Julio Larraz Cuban, b. 12/03/1944

Julio Larraz realist painter, renowned internationally as a major exponent of contemporary Caribbean art. The character of Julio Larraz's painting, though deeply rooted in the soil of classic tradition, whether it is European or American, takes on a more personal significance: the originality of his paintings reflects a vision of realism, not precisely social as we often perceive it, but a severely ethical realism. The images of landscapes, still-lifes, portraits, and narratives are strictly grafted from an indigenous culture - nurtured by various philosophical and literary principles - and combined with instinct, a possessive "regarde", with which the artist can identify himself, a summary of perceptive objectivity and intellectual disillusionment. To study his art means to be prepared to understand not only the emotional force involved in the extraordinary representations, or the impeccable techniques utilized in their creation, but also the focus on and the underlying references to sociological and moral themes. Larraz is unequivocally an artist who is strongly connected to his birthplace and possesses an authentic feeling of obligation to narrate political and social situations, profoundly represented in his art - primarily, for moral and expressive reasons.