José R. Alicea

Place: Ponce

Born: 1928

Biography:

José R. Alicea is a Puerto Rican painter and printmaker born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, in 1928. He studied drawing and painting at the studio of artist Miguel Pou starting in 1943. In 1957, he enrolled at the Graphics Workshop in San Juan, where he studied printmaking under Lorenzo Homar. Alicea has been a professor of art at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, since 1965. He has exhibited his work in numerous solo and group shows in Puerto Rico, the United States, and Europe. Alicea's work is held in various public and private collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. He is known for his use of vibrant colors and bold brushstrokes, often depicting scenes of Puerto Rican life and culture. Alicea has received numerous awards and recognitions for his contributions to the arts, including the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 1974 and the Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts in 1985.