaleidoscope of my subject-matter."15
The influence of Rococo was not altogether bad. In fact, theartistwas able to refine its finest qualities into the"kaleidoscope"of his subject-matter, discarding thedross that had previouslydebilitated his work. The lasting influenceof Watteau's fêtesgalantes was benign.
From 1984, Collazo was able to devote all of his time to hisart,allowing him to bring together the diverse elements thathe hadbeen experimenting with over the years: Cubism, AbstractExpressionism,the Italian masters and Rococo. At last, he wasable to expresshis own true vision.
It is plain that the artist's hand was with the Abstract Expressionistsandhis heart with the French painters. Their enchanting pleasuregardensheld great appeal for Collazo, and the mise en scèneofhis mature work owes much to Watteau's fêtes galantes.Theadored French artist's inþuence is seen in
The next year, in abrupt contrast to the well-tended and idyllicgardens,the landscapes became wild swamps or forests, as seenin
"Essentially, my work consists in placing anonymous, mostlybiomorphicshapes and volumes at different distances in a dramatic,deep spacerealized by careful juxtapositions and gradations ofcolor. I userenaissance space, both atmospheric and geometricand strive fora grandeur of arrangement and gesture in my forms.By this I hopeto achieve a timeless and limpid environment inwhich the eye canwander."16
Nevertheless, after Collazo's furious bout of painting hugeswamp,forest and jungle landscapes, the refined legacy of theFrenchmaster returned. In Watteau Back, gowned figures converseina lovely summer garden. Another work of 1986 that leaves nodoubtas to its spiritual source is Sweet Dreams, even though an orange,deKooning-likefigure appears to be making an entrance. Then,there's the monkey,reminiscent of Watteau's decorative panelswith the same animal.Jumping ahead, Paradiso, of 1987, "resemblesFrenchgarden scenes of the late 1700s with its topiary, edgedshrubs,roses and even a mandolin".17Laterexamples are Topiary,of 1988, and Model of Decorum, of 1989, whichisbased on Watteau's L'Indifférent (c. 1716, Louvre,Paris).
In the following series, the Early Healing Gardens, the artist madeacomplete break from his previous work. It's almost as if hestoppedbeing an Expressionist and became a Cubist. In fact, thechangewas a conscious and painful, if heroic, effort by Collazoto advancehis painting by not continuing to repeat the same successthathe had achieved.18 Cubism, more sophisticatedandnow figurative, again defined the artist's space, as multiplelandscapevignettes and figure-like shapes created a multitudeof simultaneous,perspective views that, taken together, forma flat picture plane.Examples are Vermontand Arcadia,of 1987. In that year,the artist explained how his approachhad changed:
"While still striving for a grandeur of arrangement inatimeless environment, I have now drawn back, so that what formerlyoccupiedan entire canvas may now be only a segment of a largerlandscape.I am paradoxically involved in a synthesis of modernistflatnesswith a simultaneous conveying of depth."19
A few months later, in the Middle Healing Gardens, such as
In 1988, he painted All Souls' Day, which seems to affirmthatthe soul never perishes. Realm of Flora, American Hybrid isanode to the Roman goddess of spring and flowering or blossomingplants,of bringing new life into the world. About these panels,he stated:
"My paintings have a landscape basis, with foreground,middledistance and sky. Aggregations of forms are like gatheringsina crowd, open areas in between, air passing through. Withinthisspace I try to make something happen that will give the viewer,andmyself, a whole and satisfying experience, liftingus out ofeveryday life by symbolizing something wonderful, amemory, oran expectation of what can be: Drama and anticipation,conveyedwith paint, color, form."21
From 1984 through 1989, the artist created a large and consistentbodyof work. His figures at last transcended the representationofexterior forms and become abstract expressions of inner awarenessandpsychological states. As Collazo approached the prematureend ofhis life, the solitary figure came to embody an existentialistponderingof its own being and destiny.
Flashes of psychological insight appeared first in Collazo'spropheticLeftBehindFor Cythera and later in the figure with its ghost-likeapparitionof Court,theradiant figure of Nervous Environment, the figureexploringthe subterranean landscape of Arrival & Departure and in
Three portraits of 1985 show how Collazo was analyzing thefigure:1985 Portfolio, Sheet 1, 1985 Portfolio, Sheet 2 and
Gethsemaneisa later, 1988, depiction of a solitary, Christ-like figurein anapocalyptic landscape of angels, demons and a fallen crossthatmay portend the fateful events of that place. Here, we donot seemto be looking at a figure so much, as into the depthsof a soul.
Collazo's ultimate and most powerful existentialist expressiondidnot come until the Transcendent series, of 1989, in paintingssuchas YouPushedMe, FataMorgana, New World Rider and Bon Vivant. At the same time, thegroupsof figures maintained their joyous expression of life,as in
1943.RaphaelAngel Collazo was born on the 1st of August to RafaelCollazo andMarinaTorres in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1944.Motherand maternal grandmother left Puerto Rico and movedto New York'sLower East Side with Raphael. Father stayed in PuertoRico, laterremarried several times and had little involvementwith family.2
1944-1954. Grew up on Lower EastSideunder mother's and maternal grandmother's guidance. Paintedanddrew "since he was a child".3
1955-1958. First studied artatPratt Children's Art School when he was twelve.4Alsostudied at Hudson Guild.5 AttendedJuniorHigh School 65, where he was spotted by art teacher GittaGrail,who steered him to High School of Music and Art.6,7Grantedjunior high school diploma, June 1958. Every two or threeyearsfrom age of twelve throughout childhood, spent a coupleof weeksduring summer in Puerto Rico with mother's family, visitingfatherfrom time to time.8
1958-1960.AttendedHigh School of Music and Art, New York.
1960-1961.Finalyear at High School of Music and Art. Awarded three-yearscholarshipto School of Visual Arts, New York.9Electedmember of high school's The Honor Art League. Won firstprize forGirlin a Landscape in City-WideHigh School Art Students'Painting Competition, New York.Americanized his given namefrom "Rafael" to "Raphael".Granted high schooldiploma, June 1961. At 17 years of age, wasliving at 146 NorfolkStreet, New York.
1961-1964.AttendedSchool of Visual Arts. Studied Fine Arts with GeorgeOttman.10 Granted certificate, June 1964.
1965.Metlife-long friend and lover, Ernest Acker-Gherardino.11,12Moved to Upper West Side of Manhattanto share apartment with him.Except for 19751976, lived withAcker-Gherardino, an accomplishedpainter, at 255 West 88th Streetin small penthouse overlookingcity and painted there and, later,in 9th floor studio for restof life.13Throughout artist's career, Acker-Gherardinoencouraged him inhis painting, invented titles for his works,curated most of hisexhibitions and, in 1984, became his patron.
1967-1976.AttendedArt Students' League, New York and worked for a living."...studiedpainting under Morris Kantor. This beloved masterhad a decisiveinfluence on him, although he also acquired considerableskillsand techniques of painting from Frank Mason, another famousLeagueteacher."14 In 1974 or earlier,grantedone-year Merit Scholarship. In 1975-1976 granted anotherMeritScholarship and was first recipient of Morris Kantor MemorialScholarship.15,16 Last two years of academicperiod markedby paintings now called Prophecies, heralding mature style [seeManuscripts:Ernest Acker-Gherardino, The Annunciation, 1984].
1968 or 1969.Acker-Gherardinobought barn in Southold, New York, which artistoccasionally visitedand where he stored much of his work throughouthis life.17
1970.VisitedEngland and Europe. Exhibited work "in Italyat the ruinsof Busanna Vecchia and in Windsor, England..."18
1971.Firstone-person exhibition: Exhibición de RaphaelAngel Collazo,Galería Santiago, San Juan, Puerto Rico,curated byHelene Santiago [see The Rococo Works of Raphael Collazo: EarlyRococoand Jordan Massee, Statementfor the Announcement Card of Exhibiciónde Raphael AngelCollazo, 1971].
Other references for Early Rococo:
Ernesto J. Ruiz De La Mata, Collazo, 1971
Antonio J. Molina, Raphael Collazo: Promising Young Artist,1971
Antonio J. Molina, Rafael Collazo: Joven Artista Que Promete,1971
Jordan Massee, Report on Candidate for Fellowship, American AcademyinRome, 1972
1972.One-personexhibition of hard-edge geometric paintings: OnAir Facilities:Paintings by Raphael Collazo, Visual ArtsGallery, New York,curator unknown, featured Jansky's Aerial.
1972-1973.Createdthe Early Boxes [see The Collages and Boxes of Raphael Collazo].
1974.VisitedEngland and Europe.19
1975.One-personexhibition: Raphael Collazo Paintings, 125Prince Street,Inc., New York, curated by Marilyn Boteler.
Other reference:
Ernest Acker-Gherardino, Letter of Recommendation for Raphael Collazo,c.1975-1976
1975-1976.Livedby himself at 253 West 91st Street, New York, before returningtolive with Acker-Gherardino for rest of life.20
1977-1978.Paintedin studio in Euclid Hall, 2345 Broadway, New York.21
1980.Paintedin Studio 5, Broadway Studio Building, 2231 Broadway,New York.22 One-person exhibition: RalphCollazo Paintingsand Drawings, Victor Parker Gallery, NewYork, curated by Acker-Gherardino[see TheRococo Works of Raphael Collazo: MiddleRococo and ErnestAcker-Gherardino, RaphaelCollazo, 1980].
1981.One-personexhibition: Raphael A. Collazo Collages &Boxes, SteveBush Exhibit Room, New York, curated by Acker-Gherardino[see
1982.Receivedcollection of Nymphal Instars specimens from Fitz Acker,Acker-Gherardino'sbrother, inspiring artist's fascination withinsect forms, whichlater emerged in Nymphal Instars series of 1986.25RogerTiberii diagnosed with AIDS.26
1982-1983.Paintedin studio in Euclid Hall, 2345 Broadway, New York.27
1983.One-personexhibition: Raphael Collazo Paintings, SteveBush ExhibitRoom, New York, curated by Acker-Gherardino [seeThe RococoWorks of Raphael Collazo: Late Rococo,Steve Bush (nomde plume of Ernest Acker-Gherardino),
1984.Acker-Gherardinobecame patron. Collazo stopped working fora living and devotedall of his energy to painting. In one year,created 56 paintings,primarily the Early Tapestries series. During June,touredItaly with Acker-Gherardino, visiting Rome and Venice.29Upon return, painted Italy For You and Venezia per Tutti, beginning the
1984-1985.One-personexhibition of 34 paintings: Recuerdo (I Remember): The Paintings of RaphaelCollazo,Art Lobby, New York, curated by Acker-Gherardino[see Raphael Collazo,AnnouncementCard of Recuerdo: I Remember,1984]. First exhibitionof mature work, now called EarlyTapestries [see Manuscripts: RaphaelCollazo, The Early Tapestries, 1984 and ErnestAcker-Gherardino,HangingRalph Collazo's Exhibition in Art Lobby,1984]. Also includedwere the first two Middle Tapestriespaintings, Italy For You and Venezia per Tutti. Subsequent
Artist's Statement:
1985.ExhibitedSheWho Knows What Happened There ingroup exhibition NeoModern,curated by Rosemary C. Erpf,that inaugurated association withR. C. Erpf Gallery, New York.Painting is first of series now calledEpicTapestries [see photo of Collazo with Acker-Gherardinoatopening].
1986.Februaryand March: one-person exhibition, Raphael Collazo: New Work, R. C. ErpfGallery,New York, curated by Rosemary C. Erpf. Exhibited paintingsnowcalled EpicTapestries.November: one-person exhibition, Raphael Collazo: Recent Paintings and Drawings,R.C. Erpf Gallery, New York, curated by Rosemary C. Erpf [seeRosemaryCohane Erpf, Paintingsand Drawings by Raphael Collazo at R.C.Erpf Gallery Opens Nov.4, 1986]. Exhibited paintingsnow called NymphalInstars.
Artist's Statement:
1987.Stayedmonth of March 1987 at Vermont Studio Colony, Johnson,Vermont.Painted Vermont,early painting in seriesnow called HealingGardens [see Manuscripts: ErnestAcker-Gherardino andRaphael Collazo, Interview with Raphael A. Collazo for Blue Food,1987].Won New York National Bank Exposition of 77Latin artists.First prize for Landscape with Saint John the Baptist[seeThePaintingsof Raphael Collazo: Late Tapestries and Anonymous(ElVocero), Premianpintores boricuas, 1987]. Diagnosedfor HIV in June 1987.30 Passing away ofFitz Acker and other friendsinspired MiddleHealing Gardens series [see Manuscripts:Ernest Acker-Gherardinoand Raphael Collazo, Interview with Raphael A. Collazo for Blue Food,1987].
Artist's Statement:
1988.One-personexhibition of Healing Gardens at R. C. Erpf Gallery,NewYork, Winter 1988, curated by Rosemary C. Erpf.31Galleryclosed August 15, 1988, prompting artist to cease productionoflarge works on panel.32,33
Artist's Statement:
1989.Paintedworks now called Black Figures. Lived in
1990.Diedon January 4 of AIDS complications after months of hospitalization.Memorialexhibition: HealingGarden, Museum of ContemporaryHispanic Art, New York,curated by Nilda M. Peraza [see Manuscripts:Rosemary Cohane Erpf,RaphaelCollazo, 1990 and Ernest Acker-Gherardino,Living alife with Ralph..., 1990].
1992.Memorialretrospective: Raphael Collazo (1943-1990) Memorial Retrospective,TheUniversity of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, Arizona, curatedbyPeter Bermingham [see Manuscripts: Peter Bermingham, Essay for Raphael Collazo (1943-1990) MemorialRetrospective,1992].
1994-1995.Memorialretrospective: Raphael Collazo (1943-1990) ExposiciónRetrospectiva,Museo de Arte e Historia de San Juan, SanJuan, Puerto Rico, curatedby Acker-Gherardino [see Manuscripts:Nilda M. Peraza, El Arte de Raphael Collazo: Ruptura y Reconciliación,1994
1995.Acker-Gherardinofell ill of undiagnosed disease. Raphael Collazo (1943-1990), State UniversityofNew York Albany Museum of Art, Albany, New York. "Arecentgift of four large paintings from Mr. William A. Smallto the Universityat Albany Foundation Collection" [see GinaGranald, curatorialstudent intern, Essayfor Raphael Collazo (1943-1990),1995]. After briefhospitalization, Acker-Gherardino died on June5 of AIDS complications.
Other reference:
Amy Lozano, UAMA intern, Raphael Collazo, 1995
TheAnnunciation
TheEarlyTapestries
Raphael Collazo,1984
HangingRalphCollazo's Exhibition in Art Lobby
Ernest Acker-Gherardino, 1984
InterviewwithRaphael A. Collazo for Blue Food
Ernest Acker-Gherardino and Raphael Collazo, 1987
RaphaelCollazo
EssayforRaphael Collazo (1943-1990) Memorial Retrospective
TheArtof Raphael Collazo: Rupture and ReconciliationSpanish
ReflectionsaboutRaphael Collazo's Work
José Antonio Pérez Ruiz, 1999Spanish
Raphael Collazo (1943-1990) ExposiciónRetrospectiva
December 14,1994-March 11, 1995
Raphael Collazo (1943-1990) Memorial Retrospective
UniversityofArizona Museum of Art, Tucson, Arizona
October4-November22, 1992
Curated by Peter Bermingham
Healing Garden
March23-April 14, 1990
Raphael Collazo: Healing Gardens [title unknown]
R.C.Erpf Gallery, New York
Winter 1988
CuratedbyRosemary C. Erpf
Raphael Collazo: Recent Paintings and Drawings
R. C. ErpfGallery,New York
November 4-29, 1986
CuratedbyRosemary C. Erpf
Raphael Collazo: New Work
February15-March 13, 1986
Curatedby Rosemary C. Erpf
Recuerdo (I Remember): The Paintings of Raphael Collazo
Art Lobby,NewYork
September 29-December 31, 1984, extendedthroughApril 18, 1985
Curated by Ernest Acker-Gherardino
Colección de lasArtes,Sistema de Bibliotecas
Universidad de PuertoRico,Recinto de Río Piedras
San Juan,PuertoRico
The Colección de las Artes preservesanarchive of the artist's documents and 187 works on paper. Aselectionof the works on paper follows:
Chinese Landscape,c. 1969
In memory ofErnest Acker-Gherardino,gift of his friends
The Performers Gesvaldo, c. 1969
In memory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino, gift of MartinHaggland
Lady Lovely & Lover[believedto be artist's title], c.1969
In memory of ErnestAcker-Gherardino, giftof his friends
The Best from Vogue, c. 1970
Inmemoryof Ernest Acker-Gherardino, gift of his friends
Palace Theater, c. 1970
Inmemoryof Ernest Acker-Gherardino, gift of his friends
Grid of Twelve Collages [Estate title], c. 1973
18th Century Abstract, 1975
Inmemoryof Ernest Acker-Gherardino, gift of his friends
Knoll [Estate title],1978
In memory of ErnestAcker-Gherardino,gift of his friends
Low Fat & Fish Eye, c. 1980
Inmemoryof Ernest Acker-Gherardino, gift of his friends
Mrs. Low Fat [companion to Low Fat & Fish Eye], c. 1980
Rococo Holiday [Estate title], c. 1983
In memory ofErnestAcker-Gherardino, gift of his friends
Verandah [Estate title], c. 1983
In memory ofErnestAcker-Gherardino, gift of his friends
Maze Sketch [Estate title], 1984
In memory of ErnestAcker-Gherardino,gift of his friends
Furnished Landscape Sketch,[Estate title] 1984
Inmemory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino, gift of MartinHaggland
The Anxious Rate of theHeartSketch [Estatetitle], c. 1985
In memoryof Ernest Acker-Gherardino, gift of MartinHaggland
1985 Portfolio, Sheet1 [Estatetitle], c. 1985
1985 Portfolio, Sheet2 [Estatetitle], c. 1985
1985 Portfolio, Sheet20 [Estatetitle], c. 1985
1985 Portfolio, Sheet21 [Estatetitle], c. 1985
1985 Portfolio, Sheet22 [Estatetitle], c. 1985
1985 Portfolio, Sheet23 [Estatetitle], c. 1985
1985 Portfolio, Sheet27 [Estatetitle], c. 1985
Notebook B: Spread 20 [Estate title], c. 1985
Notebook D: Leaf 6 [Estate title], c. 1985
Sea Lion [Estate title], c. 1985
In memory ofErnestAcker-Gherardino, gift of his friends
Birth of a Soul [Estate title], c. 1985
In memory ofErnestAcker-Gherardino, gift of his friends
Seated Angel [Estate title], c. 1985
In memory ofErnestAcker-Gherardino, gift of his friends
Morris, c. 1985
In memory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,giftof his friends
Voyage of Odysseus [Estate title], c. 1985
Spontaneous Generation [Estate title], 1986
Sea Bottom [Estate title], 1986
In memory of ErnestAcker-Gherardino,gift of his friends
Two Figures in a Landscape [Estate title], c. 1986
Kwainin, c. 1986
In memory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,giftof his friends
Echo of Guernica[Estatetitle], c. 1986
Inmemory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,gift of his friends
Mini Veduta, c. 1986
In memory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,giftof his friends
Swamp, c. 1986
In memory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,giftof his friends
Bug World Series #1, c. 1986
Inmemoryof Ernest Acker-Gherardino, gift of his friends
Seining, 1986
In memory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,giftof his friends
Untitled, 1986
In memory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,giftof his friends
The Sowers [Estate title], c. 1986
In memory ofErnestAcker-Gherardino, gift of his friends
Flora & Fauna[Estatetitle], c. 1986
Inmemory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,gift of his friends
Primordial Dawn [Estate title], c. 1986
In memory ofErnestAcker-Gherardino, gift of his friends
Sweet Dreams, 1986
In memoryofErnest Acker-Gherardino, gift of Martin Haggland
Watteau Angel, 1987
In memory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,giftof his friends
Angel Back [believed to be artist's title], c. 1987
Inmemoryof Ernest Acker-Gherardino, gift of his friends
Angel Series I, 1987
In memory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,giftof his friends
Angel Series III,1988
In memory of ErnestAcker-Gherardino,gift of his friends
Birds n' Beaks, 1988
In memory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,giftof his friends
Angel Series II [believed to be artist's title], c. 1988
Inmemoryof Ernest Acker-Gherardino, gift of his friends
Levitation, 1988
In memory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,giftof his friends
The Hispanic Society ofAmericaMuseum
New York
Memory of a Dream [Estate title], c. 1985
In memory ofErnestAcker-Gherardino, gift of his friends
Blue Spiral [Estate title], c. 1985
In memory ofErnestAcker-Gherardino, gift of his friends
Delicate Structure [Estate title], c. 1985
In memory ofErnestAcker-Gherardino, gift of his friends
Jabberwocky [Estate title], c. 1985
In memory ofErnestAcker-Gherardino, gift of his friends
Remembrance of Hoffman [Estate title], c. 1985
In memory ofErnestAcker-Gherardino, gift of his friends
Amphora [Estate title], c. 1985
In memory ofErnestAcker-Gherardino, gift of Martin Haggland
Vermont, 1987
In memory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,giftof his friends
Museo de Arte ContemporáneodePuerto Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Determined Personage,1989
In memory of RaphaelCollazo, giftof Martin Haggland
Museo de Arte de Ponce
The Annunciation,c. 1976
In memory ofErnest Acker-Gherardino,gift of his friends
Veduta, 1985
In memory of Raphael Collazo, giftofMartin Haggland
Museo de Arte de PuertoRico
Instars II [Estate title], 1986
In memoryofRaphael Collazo, gift of his friends
Museo de Historia, AntropologíayArte
Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de RíoPiedras
Everything in Life, c. 1980
Inmemoryof Ernest Acker-Gherardino, gift of his friends
Rampage, 1984
In memory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,giftof his friends
Conspiracy, 1984
In memory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,giftof his friends
Premonition, 1984
In memory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,giftof his friends
Pure of Heart [Estate title], 1984
In memory of ErnestAcker-Gherardino,gift of his friends
Cotton Picker, 1984
In memory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,giftof his friends
Swamp Juice, 1984
In memory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,giftof his friends
Venezia per Tutti,1984
In memory of ErnestAcker-Gherardino,gift of his friends
The Anxious Rate of the Heart, 1984
Inmemoryof Ernest Acker-Gherardino, gift of Martin Haggland
El Museo del Barrio
Dream Street, 1970
Donor unknown
A Menacing Variation on an Amusement Park Theme, 1984
Inmemoryof Ernest Acker-Gherardino, gift of his friends
So Lonely Since You Went Away, 1984
GiftofMr. and Mrs. William A. Small, Jr.
Bushwick Park, 1985
Inmemoryof Ernest Acker-Gherardino, gift of his friends
Landscape with SaintJohnthe Baptist, 1985
Gift of New York National Bank
Museum of New Mexico, MuseumofFine Arts
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Bug World, 1986
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William A.Small,Jr.
New Britain Museum of AmericanArt
From a Woman's Heart,1985
In memory of ErnestAcker-Gherardino,gift of his friends
Bramble [Estate title], 1986
In memory of ErnestAcker-Gherardino,gift of his friends
Bon Vivant Sketch [Estate title], c. 1989
The Parrish Art Museum
Contention, c. 1986
In memory of RaphaelCollazo,gift of his friends
Nest [Estate title], c. 1986
In memoryofRaphael Collazo, gift of his friends
State University of NewYorkAlbany Museum of Art
Albany, New York
How to Draw & Paint,1985
Gift of Mr. andMrs. William A.Small, Jr.
Fast Forward, 1986
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William A.Small,Jr.
Realm of Flora, American Hybrid, 1988
GiftofMr. and Mrs. William A. Small, Jr.
Topiary, 1988
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William A.Small,Jr.
Tampa Art Museum
Woman in the Bronx,1988
Gift of Mr. andMrs. William A.Small, Jr.
Tucson Museum of Art
Wadi Medani, c. 1975
In memory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,giftof his friends
Aurora Borealis, c. 1976
In memory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,giftof his friends
Pillars of Wisdom,1984
In memory of ErnestAcker-Gherardino,gift of his friends
Rare Times, 1985
In memory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,giftof his friends
A Hundred Years in New York, 1985
Inmemoryof Ernest Acker-Gherardino, gift of his friends
Bug Out, 1986
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William A.Small,Jr.
Friends & Relatives,c. 1987
In memory ofErnest Acker-Gherardino,gift of his friends
Aggregations, c. 1987
In memory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,giftof Martin Haggland
For the Good of Us All, 1987
GiftofRiva Yares
All Souls' Day, 1988
In memory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,giftof his friends
Lepidoptera, 1987
In memory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,giftof his friends
Fold-a-Roll, 1988
Passage, 1988
In memory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,giftof his friends
Passages I, 1988
In memory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,giftof his friends
Poseur, 1989
In memory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,giftof his friends
The University of ArizonaMuseumof Art
Tucson, Arizona
Swaneria: Marina's Dream,c. 1972
In memory ofErnest Acker-Gherardino,gift of his friends. L93.2.1
Goodbye Rococo, 1985
Museum Purchase with funds providedbythe Edward J. Gallagher, Jr.
Memorial Fund.87.26.1a-b
Paradiso (Paseo),1987
Gift of Mr. andMrs. William A.Small, Jr. 95.13.11
Man in China, 1988
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William A.Small,Jr. 95.13.12
You Pushed Me (DevonianTimes),1989
MuseumPurchasewith funds provided by the Edward J. Gallagher, Jr.
The Jokers, 1989
In memory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,giftof his friends
The University of Utah,UtahMuseum of Fine Arts
Salt Lake City, Utah
Untitled, 1986-87,1987
Gift of Mr. andMrs. William A.Small, Jr.
Yaddo
SaratogaSprings,New York
Foris Pax, 1989
In memory of Ernest Acker-Gherardino,giftof his friends
This catalog is based on the author's personalacquaintancewith Raphael Collazo and with Ernest Acker-Gherardinofrom 1979onward. While I was viewing Collazo's paintings withAcker-Gherardinoin a barn in Southold, New York in April 1994;he suggested ananalysis of the work into series, which was partiallyconfirmedby his curatorial notes later that year for the 1994-1995retrospectiveat the Museo de Arte e Historia de San Juan in PuertoRico. Thatbasic framework has been substantially augmented.
Details derive from the author's analysis ofCollazo'sslides and photos, snapshots and videos of his exhibitions,announcementcards, exhibition lists, catalogs, artistic statements,newspaperarticles, gallery transmittals and sales documents.These materialswere collected by Kay Acker, a friend of the artistand Acker-Gherardino'ssister-in-law, from Collazo's apartmentin New York and from theSouthold barn, where he had stored mostof his work during thelast twenty years of his life.
All of the materials, including the documentsreferencedin the notes below, have been donated by Raphael CollazoFoundationto the Colección de las Artes, Sistema de Bibliotecas,Universidadde Puerto Rico, Recinto de Río Piedras, SanJuan, PuertoRico. They have been cataloged by the library systemand are nowavailable for study and analysis to anyone interestedin researchingthe visual arts of Puerto Rico.
The author made diligent efforts to obtaininformationfrom Rosemary C. Erpf, the dealer who had representedthe artistduring the important late 1985-1988 period. However,Erpf did notprovide any documentation. The trustees later discoveredin thebarn a copy of the manuscript that she had written forthe unpublishedcatalog of the memorial exhibition: Healing Garden, Museum of ContemporaryHispanicArt, New York, March 23-April 14, 1990, curated by NildaM. Peraza[see Manuscripts: RaphaelCollazo, Rosemary Cohane Erpf,1990].
Additionally, between May 1996 and November1998,with Kay Acker, the author directed photo documentationof thevast majority of Collazo's known works, including thoseformerlyin the artist's apartment, in the barn, in eight museumsand inseven private collections. More than 700 paintings, workson paper,collages, assemblages and sketches were photographed.At most ofthe photo sessions (except in the museums and in twoprivate collections),the author had the opportunity to examineeach work and recordits medium, size and any title, date or notation.
The information collected by all of the meansdescribedabove was entered into a computer database. If the titleof a workwas unknown, or perhaps never given, one was devisedin the spiritof the original titles, which usually were conceivedby Acker-Gherardino.The newly devised titles are noted as "Estatetitle".If the date of a work could not be documented, aswas frequentlythe case, a date was assigned based on the similarityof its styleto other works. Such dates are noted as "c."(circa).This method appears to be valid because Collazo tendedto workin a consistent style for about six months and did notrepeat himselfat a later time. In some cases, especially forworks in a series,the medium and dimensions, if unknown, wereassigned by the samemethod. Dimensions that are uncertain alsoare noted as "c."
When completed, the database contained allofthe known facts and educated guesses about each work, and allowedtheauthor to sort by date, giving a clearer understanding ofthe workspertaining to each stylistic series and of Collazo'sartistic development.The database, which contains an exhibitionhistory and biographicalinformation, also is the source for theindices, chronology, listof one-person exhibitions and recordof works in museum collections.It may be viewed at the Colecciónde las Artes, Sistemade Bibliotecas, Universidad de Puerto Rico.
1 Ernest Acker-Gherardinocuratedmost of the artist's exhibitions except those of late1985-1988,at which time Collazo was represented by the R. C.Erpf Galleryof New York (see Raphael Collazo: New Work, February 15-March13,1986, RaphaelCollazo: Recent Paintings and Drawings,November 4-29,1986 and Raphael Collazo: Healing Gardens, 1988,allcurated by Rosemary C. Erpf); the memorial exhibition:
2 "Known"worksare those for which the work itself or a complete visualreferencehas been located. The known, mature work consists of119 paintingson canvas or wood panel, of which 11 are missingand 184 workson paper (notably the 30 painting-like works onpaper of the
3 José AntonioPérezRuiz, Reflectionsabout Raphael Collazo's Work,San Juan, Puerto Rico, October1999, catalog, Profound Domains, Galería Matices,HatoRey, Puerto Rico, December 7, 1999-January 8, 2000, curatedbyJosé Antonio Pérez Ruiz. Translated from SpanishbyMarisol Uzal and Martin Haggland.
4 Raphael Collazo,
5 Steve Bush [nomdeplume of Ernest Acker-Gherardino], unpublished manuscript,"
6 E. Acker [Ernest Acker-Gherardino],unpublishedmanuscript, Hanging Ralph Collazo's Exhibition in Art Lobby,NewYork, 1984.
7 Raphael Collazo,
8 Raphael Collazo,
9 E. Acker [Ernest Acker-Gherardino],unpublishedmanuscript, Hanging Ralph Collazo's Exhibition in Art Lobby,NewYork, 1984.
10 Ibid.
11 Ibid.
12 Raphael Collazo,
13 José AntonioPérezRuiz, Reflectionsabout Raphael Collazo's Work,San Juan, Puerto Rico, October1999, catalog, Profound Domains, Galería Matices,HatoRey, Puerto Rico, December 7, 1999-January 8, 2000, curatedbyJosé Antonio Pérez Ruiz. Translated from SpanishbyMarisol Uzal and Martin Haggland.
14 Amy Lozano, UAMAintern,news report, RaphaelCollazo, Collections column, TheUniversity of ArizonaMuseum of Art museum notes, Tucson,Arizona, Spring 1995.
15 Peter Bermingham,
16 Raphael Collazo,
17 Raphael Collazo,
18 Ibid.
19 Ernest Acker-GherardinoandRaphael Collazo, unpublished manuscript, Interview with Raphael A. Collazo for Blue Food,NewYork, 1987, as transcribed by Acker-Gherardino from arecording.
20 Raphael Collazo,
21 Nilda M. Peraza,
22 José AntonioPérezRuiz, Reflectionsabout Raphael Collazo's Work,San Juan, Puerto Rico, October1999, catalog, Profound Domains, Galería Matices,HatoRey, Puerto Rico, December 7, 1999-January 8, 2000, curatedbyJosé Antonio Pérez Ruiz. Translated from SpanishbyMarisol Uzal and Martin Haggland.
23 Rosemary C. Erpf,manuscript,RaphaelCollazo,New York, March 1990, written for the unpublishedcatalog ofthe memorial exhibition Healing Garden, Museum of ContemporaryHispanicArt, New York, March 23-April 14, 1990, curated by NildaM. Peraza.
24 Ernest Acker-GherardinoandRaphael Collazo, unpublished manuscript, Interview with Raphael A. Collazo for Blue Food,NewYork, 1987, as transcribed by Acker-Gherardino from arecording.
25 E. Acker [ErnestAcker-Gherardino],unpublished manuscript, Hanging Ralph Collazo's Exhibition in Art Lobby,NewYork, 1984.
26 Martin Haggland,
27 José AntonioPérezRuiz, Reflectionsabout Raphael Collazo's Work,San Juan, Puerto Rico, October1999, catalog, Profound Domains, Galería Matices,HatoRey, Puerto Rico, December 7, 1999-January 8, 2000, curatedbyJosé Antonio Pérez Ruiz. Translated from SpanishbyMarisol Uzal and Martin Haggland.
28 Nilda M. Peraza,
1 Ernesto J. Ruiz DeLaMata, Collazo,SundaySan Juan Star Magazine, page 14, San Juan, Puerto Rico,February14, 1971.
2 Ernest Acker-Gherardino,
3 Steve Bush [nomdeplume of Ernest Acker-Gherardino], unpublished manuscript,"
4 Ibid.
5 Rosemary C. Erpf,manuscript,RaphaelCollazo,New York, March 1990, written for the unpublishedcatalog ofthe memorial exhibition Healing Garden, Museum of ContemporaryHispanicArt, New York, March 23-April 14, 1990, curated by NildaM. Peraza.
6 Ibid.
7 Ibid.
1 ExhibicióndeRaphael Angel Collazo, Galería Santiago, San Juan,PuertoRico, February 5-19, 1971, curated by Helene Santiago.See:
Jordan Massee, Statement for the AnnouncementCardof Exhibición de Raphael Angel Collazo, 1971
Ernesto J. Ruiz De La Mata, Collazo, 1971
Antonio J. Molina, Raphael Collazo: Promising Young Artist,1971
Antonio J. Molina, Rafael Collazo: Joven Artista Que Promete,1971
2 Raphael Collazo,
3 Ernest Acker-Gherardino,statement,RaphaelCollazo,New York, 1980, for the exhibition Ralph CollazoPaintings andDrawings, Victor Parker Gallery, New York, March6-March 31,1980, curated by Acker-Gherardino.
4 Steve Bush, [nomdeplume of Ernest Acker-Gherardino], statement, Raphael Collazo, New York, 1983, for theexhibitionRaphael Collazo Paintings, Steve Bush ExhibitRoom, NewYork, September 16-October 15, 1983, curated by Acker-Gherardino.
5 E. Acker [Ernest Acker-Gherardino],unpublishedmanuscript, Hanging Ralph Collazo's Exhibition in Art Lobby,NewYork, 1984.
6 Rosemary C. Erpf,manuscript,RaphaelCollazo,New York, March 1990, written for the unpublishedcatalog ofthe memorial exhibition Healing Garden, Museum of ContemporaryHispanicArt, New York, March 23-April 14, 1990, curated by NildaM. Peraza.
7 Ibid.
8 Peter Bermingham,
9 Rosemary C. Erpf,manuscript,RaphaelCollazo,New York, March 1990, written for the unpublishedcatalog ofthe memorial exhibition Healing Garden, Museum of ContemporaryHispanicArt, New York, March 23-April 14, 1990, curated by NildaM. Peraza.
10 Raphael Collazo,
11 Amy Lozano, UAMAintern,news report, RaphaelCollazo, Collections column, TheUniversity of ArizonaMuseum of Art museum notes, Tucson,Arizona, Spring 1995.
12 Raphael Collazo, proposal summary for Rome Prize Fellowship,NewYork, November 1988.
13 Rosemary C. Erpf,manuscript,RaphaelCollazo,New York, March 1990, written for the unpublishedcatalog ofthe memorial exhibition Healing Garden, Museum of ContemporaryHispanicArt, New York, March 23-April 14, 1990, curated by NildaM. Peraza.
1 Rosemary C. Erpf,manuscript,RaphaelCollazo,New York, March 1990, written for the unpublishedcatalog ofthe memorial exhibition Healing Garden, Museum of ContemporaryHispanicArt, New York, March 23-April 14, 1990, curated by NildaM. Peraza.
2 Ernest Acker-GherardinoandRaphael Collazo, unpublished manuscript, Interview with Raphael A. Collazo for Blue Food,NewYork, 1987, as transcribed by Acker-Gherardino from arecording.
1 Ernest Acker-Gherardino and Raphael Collazo,unpublishedmanuscript, Interview with Raphael A. Collazo for Blue Food,NewYork, 1987, as transcribed by Acker-Gherardino from arecording.
2 Raphael Collazo,
3 Ernest Acker-GherardinoandRaphael Collazo, unpublished manuscript, Interview with Raphael A. Collazo for Blue Food,NewYork, 1987, as transcribed by Acker-Gherardino from arecording.
4 Ernest Acker-Gherardino,
5 Bhagwan Kapoor, statementtoauthor, New York, April 13, 2002 and before.
6 Raphael Collazo,
7 Ernest Acker-GherardinoandRaphael Collazo, unpublished manuscript, Interview with Raphael A. Collazo for Blue Food,NewYork, 1987, as transcribed by Acker-Gherardino from arecording.
8 Raphael Collazo,
9 Ernest Acker-GherardinoandRaphael Collazo, unpublished manuscript, Interview with Raphael A. Collazo for Blue Food,NewYork, 1987, as transcribed by Acker-Gherardino from arecording.
10 Raphael Collazo,
11 Raphael Collazo,
12 Ernest Acker-GherardinoandRaphael Collazo, unpublished manuscript, Interview with Raphael A. Collazo for Blue Food,NewYork, 1987, as transcribed by Acker-Gherardino from arecording.
13 Ernest Acker-Gherardino,statement,RaphaelCollazo,New York, 1980, for the exhibition Ralph CollazoPaintings andDrawings, Victor Parker Gallery, New York, March6-March 31,1980, curated by Acker-Gherardino.
14 Steve Bush [nomdeplume of Ernest Acker-Gherardino], unpublished manuscript,"
15 Raphael Collazo,
16 Raphael Collazo,
17 Amy Lozano, UAMAintern,news report, RaphaelCollazo, Collections column, TheUniversity of ArizonaMuseum of Art museum notes, Tucson,Arizona, Spring 1995.
18 Raphael Collazo,statementto author, New York, c. early 1987.
19 Raphael Collazo,
20 Ernest Acker-GherardinoandRaphael Collazo, unpublished manuscript, Interview with Raphael A. Collazo for Blue Food,NewYork, 1987, as transcribed by Acker-Gherardino from arecording.
21 Raphael Collazo,
22 E. Acker [ErnestAcker-Gherardino],unpublished manuscript, Hanging Ralph Collazo's Exhibition in Art Lobby,NewYork, 1984.
1 Group exhibitionsarenot included in the chronology. For all known exhibitions,seeMartin Haggland, Raphael Collazo: Catalogue Raisonné,RaphaelCollazo Foundation, New York, 2001.
2 Marina Torres (artist'smother),statement to author, New York, 1997.
3 Steve Bush, [nomdeplume of Ernest Acker-Gherardino], statement, Raphael Collazo, New York, 1983, for theexhibitionRaphael Collazo Paintings, Steve Bush ExhibitRoom, NewYork, September 16-October 15, 1983, curated by Acker-Gherardino.
4 Ernest Acker-Gherardino,statement,RaphaelCollazo,New York, 1980, for the exhibition Ralph CollazoPaintings andDrawings, Victor Parker Gallery, New York, March6-March 31,1980, curated by Acker-Gherardino.
5 Steve Bush, [nomdeplume of Ernest Acker-Gherardino], statement, Raphael Collazo, New York, 1983, for theexhibitionRaphael Collazo Paintings, Steve Bush ExhibitRoom, NewYork, September 16-October 15, 1983, curated by Acker-Gherardino.
6 Ernest Acker-Gherardino,statement,RaphaelCollazo,New York, 1980, for the exhibition Ralph CollazoPaintings andDrawings, Victor Parker Gallery, New York, March6-March 31,1980, curated by Acker-Gherardino.
7 Steve Bush, [nomdeplume of Ernest Acker-Gherardino], statement, Raphael Collazo, New York, 1983, for theexhibitionRaphael Collazo Paintings, Steve Bush ExhibitRoom, NewYork, September 16-October 15, 1983, curated by Acker-Gherardino.
8 Marina Torres (artist'smother),statements to author, New York, April 13 and May 6, 1998.
9 Silas H. Rhodes (director,Schoolof Visual Arts), letter, New York, March 1, 1961.
10 Antonio J. Molina,
11 Tom Miller, statementtoauthor, New York, 1997.
12 Kay Acker, statementtoauthor, New York, 1997.
13 Ibid. (regardingthedates that the artist did not live with Acker-Gherardino).
14 Steve Bush, [nomdeplume of Ernest Acker-Gherardino], statement, Raphael Collazo, New York, 1983, for theexhibitionRaphael Collazo Paintings, Steve Bush ExhibitRoom, NewYork, September 16-October 15, 1983, curated by Acker-Gherardino.
15 Ernest Acker-Gherardino,statement,RaphaelCollazo,New York, 1980, for the exhibition Ralph CollazoPaintings andDrawings, Victor Parker Gallery, New York, March6-March 31,1980, curated by Acker-Gherardino.
16 Ernest Acker-Gherardino,Summaryof Art Education and Exhibits, New York, 1984 (regarding1975-1976dates of scholarships).
17 Kay Acker, statementtoauthor, New York, 1997 (regarding the purchase date of thebarn).
18 Raphael Collazo,unpublishedstatement, Raphael Collazo, New York, c. 1983.
19 Rosalind Shaw, statementtoauthor, London-New York telephone conversation, 2000.
20 Kay Acker, statementtoauthor, New York, 1997 (regarding the dates that the artistlivedby himself).
21 Ernest Acker-Gherardino,pressrelease, Recuerdo (I Remember): The Paintings of RaphaelCollazo,Art Lobby, New York, September 29-December 31,1984, extendedthrough April 18, 1985, curated by Ernest Acker-Gherardino.
22 Martin Haggland,recollectionof artist painting Fish Lips in Studio 5, Broadway StudioBuilding,2231 Broadway, New York, 1980.
23 Tom Miller, statementtoauthor, New York, 1997.
24 Kay Acker, statementtoauthor, New York, 1997.
25 Ibid. (regardingthedate that the artist received collection of Nymphal Instarspecimens).
26 Kay Acker, statementtoauthor, New York, 1997.
27 Ernest Acker-Gherardino,pressrelease, Recuerdo (I Remember): The Paintings of RaphaelCollazo,Art Lobby, New York, September 29-December 31,1984, extendedthrough April 18, 1985, curated by Ernest Acker-Gherardino.
28 Kay Acker, statementtoauthor, New York, 1997.
29 Martin Haggland,recollection,New York, 1997.
30 Kay Acker, statementtoauthor, New York, 1997.
31 Rosemary C. Erpf,letterto author, New York, August 15, 1999 and telephone conversation,NewYork, August 19, 1999.
32 Rosemary C. Erpf,letterannouncing closure of gallery, New York, August 15, 1988.
33 Tom Miller, statementtoauthor, New York, May 3, 1997 (regarding the cease in productionoflarge works on panel).
The 162 works of art mentioned in the main text and an additional133works listed in the Catalogue Raisonné may be viewedonthis web site.
Martin Haggland, Director
Raphael Collazo Foundation
2345 Broadway, Suite 638, New York, NY 10024
Tel: 212.787.0500, Fax: 212.787.5484
E-mail: director@collazo.org
Web site by Martin Haggland, New York, NY
Photography by SteveBates, Cold Spring, NY
All images and text published on the MuseoCollazoworld wide web site and in the accompanying catalog arefor personalor educational use only. Neither the images nor thetext publishedhereon and therein is in the public domain. Anycommercial useor publication is strictly prohibited, as is reproduction,redistributionor exploitation for personal or corporate gain.For informationconcerning images or text for publishing, referenceor commercialuse, contact Raphael Collazo Foundation.
© Raphael Collazo Foundation 1997-2004.Allrights reserved.