Exhibition “Alberto Ulloa: My collection”

“Alberto Ulloa: My Collection” exhibition opens at the Museum of Modern Art

SANTO DOMINGO, RD, The collector Luis Felipe Cartagena Sánchez presented this Wednesday the exhibition “Alberto Ulloa: My Collection”, during a ceremony held on the second level of the Museum of Modern Art, in the presence of authorities from the cultural sector, art critics , lovers of the cartoonist's works and other guests.

Luis Felipe Cartagena Sánchez said that this exhibition is part of the commemorative activities of the 13th anniversary of the death of Alberto Ulloa, a draftsman and sculptor with an overflowing imagination and one of the most productive, successful Dominican painters with the greatest national and international projection.

He stated that the exhibition consists of 275 works, including sculptures and paintings, being the largest exhibition of the master Alberto Ulloa from 1974 to 2011 when he died. It will be open to the public until Thursday, August 7.

He stated that Alberto Ulloa has left the legacy of imagination, of not leaving childhood aside, of not stopping being curious, of not losing his sense of humor and of taking the positive out of everything that life brings.

“For me it is a great honor to have the opportunity for the first time in history, of more than 33 years acquiring and collecting specifically Dominican art, to exhibit one of my collections at the Museum of Modern Art. Thanks to the Minister of Culture, Milagros Germán, for putting in all her efforts from the first day I informed her of my interest in presenting my collection by maestro Alberto Ulloa. His immediate reaction was: “Ulloa deserves the Museum of Modern Art,” said Cartagena Sánchez.

Also, he thanked the General Directorate of Museums and all the people and institutions that in one way or another have enthusiastically supported this project.

“I hope you enjoy this effort that we wanted to share with the entire public. Alberto Ulloa left a lasting legacy in Dominican and Latin American art, being a key figure in the evolution of neo-figuration and an example for future generations of artists,” he stated.

He maintained that the teacher was very versatile in his work; Furthermore, he was a writer of novels, as demonstrated by one of them: “Al son del amor”.

“I met Maestro Ulloa in the early 90s and, from then on, I visited him in the different houses where he lived, such as the one on Paseo de los Médicos street, in the University Zone; on his property on 6 deNovember Avenue; in the two apartments that he lived in the Renacimiento sector; in the Costa Verde Urbanization at kilometer 12 of Independencia Avenue, and finally in the Cacicazgos. The teacher was a character with exquisite and kind treatment, who also loved the culinary art. His works attracted me since I was young and having the opportunity to meet him and observe in his workshop the skill of his talent convinced me that I was in the presence of one of the great national and world artists. With the teacher, I remember many experiences, but I will tell you one: I took him to meet the manager of a bank in the country, and she told him that her niece liked her paintings. Immediately, he said: Find me a pencil or pen to send you a present. Ulloa put the pen on a blank sheet of paper and, without lifting his pulse, made a drawing in an exceptional way, masterfully done by a teacher, and then sent the gift to the admiring girl. That was Ulloa, a character always detached from material things,” he said.

This presentation of the exhibition titled “Alberto Ulloa: My Collection” highlights paintings, drawings, pastels, murals, sculptures in wood, bronze and painted stones.

Part of the legacy that spans from 1974 until reaching the year 2011 in an anthological form is presented.

“We can observe the great variety and mastery with which Ulloa created each of these pieces. Some of his titles are: Time, The Musician, Nostalgia, Musical Ensemble, Yesterday's Love, Us, Bloom, Ghost, The Black Car, Peasant, Yesterday's Car, Armor, among others. They are a sample of the great work capacity and intellectuality of our Alberto Ulloa,” he added.

He stated that as a collector he feels highly pleased with the great talent that the artist delivered and captured in each piece that is exhibited.

“So, with the inauguration this Thursday, July 4, 2024, as a Dominican I feel proud of our most influential modern art and professor of drawing in 1977 at the prestigious Universidad Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid , Spain, alma mater of two of the world's greats: Salvador Dalí and Pablo Picasso,” he recalled.

Ulloa was born on January 1, 1950 in Jurutungo Mountain, Altamira, Puerto Plata. Since childhood, he showed a prodigious talent for drawing. At the age of 15, in the midst of the April Revolution of 1965, he moved to Santo Domingo to continue his studies. He was a disciple of great Dominican masters such as Guillo Pérez, Rosa Tavares, Domingo Liz, Cándido Bidó and Jaime Colson. He graduated from the National School of Fine Arts in 1974 with perfect grades, which allowed him to obtain the "Abelardo Rodríguez Urdaneta" scholarship to pursue a postgraduate degree in Spain.

Alberto Ulloa was a multifaceted plastic artist and icon of Modern Latin American Art. Considered one of the most influential masters of the Dominican Republic, his innovations and technical contributions in neo-figuration have left a school for new generations of artists.

In 1977, he received the title of Professor of Drawing from the Royal Academy of San Fernando in Madrid and continued his specialization in Higher Studies in Mural Painting at the Complutense University of Madrid. In 1981, he returned to the Dominican Republic with the mission of building a cultural heritage for his country.

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