And so it goes...

Marcelo Suaznabar

Marcelo Suaznabar was born in Bolivia, in 1970, in the mining city of Oruro, located in the mid-western part of the country. He is the youngest of six brothers, and is the son of Nestor Suaznabar and Ana Maria Solari. From an early age, he had a passion for drawing, motivated by his uncle Enrique Suaznabar, a professional photographer who lived in the same city. Focusing solely in drawings as the main motor of his creations, he showed a great interest in color form an early age and began exploring watercolors, pastels, and colored pencils. For a long time, he focused on painting insects, animals, houses and portraits on paper and cardboards. Marcelo developed a great amount of his work in his birthplace, the city of Oruro. Oruro posses a mystical energy in its surroundings and has a strong folkloric tradition; its carnival was declared by UNESCO as Oral and Intangible Patrimony of Humanity. The cultural richness of the city's manifestations contributes to creators, granting the artist enough incentive to cultivate his work. In 1988, Marcelo traveled with his father and Marco, his brother, to the colonial city of Potosi, located south in the country, where they spent days visiting churches and museums, admiring the immense cultural richness expressed in the architecture and the ample collections of colonial paintings. The House of Coins and Convent of Saint Teresa were the incentives that led the artist to recreate sacred scenes, and with the artwork Coronation of the Virgin (1988), Marcelo began his series Sacred Art. During this period, Marcelo was invited to participate in a collective exhibit at the French Alliance and the Cultural House (Centro Cultural) Using the same series, he made an individual exhibit in Spain's House (Casa de Espana), in the city of La Paz, where he received in 1991 an honorable mention for his work Judgment's Cart in contest Spain 91. In 1992, Marcelo traveled to Chile. It was in Santiago where he attended and completed a four-month course at the Art School of the Extension Center at the Catholic University under the tutelage of professor Roberto Farriol. In 1993 he was selected for the exhibit Four Young Artists at the art gallery of the BHN Foundation in the city of La Paz. In 1999, he was invited to participate in the International Exhibit II Biennale of Visual Arts of the Mercosur in Porto Allegre, Brazil. The theme of ecological damage at global level motivated him to make a series of artworks dedicated to life and nature. The series titled Living Nature, Still Life was shown a year later at the National Art Museum in the city of La Paz.

Suaznábar has exhibited extensively in Latin America, Europe, Canada and the US with 19 solo exhibits and over 85 group shows

He continues to progress forward using a surreal and symbolic language, an aesthetic language that covers all of the work. In the three series, Apocalyptic, Angels, Archangels and Magical Altiplano, Marcelo finds his own unique language. Marcelo's sets his imagination free in his work, exploring and examining the elements of unconsciousness. This including, universal and common themes that preoccupy human beings: passing of time, death, nature, sexuality, beauty, temptations, fear, and world religions. These themes are evident in each of Marcelo's paintings.

Artist Statement:
In my work I introduce symbolic elements in an allegorical way. In this fashion, I interpret the temptations and passions of the soul in dreams. My concern is with ecological problems produced by man in his constant fight of ambition and obsession for power.

Of interest to me as well, are collective and solitary environments, in which I recreate the Bolivian High Plateau using universal symbols. On several occasion, I inlay subtle figures in abstract backgrounds. These figures appear suspended in a direct and simple manner inviting interpretations of surreal and magical situations. My inspiration comes from nature, and the common attitudes of the human race, or culture.

Selected One Man Shows:
2009 Recent Work, Nota Art Gallery. La Paz - Bolivia.
Magical and surreal Art, Spence Gallery. Toronto – Canada.
The Last Four Seasons. INDEXG Gallery. Toronto - Canada.
2008 Andean renaissance in the midst of the XXI Century. Metropolitan Museum of Monterrey.
Monterrey - Mexico.
Magical Altiplano, Spence Gallery. Toronto - Canada.
2007 An Andean renaissance man in the midst of the XXI Century, St Ambroise Art Gallery, Montreal - Canada.
Virgenes y Arcangeles, ArtDealers Gallery. Monterrey - Mexico.
2006 Escenario de Recuerdos, ArtDealeres Gallery. Monterrey - Mexico.
2005 Recent Works, Esther Arias Art Gallery. Barcelona - Spain.
2004 Human Wilderness Kabat Wrobel Gallery, Toronto - Canada.
2003 Of The Serie Magic Altiplano, ArtDealers Gallery. Monterrey - Mexico.
2002 Exploration of Time and Sensuality, Prince Arthur Fine Art Gallery. Toronto - Canada.
2001 The Colors of the Soul. Nota Gallery. La Paz - Bolivia.
2000 Live Nature, Dead Nature, National Museum of Art. La Paz - Bolivia.
1998 Allegory to Life and Dead, Gildaro Antesana Gallery of Art. Cochabamba - Bolivia.
1997 Angels, Archangels and Temptations, Centre Cultural Las Condes Corporation. Santiago - Chile.
1996 Angels and Demons, BHN Foundation’s Gallery of Art. La Paz - Bolivia.
1994 Between the Sky and the Earth, BHN Foundation’s Gallery of Art. La Paz - Bolivia
Center for Contemporary Art, Simon I Patiño. Cochabamba - Bolivia.
EMUSA Gallery of Art. La Paz - Bolivia.
Art Gallery of the School of Art. Oruro - Bolivia.
1991 Spain House, Institute of Ibero American Corporation. La Paz - Bolivia.
1990 Religious Art, Imagine Gallery. Oruro - Bolivia.

Selected Group Shows:
2009 The Artist Project Toronto. The Liberty Grand. Toronto - Canada.
Salon 3, Propeller Centre for the Visual Arts. Toronto - Canada.
2008 Dialogo, Nota Art Gallery. La Paz - Bolivia.
Arwi, International Art Fair. San Juan - Puerto Rico.
Casa de Cultura of Reynosa, Reynosa - Mexico.
Cruz Roja Mexicana .Banamex Centre. Nuevo Leon, Monterrey - Mexico.
New Artist Group Show, Plan B Gallery. Washington DC - USA.
Space -Vision, Lurie Art Galleries. Miami - USA.
Good Edition series, Mystery Landscape INDEX G Gallery. Toronto - Canada.
2007 XXX Anniversary show Cruz Roja Mexicana,
Banamex Centre. Nuevo Leon, Monterrey - Mexico.
Arte Nuevo, National Museum of Art. La Paz - Bolivia.
10 Pieces by 10 Artist, Spence Gallery. Toronto - Canada.
Gallery Group Show, Plan B Gallery. Washington DC - USA.
Giant Steps, St - Ambroise Art Gallery. Montreal - Canada .
2006 Imagine other Ways Spence Gallery. Toronto - Canada.
Artistes Latino - Americains D’ ici et d’ ailleurs. St - Ambroise Art Gallery. Montreal - Canada. in Collaboration with Martin Kletzel - Contemporary Art.
TIAFAIR Toronto International Art Fair, Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Toronto - Canada.
Grand Opening, Jason Duval The Sussex Studio Gallery. Ottawa - Canada.
10 Artist 10 works, Spence Gallery. Toronto - Canada.
Giants Steeps, St-Ambroise Art Gallery. Montreal-Canada.
2005 TIAFAIR Toronto International Art Fair, Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Toronto - Canada.
Art Miami. International Art Fair, Miami Beach Convention Centre. Miami - USA
Lationaomerica 2005, Etobicoke Civic Centre Art Gallery. Toronto - Canadá.
Toronto Art Expo, Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Toronto - Canada.
2004 Little Treasures, Mittica Gallery. Toronto - Canada.
TIAFAIR Toronto International Art Fair, Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto - Canada.
Das Kleine Format – Minimal Art, Hollfeld Museum. Hollfeld - Germany.
Alienation, juried art exhibition Arts Festival of Peace Salvador Allende, DeLeon White Gallery. Toronto – Canada.
Square Foot , AWOL Gallery. Toronto - Canada.
Art Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Convention Center. Philadelphia – USA.
Bolivian Actuality Paintings. Hamburg - Germany.
D’ un Ocean A L’Autre, Galerie D’Avignon Contemporary Fine Art. Montreal - Canada.
Recent Works, Kabat Wrobel Gallery. Toronto - Canada.
Toronto Art Expo Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Toronto - Canada.
Latinoamerica, Etobicoke Civic Centre Art Gallery. Toronto – Canada.
2003 Sueños Fantasias y Realidades, Art Dealers Gallery. Monterrey - Mexico.
Small Works, Roberto Martin Contemporary Art Gallery. Buenos Aires - Argentina.
TIAFAIR Toronto International Art Fair, Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Toronto - Canada.
III International Contest SIART 2003, National Museum of Art. La Paz - Bolivia.
Arts Festival of Peace , Salvador Allende The Great Hall. Toronto - Canada.
2002 Le Monde Surrealist of Marcelo Suaznabar and Tom Gray, Galerie d’Art Contemporains. Montreal. Quebec - Canada.
Bolivia One Selection , Museo del Barro. Asuncion - Paraguay.
Le Cri Muet, The Mansion of the Culture. Montreal - Canada.
10 World Artists Show, Gallery Virtual. Noosa Gallery. Sidney - Australia
2001 Contemporary Bolivian Art, Dresden Bank. Hamburg - Germany.
Bolivia One Selection, National Museum of Art. Santiago - Chile.
Object Art, Nota Gallery of Art. La Paz - Bolivia.
Second International Contest of Art, National Museum of Art. La Paz - Bolivia.
ArtMiami, Miami International Art Fair, Convention Center. Miami - EEUU.
Contemporary Art, Taipinquiri Art Gallery. La Paz - Bolivia.
Young Artist Agreement Andres Bello, Sofia Imber Museum. Caracas - Venezuela.
Objet Art, Nota Art Gallery. La Paz - Bolivia.
Bolivia One Selection. Center of Contemporary Art. Simon I. Patiño, Cochabamba - Bolivia.
Second National Contest, Cecilio Guzman de Rojas. House of Culture. Potosi - Bolivia.
Les Ameriques du Sur au Nord, Center of Art Baie Saint Paul. Quebec - Canada.
Action Contemporary Latin American Graphics, Museum of Latin American Art. Long Beach. California – EEUU.
Le Cri Muet, Center of Art. Baie Saint Paul. Quebec - Canada.
The Small Works, DP Fong Galleries. San Jose California - EEUU.
2000 The Portrait, DP Fong Galleries. San Jose California - EEUU.
Young Artists Agreement, Andres Bello. Bogota – Colombia and National Museum of Art La Paz - Bolivia.
Art Young, International Art Fair. Buenos Aires - Argentina.
Bolivian Contemporary Art, Asuncion - Paraguay.
EncontrArte, Latin - American House. Milan - Italy.
1999 II Mercosur Art Biennial, Porto Alegre - Brazil.
First International Contest of Art SIART 99, National Museum of Art. La Paz - Bolivia.
ItinerArt.Itinerant Art Exhibition, La Paz - Cochabamba - Sucre - Santa Cruz - Bolivia.
1998 Identities. Emergent Young Artist from South America and Caribbean. International Development Bank. Passage de Retz. Paris - France.
Bolivian And Chilean Artists, Culture House. Arica - Chile.
1997 XI Culture House Art Biennial, Raul Otero Raiche. Santa Cruz - Bolivia.
III Drawing Contest BHN Foundation, Gallery of Art. La Paz - Bolivia.
1996 Three Artist, Moscosso Gallery. Washington DC - EEUU.
Bolivian Cultural weekend in Peru, National of Art Museum. Lima - Peru.
1995 The Nude, BHN Foundation’s Gallery of Art. La Paz - Bolivia.
XIII International Young Artist Symposium, Center of Art. Baie Saint Paul. Quebec - Canada.
Contemporary Archangel from Bolivia, Arte Unico Gallery. La Paz - Bolivia.
1994 Bolivia New Art., Mapocho Cultural Center. Santiago - Chile.
Six Artist from Oruro, Taipinquiri Art Gallery. La Paz - Bolivia.
1993 Four Young Artist, BHN Foundation’s Gallery of Art. La Paz - Bolivia.
1992 Las Condes Cultural Corporation. Santiago - Chile.
Center for Extramural Studies, University Catholic of Chile. Santiago - Chile.
1990 House of Culture. Oruro - Bolivia.
1988 House of Culture. Oruro - Bolivia, Imagine Gallery. Oruro - Bolivia.

Awards and Distinctions:
2009 Exhibition Assistance Ontario Arts Council. Ontario - Canada.
2008 Ontario Arts Council. Visual Artist Mid-Career Grand. Ontario - Canada.
2002 Best in Drawing Art FOCUS, Toronto Metro Hall, Toronto - Canada.
1999 Especial mention given by the National Museum of Art in the International contest SIART 99. La Paz - Bolivia.
1996 Distinction given by Mesa Redonda Pan-American. Oruro - Bolivia.
First Medal Artist. given by DIDEJU. Oruro - Bolivia
Honorary Diploma, given by Center for Extramural Studies, Catholic University. Santiago - Chile.
Chamber of Commerce of Oruro - Bolivia.
Honorary Diploma, given by Government. La Paz - Bolivia.
*Collections in the National Museum of Art La Paz - Bolivia, Center of Art Baie Saint Paul. Quebec - Canada . Contemporary Museum of Art RALLI Punta del Este - Uruguay. Center of Contemporary Art Simon I Patiño. Cochabamba - Bolivia and private collections in Bolivia, Canada, Chile, United States, Spain, France, Argentine, Germany, Korea, Panama, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico y Venezuela.

http://www.marcelosuaznabar.com