Emilio Cruz (artist) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Emilio Cruz
Emilio Cruz in his studio on the Lower East Side, New York City, 1965.
Born	Emilio Antonio Cruz March 15, 1938 The Bronx, a New York City borough
Died	10 December 2004 (2004-12-11) (aged 66) New York City, NY USA
Nationality	American
Occupation	Artist

Emilio Antonio Cruz (March 15, 1938 – December 10, 2004) was a talented Cuban-American artist. He spent most of his life creating art in New York City. His amazing artworks can be found in many big museums across the United States.

About Emilio Cruz

Early Life and Art School

Emilio Antonio Cruz was born in The Bronx, New York, on March 15, 1938. His family came from Cuba. He loved art from a young age.

Emilio studied at several art schools in New York City. These included the Art Students League and The New School. He also went to the Seong Moy School of Painting and Graphic Arts in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

His Unique Art Style

In the 1960s, Emilio Cruz became friends with other artists like Lester Johnson and Bob Thompson. They were all exploring a style called abstract expressionism. This style uses colors and shapes to show feelings, not just real things.

Emilio used this abstract style in his own way. He mixed human and animal shapes with ideas from archaeology (studying old things) and natural history. His paintings often looked like strange, beautiful dreams. They made people think and feel.

Emilio Cruz received special awards for his art. He got a John Hay Whitney Fellowship. He also won awards from the Joan Mitchell Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. These awards helped him continue his artistic journey.

Art and Activism

In 1968, Emilio and his wife, Patricia Cruz, moved to St. Louis. There, Emilio worked with a group called the Black Artists Group. He led their visual arts program. Other artists like Oliver Jackson and Manuel Hughes were also part of this group.

Emilio and Patricia also took part in important civil rights protests in St. Louis. They helped fight for fairness and equal rights for everyone.

Teaching and Later Life

Later, Emilio Cruz moved to Chicago. He taught art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago during the 1970s. His art was shown in many galleries there.

Emilio was also a writer! He wrote two plays called Homeostasis: Once More the Scorpion and The Absence Held Fast to Its Presence. These plays were first performed in New York in 1981. They were even shown at festivals in Nancy and Paris, France, and in Italy.

In 1982, Emilio returned to New York City. He started showing his art there again. In the late 1980s, he went back to teaching. He taught at the Pratt Institute and at New York University.

Emilio Antonio Cruz passed away on December 10, 2004. He was 66 years old and died from pancreatic cancer at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York.

Where His Art Is Shown

Important Exhibitions

Emilio Cruz had his very first solo art show in New York in 1963. It was at the Zabriskie Gallery. After that, his art was part of many group and solo exhibitions.

Some of his important shows included:

• The Anita Shapolsky Gallery in 1986 and 1991.
• Museum shows at the Studio Museum in Harlem in 1987.
• The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1997.

In 1994, Emilio's work was chosen to represent America at a big art show in Cuenca, Ecuador. Other American artists like Donald Locke and Philemona Williamson were also there.

His very last show was called I Am Food I Eat the Eater of Food. It was held at the Alitash Kebede Gallery in Los Angeles in 2004.

Art in Museum Collections

Emilio Cruz's artwork is kept in many famous museum collections. This means his art is preserved and can be seen by people for many years to come.

Some of the museums that own his work include:

• The Museum of Modern Art in New York.
• The Brooklyn Museum in New York.
• The Studio Museum in Harlem in New York.
• The Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.
• The National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
• The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C.
• The Albright–Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York.
• The Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut.