Framed Ada Balcacer Watercolor - "Figures" - 2003

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Early Fall Variety | Ancient & Ethnographic

By Artemis Gallery

Oct 17, 2019

Set Reminder 2019-10-17 10:00:00 2019-10-17 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Early Fall Variety | Ancient & Ethnographic https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/early-fall-variety-ancient-ethnographic-4538
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• Lot Description
  **Originally Listed At $700**
  
  Ada Balcacer (Dominican Republic, b. 1930), "Figures", watercolor on Arches paper, March 2003. Signed and dated in pencil at lower right. A wonderful watercolor by Latin American artist Ada Balcacer who self describes as "one of two one-armed painters in Latin American art history" - the other being Mexican Muralist Jose Clemente Orozco. The composition features a horse-headed figure in the foreground, an armless youth below, an amorous couple in the background, and a single figure in the background. The vibrant color palette is inspired by her Caribbean roots, and the horse figure beside a youth may be an autobiographical reference. When Balcacer was a teenager, she was thrown from a horse and her arm eventually had to be amputated as a result. This accident clearly did not stop Balcacer from creating strong artworks like this example - several of which have sold at Christie's (see below). The composition elegantly floats upon a green mat, and is framed under glass. Size: 15.5" L x 11.5" W (39.4 cm x 29.2 cm)
  
  Ada Balcacer was born in San Juan de la Maguana, Dominican Republic and came of age during the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo under whose reign the country lost more than 50,000 people including almost 30,000 in the "Parsley Massacre" of 1937. Her dreams of pursuing a medical career came to an end when her arm had to be amputated following a horse accident during her teenage years. She studied art at the National School of Fine Arts, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and the famous designer Oscar de la Renta was her classmate. The stifling climate under the Trujillo regime prompted Balcacer to move to New York City in 1951 following her graduation. It was the heyday of Abstract Expressionism as well as the popularity of Latin/Afro-Caribbean music and dance. She even met Jackson Pollock who told her that it "was important to create work guided by an intellectual concept and to continue experimenting always." In 1961, after Trujillo was assassinated, Balcacer returned home and joined the Nueva Imagen (New Image) movement - a movement that valued the aesthetic qualities of color and light. Later in life, she became the chair of the school of drawing in the a architecture department of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo. At the age of 70 she moved to Miami, Florida and opened up the Abro Gallery. Balcacer has exhibited widely and has been the recipient of several national and international awards such as the E. Leon Jimenez award.
  
  Several Ada Balcacer paintings have sold at Christie's in recent years. Her "Filtro de luz sobre paisaje" (1992) hammered for $7,000 at Christie's (12 November 2012) -https://www.artprice.com/artist/542834/ada-balcacer/painting/7283600/filtro-de-luz-sobre-paisaje
  
  Balcacer's "Lenguaje de Luz" (1992) hammered for $1000 at Christie's 11 December 2013 - https://www.artprice.com/artist/542834/ada-balcacer/painting/8082459/lenguaje-de-luz
  
  Balcacer's "Manifesto de Luz" (1992) hammered at Christie's (11 December 2013) for $3000 - https://www.artprice.com/artist/542834/ada-balcacer/painting/7817874/manifiesto-de-luz
  
  For more about this fascinating artist, see this recent article about Ada Balcacer in the Miami New Times - https://www.miaminewtimes.com/arts/ada-balcacer-one-armed-genius-at-pamm-6395646
  
  Provenance: private Southern California, USA collection, acquired in the 1970s to mid-1980s
  
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  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
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  #143896

  Condition

  Excellent. Signed and dated in pencil at lower right. Set on green mat and framed under glass.
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