GIL CUATRECASAS CHRONOLOGY

 

1935 – born in Madrid

1939 – escapes Franco uprising with mother and siblings, 1939

1939–40 – refugees in Paris

1940–1947 – family reunites in 1940 with father and move to Colombia, then Argentina

1947–1953 – family immigrates to Chicago

1951 – studies at The Art Institute of Chicago, 1951 (age 16)

1953 – in group exhibition at Fenton Art Gallery, Chicago, Illinois

1953–1957 – receives 4-year scholarship to Harvard University, 1953-1957. Graduates cum laude, B.A., specializing in the History of Art and Practices of Visual Arts.

1958 – attends the Corcoran Museum School, Washington, D.C.; in group exhibition, and earns diploma in painting and drawing.

1958–1960 – receives 2-year scholarship to the Yale School of Fine Art with a focus on painting; studies with Albers during Alber’s last year as director of the school

1959 – in group exhibition at Yale University Art Gallery

1960–62 – attends the National School of Fine Arts in Mexico City under a scholarship from the Pan-American Union (Organization of American States)

1962–65 – living and working in Washington, D.C.; exhibited with members of the Washington Color School

1964 – Lawrence Alloway (Senior Curator of the Guggenheim Museum) selects his work for Nine Contemporary Painters: US, at the Organization of American States (Pan American Union) an exhibition comprised of members of the Washington Color School

1965 – solo exhibition at The Corcoran Museum of Art, Washington, D.C.

– in group exhibition at the Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires, Argentina (MAMBA —The Buenos Aires Museum of Modern Art)

1966 – in group exhibition at the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, Brazil (MAM — The Sao Paulo Museum of Modern Art)

– solo exhibition at International Monetary Fund, Washington, D.C.

– leaves Washington, D.C. and settles in Barcelona

1967 – solo exhibition at the Institute of North American Studies, Barcelona

– in group exhibition at the Salón Náutico Internacional de Barcelona

1968 – solo exhibition at Gallery Tiziano, Barcelona

– in group exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Barcelona (MACBA) — May International Salon

1969 – solo exhibition at The Barcelona Athenaeum

– in group exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Barcelona (MACBA) — May International Salon

1970–1976

– settles in Torino, Italy, and develops his mature and unique style and technique, producing large paintings up to 22-ft long

1973 – Around this time he begins the first of several shipments of large canvases rolled up in strong tubes and ships them to Security Storage in Washington, D.C., likely in anticipation of exhibitions in the U.S.

1976 – solo exhibition at Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, is cancelled because of a tropical  storm that causes flooding, destroying the Cuatrecasas paintings and cancelling the exhibition

1977 – resettles in Barcelona. About this time makes his final (and largest) shipment of canvases to Security Storage in Washington, D.C.

1979  – final solo exhibition is held at Galerías Syra in Antonio Gaudí’s iconic Casa Battló in Barcelona.

1979–82 – begins renovation an 18th century stone farmhouse just outside of Barcelona — but the project is finally abandoned. Returns to his aunt’s small apartment in Barcelona, and without a proper studio, this was a major career-ending event.

1982–2004 – declining health, battling alcoholism and tuberculosis

2004 – dies in Barcelona from prostatic cancer