Venezuela, 1930–2025 · Drawing, painting and poetry

Juan Calzadilla

Juan Calzadilla (Altagracia de Orituco, 1930 – Caracas, 2025) was a poet, draughtsman, painter, essayist and art critic. In 1961 he co-founded El Techo de la Ballena, a group of the Venezuelan avant-garde of the 1960s, and he received Venezuela's National Prize for Visual Arts. In 2011 he was appointed director of the Galería de Arte Nacional, a post he left in 2013. His visual work is shot through with writing: mark and word occupy the same surface.