Alejandro Otero (1921-1990, Venezuela)
Born March 7, 1921, in El Manteco, Venezuela, Alejandro Otero was a painter and sculptor who played a leading role in the history of modernist abstraction in his native land. From 1939 to 1945 he studied at the Escuela de Artes Plásticas de Caracas (School of Fine Arts of Caracas). Awarded a scholarship to move to Paris, he lived there between 1945 and 1952. It was in Paris that he began producing some of his most important bodies of work, including Las cafeteras (the Coffeepots), painted between 1946 and 1948, a series that marked his transition from figuration to abstraction. The canvases of this series were exhibited at the Museo de Bellas Artes (Museum of Fine Arts) in Caracas in 1949, an event that roused great controversy, opening the way for the emergence of geometric abstraction in Venezuela.
Upon his return to Paris in 1950, Otero founded the group Los Disidentes (The Dissidents, 1950) along with other young Venezuelan expatriate painters interested in abstraction. The group published a magazine of the same name that criticized the backwardness of the Escuela de Artes Plasticas, and the museums and salons of Caracas; it also asserted the artists’ identification with Paris and international artistic movements.
During the winter of 1951, Otero travelled to the Netherlands to study the work of Piet Mondrian, an artist who would have a significant influence on the development of the Líneas de color sobre fondo blanco (Colored Lines on a White Ground) of 1951 and the Collages ortogonales (Orthogonal Collages) of 1951-52. The weave of multicolored strips of paper in the works of this latter series explored the optical effects of line and color, as well as a dynamic conception of space and of two-dimensional structure. Here, the idea of the module first emerged in Otero’s practice. The spatial emphasis in the Collages ortogonales led Otero to consider the need for a format “different from the two-dimensionality of canvas and paper,” and to imagine possibilities made available by architecture. This new interest drew Otero back to Caracas, where he came into contact with some of the architects involved in the burgeoning modernist movement, and soon after was invited to participate in the project of integrating the visual arts in the architectural program of the Ciudad Universitaria (University City) of the Central University of Venezuela, a project directed and promoted by architect Carlos Raúl Villanueva, and considered the most advanced effort in architecture and urbanism in the country. As part of large group of Venezuelan and foreign artists—including Mateo Manaure, Francisco Narváes, Jesús Rafael Soto, Alexander Calder, Fernand Léger, Jean Arp, and Victor Vasarely—contributing to the project, Otero realized a series of large-scale public works.
In 1955 Otero began to produce the Colorhythms, a series of modular paintings of Duco, an industrial lacquer, sprayed onto wood panels, with white and dark parallel bands, and vibrating forms of brilliant colors. In 1956 The Museum of Modern Art in New York acquired Colorhythm 1. Otero represented Venezuela at the Venice Biennale in 1956, and again in 1962 and 1966. In 1958, he was awarded the National Prize for Painting at the Venezuelan Official Salon for Colorhythm 35. He was included in the 1958 Pittsburg Bicentennial International Exhibition of Contemporary Painting and Sculpture at the Carnegie Institute, and in 1959 represented Venezuela in the São Paulo Biennial with the Colorhythms, receiving an honorable mention.
Otero moved to Paris a second time in 1960 and lived there until 1964. His works underwent changes, and he experimented with collage, assemblage, and objects trouvés. In 1963, he exhibited in the São Paulo Biennial, and, in 1966, Signals Gallery in London presented Otero’s first retrospective outside Venezuela, A Quarter of a Century of the Art of Alejandro Otero: 1940-1965. In the 1960s, Otero began to work on large-scale sculpture and ultimately produced outdoor public sculptures in Latin America, the United States, and Europe. In 1971, Otero received a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and was a visiting artist at the Center for Advanced Studies of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During his tenure at MIT, he developed structural ideas for his sculptures. Retrospective exhibitions of his work were held at the Michener Galleries, University of Texas at Austin (1975); The Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City (1976); and the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Caracas (1985).
Otero died in Caracas on August 13th, 1990.
Solo Exhibition
1945 | Dibujos de Alejandro Otero (Drawings from Alejandro Otero). Librería La Francia, Caracas.
1947 | Alejandro Otero, Gallerie Gay-Lussac, Paris, France.
1947 | Alejandro Otero: Still Life, Themes and Variations. Works realized in Paris between 1946 and 1948. Presentation by José Gómez Sicre. Hall of the Americas, Pan-American Union, Washington D.C.
1949 | Alejandro Otero: Cafeteras 1945-1948, Museum of Fine Arts, Caracas. Previously presented at the Hall of the Americas, Pan-American Union, Washington D.C. Catalogue texts by François Ségo, a poem by Armand Gatti. The exhibition is later presented at the Taller Libre de Arte, and the Caracas Instituto Pedagógico, Caracas.
1957 | Alejandro Otero’s Coloritmos. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1961 | Three simultaneous exhibitions take place: Retrospective: Coloritmos and Paris’s Reliefs, Museo de Bellas Artes; Líneas sobre fondo blanco, Galería El Muro; and Cafeteras, Sala Mendoza. Caracas.
1963 | Alejandro Otero/Venezuela. Wulfengasse Gallerie, Klagenfurt, Austria.
1964 | Alejandro Otero: ensamblajes y encolados 1961/1964. Sala de Exposiciones, Fundación Mendoza, Caracas.
1965 | Alejandro Otero. Sala de Exposiciones, Fundación Mendoza, Caracas.
1966 | Retrospective exhibition: A Quarter of a Century of the Beautiful Art of Alejandro Otero: 1940-1965. Signals Gallery, London, United Kingdom.
1969 | A Quarter of a Century of the Beautiful Art of Alejandro Otero: 1940-1965. Homage to the city of Carora on the occasion of its 400th year of age. Corporación Venezolana de Fomento, Carora, Falcon State, Venezuela.
1971 | Coloritmos 1960/1971, Alejandro Otero. The 1960 sketches not realized to this date. Galería Conkright, Caracas.
1972 | Alejandro Otero: Serigraphic Work I. Galería Conkright, Caracas.
1973| Maquettes for Civic Scale and Domestic Size Sculptures (Maquetas de obras a escala cívica y doméstica). Group of maquettes realized at M.I.T. Galería Conkright, Caracas.
1974 | Alejandro Otero: Tablones. Galería Conkright, Caracas.
1975 | Retrospective of Alejandro Otero, 65 Works realizad between 1941 and 1975. A comprehensive approach to the artist’s development to date. Galería Adler Castillo, Caracas.
1975 | Alejandro Otero: A Retrospective Exhibition. Michener Galleries, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin Museum of Art. Austin, Texas.
1976 | Retrospective Exhibition of Alejandro Otero. Museo de Arte Moderno de México, Mexico City.
1976 | Otero: Serigraphic work. Galería Pecanins, Hamburgo, Mexico City.
1976 | Alejandro Otero’s Sculptures. Audiovisual and sculpture’s maquettes. Venezuelan Government’s Center for Information and Tourism, New York.
1977 | Alejandro Otero. Estructura solar. Installation of the work commissioned by Olivetti, The Castello Sforzesco’s Honor Court, Milan, Italy.
1978 | Alejandro Otero. Centroarte El Parque, Caracas.
1980 | Alejandro Otero: Serigraphic Work. Galería Rafael Monasterios, Maracay, Aragua State, Venezuela.
1985 | Alejandro Otero: Permaneciendo (Retrospective). Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Caracas Sofía Imber. Caracas, Venezuela.
1985 | Alejandro Otero. Galería Miguel & Fuenmayor, Caracas.
1985 | Alejandro Otero. Allen/Wincor Gallery, New York.
1986 | 4 x Otero for the ‘86. Galería Miguel & Fuenmayor. Caracas.
1986 | Tablones. Galería Oscar Ascanio, Caracas.
1990 | Monocromos: a series of works done in Paris in the sixties, not shown to the date.
1990 | Galería Propuesta Tres, Caracas.
1990 | Salute to the XXIst Century. Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Caracas “Sofía Imber”. Works realized by means of computer design programs at I.B.M., Venezuela.
1990 | Anthological Exhibition: Alejandro Otero: Salute to the XXIst Century. The exhibition includes works from his days as a student to the sculpture designs created with I.B.M. computers. Museo de Arte de Coro, Falcon State, Venezuela.
1990 | Alejandro Otero, saludo al siglo XXI. Sala Ipostel, Caracas.
1991 | Alejandro Otero: Las estructuras de la realidad (Structures from Reality). The exhibition had been prepared since 1989 under the supervision of the artist, with a curatorship by Maria Elena Ramos. Museo de Arte Moderno Jesús Soto, Ciudad Bolívar, Bolívar State, Venezuela.
1991 | The XXI Sao Paolo International Biennale organizes an educational exhibition named Alejandro Otero/Venezuela, which shows the processes that led the artist towards abstraction and the building up of his artistic vocabulary. Otero and Brazilian artist Livio Abramo share the Honorific Mention award (Post mortem for Otero). Sao Palo, Brazil.
1991 | Alejandro Otero: Las estructuras de la realidad. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1991 | Alejandro Otero. Latest Works. Museo de Artes Visuales Alejandro Otero, La Rinconada, Caracas.
1993 | Alejandro Otero 1921-1990. Fundación Museo de Arte Moderno Jesús Soto, Ciudad Bolívar, Bolivar State, Venezuela.
1993 | Alejandro Otero, Memorabilia. SIDOR Art Hall, Ciudad Guayana, Bolivar State, Venezuela.
1994 | Líneas de luz/la mirada antes de los otros: esculturas de Alejandro Otero. (Lines of Color/Sights Before Others: the Sculptures of Alejandro Otero). Museo de Artes Visuales Alejandro Otero, Caracas.
1995 | Exploraciones inéditas: Joyas de Alejandro Otero (Untold Explorations: Jewelry by Alejandro Otero). Museo de Artes Visuales Alejandro Otero, Caracas.
1996 | Puño y letra de Alejandro Otero 1950-1960. (By the Handwriting of Alejandro Otero). Museo Alejandro Otero, Caracas.
1997 | Coloritmos de Alejandro Otero. Museo Alejandro Otero, Caracas.
1998 | Alejandro Otero. Selfportraits. Museo Alejandro Otero, Caracas.
1999 | Solo quisiera ser puntual. El tiempo en la pintura de Alejandro Otero (I just Wish to be Punctual.Time in the Paintings of Alejandro Otero). Galería de Arte Nacional, Caracas.
1999 | Alejandro Otero. Works from the Collection. Museo Alejandro Otero, Caracas.
2000 | Puño y letra de Alejandro Otero II (By the Handwriting of Alejandro Otero II). Espacio Otero del Museo Alejandro Otero, Caracas.
2000 | Alejandro Otero: Towards a New Realism. Espacio Otero, Museo Alejandro Otero, Caracas.
2002 | A la altura del tiempo: Cafeteras de Alejandro Otero (Up to the Times: Colorythms of Alejandro Otero). Fundación Banco Mercantil, Caracas.
2002 | Alejandro Otero: croquis y materiales inéditos 1941-1986. (Alejandro Otero: Sketches and Unedited Materials 1941-1986) Fundación Museo Arturo Michelena, Caracas.
2002 | Vertical: Expresividad de la línea en bocetos, Coloritmos y Tablones de Otero. (Vertical: The Line Expressiveness in Sketches, Coloritmos and Tablones of Alejandro Otero). Museo Alejandro Otero, Caracas.
2005 | Alejandro Otero, pulso y latido. (Alejandro Otero, Pulse and Heartbeat). Espacio Otero, Museo Alejandro Otero, Caracas.
2006 | Documentary Exhibition, Memorial Homage on the XVth Anniversary of the Artist’s Death: Torre solar. La máquina, el paisaje… (Solar Tower, the Machine, the Landscape…). Museo Alejandro Otero, Caracas.
2007 | Abra solar: un camino hacia la luz: Alejandro Otero (Abra Solar, a Path to Light: Alejandro Otero). On the occasion of the restoration of the Abra Solar sculpture located at Plaza Venezuela, by PDVSA Centro de Arte La Estancia, Caracas.
2008 | Alejandro Otero. Drawings. Ideobox Artspace, Miami, Florida.
2009 | Alejandro Otero: His Monumental Ssculpture’s Binnacle. 46 unveiled drawings, maquettes, plans, sketches and drafts on paper of his first design ideas for sculptures; videos and photographies from five moments of his monumental sculptures: Abra Solar (Plaza Venezuela), Rotor (Galería de Arte Nacional), Torre Solar (Guri Dam). The book Memoria Crítica: Alejandro Otero, in its second edition by ArtesanoGroup, is presented. Espacios de Ciudad Banesco, Caracas.
2009 | Graphics from Otero. PDVSA, Centro de Arte La Estancia, Caracas.
2012-2013 | Resonant space: The Colorythms of Alejandro Otero. Pinacoteca do Estado de Sâo Paulo, Brasil.
Group Exhibitions
1940 | I Salón Oficial Anual de Arte Venezolano. The show, from its first edition, reunites national and foreign artists living in Venezuela. Painting Section, Students of the Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Artes Aplicadas. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1941 | II Salón Oficial Anual de Arte Venezolano. Sculpture Section, Students from the Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Artes Aplicadas. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1941 | II Exhibition and Venezuelan Book Fair. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1941 | Salón Interamericano de Artes Plásticas, in commemoration of the foundation of the City of Santiago’s IV Centennial. Santiago de Chile, Chile.
1942 | III Salón Oficial Anual de Arte Venezolano. Paintings Section, Students from the Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Artes Aplicadas. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas. Alejandro Otero earns the Disctinction Prize for students.
1942 | End of the School Year Exhibition. Students from the Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Artes Aplicadas show. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1943 | IV Salón Oficial Anual de Arte Venezolano. Painting Section, Students from the Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Artes Aplicadas. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1943 | Young Painters. Asociación de Escritores Venezolanos, Caracas.
1943 | End of the School Year Exhibition, Students from the Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Artes Aplicadas, Caracas.
1944 | V Salón Oficial Anual de Arte Venezolano. Painting Section. Students from the Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Artes Aplicadas. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1945 | Alejandro Otero and César Henríquez exhibition at the Valencia’s Ateneo, Valencia, Carabobo State, Venezuela.
1945 | End of the School Year Exhibition, Students from the Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Artes Aplicadas, Caracas.
1945 | III Salón Anual de Artes Plásticas y Aplicadas “Arturo Michelena”. Valencia, Carabobo State, Venezuela. Otero is awarded the “Andrés Pérez Mujica” and “Emilio Boggio” Prizes.
1945 | Alejandro Otero, César Rengifo and Pedro León Castro organize the Young Venezuelan Painters Exhibition. The show happens at the same time as the inauguration of the Colombo-Venezuelan Center in Bogota, Colombia. Exhibition Hall, National Library of Colombia, Ministry of Education, Bogota, Colombia.
1946 | Séptimo Salón Oficial Anual de Arte Venezolano. Drawing and Paintings Section. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1946 | Manifestation d’Art, organized by the Monaco Fundationn, University City, Paris, France.
1946 | Exposition Internationale D’Art Moderne. Unesco, Museum of Modern Art, Paris, France.
1947 | XIVème Salon des Surindépendants, Park d’Expositions Porte de Versailles, Paris, France.
1948 | Panamerican Exhibition of Modern Painting. Panamerican Union, Washington D.C., and
1948 | Museum of Modern Art, New York, on the occasion of the inauguration of the Presidency of Romulo Gallegos. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1948 | Three Centuries of Venezuelan Paintings. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1948 | Les Mains éblouies, Galerie Maeght, Paris, France.
1948 | XVème Salon des Surindépendants, Park d’Expositions Porte de Versailles, Paris, France.
1949 | Travelling exhibition: 32 Artists from the Americas. Panamerican Union, Washington D.C.: shown at the University of Panama, Panama City; National University of Colombia, Bogota, Colombia; Lyceum and Lawn Tennis Club, Havanna, Cuba; Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas of Guatemala; Salón de la Junta Nacional de Turismo, Ministry of Culture; El Salvador; Museo de Bellas Artes de Santiago, Chile; Casa de Cultura Ecuatoriana, Quito, Ecuador. In the following stage, the exhibition goes to Honduras, under the name 33 Artists from the Americas. Presentation by José Gómez Sicre.
1949 | X Salón Oficial Anual de Arte Venezolano, Painting Section. Museo de Bellas Artes de Caracas.
1951 | 16ème Salon des Réalités Nouvelles, together with Jesús Soto and Rubén Núñez. Palais des Beaux Arts, Paris, France.
1952 | Exhibits for the first time the Ortogonales at the Espace-Lumière exhibition, together with works of Mercedes Pardo, Jesús Soto, Rubén Núñez, Carmelo Arden-Quin and Youngerman. Galerie Suzanne Michel, Paris, France.
1952 | Primera Muestra Internacional de Arte Abstracto (First International Show of Abstract Art), Galería Cuatro Muros, Caracas.
1953 | Artists of the Americas, Panamerican Union, Washington, D.C., in homage to Panamerican Day.
1955 | Pintores venezolanos en homenaje a Carlos Mérida, Taller Libre de Artes, Caracas.
1955 | Pittsburgh International, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1956 | Gulf Caribbean Art Exhibition, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Texas.
1956 | Represents Venezuela in the XXVIII Venice Biennale, Italy.
1957 | XVIII Salón Oficial Anual de Arte Venezolano, Painting Section, Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas. “John Boulton” Prize.
1957 | Homage to Soto. Galería 22, Centro Profesional del Este, Caracas.
1957 | IV Salón D’Ampaire de Pintura, Maracaibo, Estado Zulia, Venezuela. C.A.V.C. Prize.
1957 | Represents Venezuela in the IV Bienal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil.
1957 | Arte Abstracto de Venezuela, Galería Don Hatch, Caracas.
1957 | Fundación Cristóbal Rojas, Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1958 | XIX Salón Oficial Anual de Arte Venezolano. Painting Section. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas. National Painting Prize.
1958 | Martha Jackson Gallery, New York.
1958 | Paintings, Sculptures, and ceramics from Venezuela. Sala de Exposiciones Fundación Mendoza, Caracas.
1958 | First Christmas Fair. Sociedad de Amigos del Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1958 | Reopening of the Taller Libre de Arte. Caracas.
1958 | Pintura Contemporánea, Colecciones Privadas (Contemporary Paintings From Private Collections). Frente Cultural Universitario, Federación de Centros Universitarios, Universidad de Carabobo, Valencia, Venezuela.
1958 | The 1958 Pittsburg Bicentennial International Exhibition of Contemporary Painting and Sculpture. Instituto Carnegie, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1958 | Pintores venezolanos o residenciados en el país (Venezuelan Painters or living in the Country). Sala de exposiciones de la Fundación Mendoza, Caracas.
1958 |Peintures, Sculptures, Céramiques du Vénézuéla. Foire Internationale de Bruxelles, Venezuelan Pavillion, Brussels, Belgium.
1959 | Represents Venezuela in the V Bienal de São Paulo, Brazil. Honorable Mention.
1959 | Venezuelan Paintings from the Fine Arts Museum Collection, on the Occasion of the Presidential Inauguration of Romulo Betancourt. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1959 | XX Salón Oficial Anual de Arte Venezolano. Painting Section. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1959 | Las Colecciones Privadas en Venezuela: 20 obras de la Colección Pedro Vallenilla Echeverría, I. (Venezuelan Private Collections: 20 Works from the Pedro Vallenilla Echeverría’s Collection, I) First exhibition of a cycle dedicated to private collections in Venezuela. Comments by Alejandro Otero. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1959 | Veinte años del Salón a través de sus premios (Twenty Years of the Salón through its prizes). Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1959 |Works of Art Auction. School of Architecture and urbanism’s Concert Hall, Central University of Venezuela. Ciudad Universitaria, Caracas.
1959 | Travelling Exhibition: South American Art Today. Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, Texas; The J.B.Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky; Bloomfield Art Association, Birmingham, Michigan; Tampa Art Institute, Tampa, Florida; Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York; Theodore Lyman Wright Art Center, Beloit, Wisconsin.
1960 | Pintura venezolana 1661-1961 (Venezuelan Paintings 1661-1961), organized by the Venezuelan Ministry of Education, in commemoration of 150 years of the Venezuelan Independence. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1960 | Pintura geométrica venezolana 1950-1960 (Geometric Paintings from Venezuela, 1950-1960). Galería de Arte del Instituto Nacional de Cultura y Bellas Artes (INCIBA), Pro-Venezuela, Caracas.
1960 | II Salón Interamericano de Pintura, Barranquilla, Colombia. First Prize.
1960 | Permanent collection of Contemporary Arts of Latin America. Panamerican Union, Washington D.C.
1961 | Travelling Exhibition: Latin America: New Departures. Itinerary: Contemporary Arts Institute, Boston, Massachusetts; The J.B. Speed Museum of Art, Louisville, Kentucky; Art Galleries of the Nebraska University, Lincoln, Nebraska; Theodore Lyman Wright Art Center, Beloit, Wisconsin; Museum of Art, Michigan University, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Lamont Art Gallery, Exter, New Hampshire; Norton Gallery and School of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida; Art Department, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts; Huntington Galleries, Huntington, West Virginia; Center of Fine Arts, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
1961 | Spanish and Latin American Artists, David Herbert Gallery, New York.
1961 | Pintura venezolana 1661-1961. Museo de Bellas Artes del Estado Zulia, Maracaibo, Zulia State, Venezuela.
1962 | Travelling Exhibition: 17 Venezuelan Painters, organized by The Venezuela-Israel Cultural Institute, in collaboration with the Caracas Museum of Fine Arts. Taken to New York, Tel-Aviv, and Haifa.
1962 | Geometric Art Retrospective. Galería “G”, Caracas.
1962 | Represents Venezuela in the exhibition Anti-Peinture en Hessenhuis, Antwerp, Belgium.
1962 | Rugs Designed by Artists of the Americas, Panamerican Union, Washington D.C.
1962 | Le Relief II. Galerie Siècle XX, Paris, France.
1962 | L´Art Latinoamericain a Paris, Museum of Modern Art, Paris, France.
1962 | Art of the Americas. Trabia-Morris Gallery, New York.
1962 | Represents Venezuela in the XXXI Venice Biennale, Italy.
1962 | Anti-Peinture en Hessenhuis, Antwerp, Belgium.
1963 | For the construction of the Caracas Ateneo’s Theater, organizes the exhibition Works donated by Venezuelan Artists to the Ateneo. Ateneo, Caracas.
1963 | Acquisitions and Donations. Sociedad de Amigos del Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1963 | Second Biennale “Armando Reverón”, with Carlos Cruz-Diez, Mercedes Pardo and Jesús Soto. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1963 | XXIV Salón Oficial Anual de Arte Venezolano. Painting Section. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1963 | Pintura contemporánea venezolana. Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá, Colombia.
1963 | Obras donadas por artistas venezolanos al Ateneo. Ateneo de Caracas.
1963 | Pintura latinoamericana, Instituto de Arte Contemporáneo de Lima, Perú.
1963 | Exposición itinerante: Venezuela: del paisaje a la expresión plástica: 10 artistas contemporáneos (Venezuela: From Lanscapes to Plastic Expression, ten contemporary artists), organized by the Fundación Fina Gómez. Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Madrid, España; Musée Maison de la Culture, Le Havre, France; Roth Museum, Geneva, Switzerland.
1963 | Transition, Ravenstein Art Gallery, Brusells, Belgium.
1963 | Arte latinoamericano, Festival de dos Mundos, Spoleto, Italia.
1963 | Travelling Exhibition organized by the Fundación Neumann: 22 Venezuelan Painters of today. Itinerary: Santiago, Chile y Montevideo, Uruguay.
1963 | Represents Venezuela at the VII Bienal de São Paulo, Brazil.
1963 | Alejandro Otero, Lourdes Castro, and Marta Minujin. Gallerie 22 rue Delambre, Paris, France.
1964 | Travelling Exhibition: Guggenheim International Award 1964, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Honolulu Academy of Arts, Hawai; Der Senator Fur Wissenhaft Und Kunst, Berlin, Germany; National Gallery of Canada, Otawa; Museo de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentina; John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida.
1964 | Latin American Art Today, Trinity School, New York.
1964 | L´Aujourd´hui de Demain, Musée d’Arras, France.
1964 | XXV Salón Oficial Anual de Arte Venezolano. Painting and Applied Arts Section. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas. National Prize of Applied Arts, shared with Mercedes Pardo.
1964 | 10 Oeuvres/10 Artistes, Gallerie Davray, Paris. France.
1964 | II Bienal Americana de Arte. Alejandro Otero, Jacobo Borges, Carlos Cruz Diez, Elsa Gramcko, Humberto Jaimes Sánchez, Gerd Leufert, Ángel Luque, Mercedes Pardo, Héctor Poleo, Luisa Richter, and Jesús Soto. Ciudad Universitaria, Córdoba, Argentina.
1964 | X Salón d´Empaire de Pintura. Sala de Exposiciones del Concejo Municipal de Maracaibo, Zulia State, Venezuela.
1964 | The Edward Joseph Gallagher III Memorial Collection. The University of Arizona Tucson Art Gallery Tucson, Arizona.
1964 | 1er Festival de Arte Moderno de América Latina (First Latinamerican Modern Art Festival). Signals Gallery, London, United Kingdom.
1965 | Evaluación de la pintura latinoamericana: años 60 (Evaluation of Latinamerican Paintings: The sixties). Ateneo de Caracas and Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1965 | Participates with a series of enamel on metal pieces in the XXVI Salón Oficial Anual de Arte Venezolano. Applied Arts Section. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1965 | Soundings Two. Signals Gallery, London, United Kingdom.
1965 | I Salón Panamericano de Pintura, V Festival de Arte de Cali, Colombia.
1965 | Miguel Otero Silva’s Donation. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas. Texts by Alejandro Otero.
1965 | Venezolanisches Malerei von Heute, organized by the Fundación Neumann, Germany.
1966 | Art of Latin American since Independence. Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut, and Texas University, Austin, Texas.
1966 | Alejandro Otero, Jesús Soto, and Víctor Valera represent Venezuela in the XXXIII Venece Biennale, Italy.
1966 | Colecciones privadas en Venezuela: obras cubistas y collages Private Collections in Venezuela: Cubist Works and Collages). Pedro Vallenilla Echeverría’s Collection. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas. Coments by Miguel Arroyo, Juan Calzadilla, and Alejandro Otero.
1966 | El objeto en la plástica venezolana (Objects in Venezuelan Art). Ateneo de Caracas.
1966 | Movimiento y color: Cruz-Diez, Floris, Gego, Leufert, Otero, Soto (Movement and Color: Cruz-Diez, Floris, Gego, Leufert, Otero, Soto). Galería Conkright, Caracas.
1966 | Pinturas, esculturas. Galería Gamma, Caracas.
1966 | Towards the Invisible I: Camargo, Clark, Otero, Soto. Signals Gallery, London, United Kingdom.
1966 | Persistencia de la Imagen 1945-1955 (persistence of Image 1945-1955). Galería 22, Centro Profesional del Este, Caracas.
1966 | Venezuelan Painting Today. Panamerican Union, Washington, D.C.
1966 | International Show of artistic Handcrafts, Stuttgart, Germany. Enamel Prize, shared with Mercedes Pardo.
1966 | Alejandro Otero, Jesús Soto, and Víctor Valera represent Venezuela at the XXXIII Venice Biennale, Italy.
1966 | Colecciones privadas en Venezuela: obras cubistas y collages (Private Collections in Venezuela: Cubist Works and Collages). Pedro Vallenilla Echeverría’s Collection. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas. Coments by Miguel Arroyo, Juan Calzadilla, and Alejandro Otero.
1967 | Retrospective Show of Venezuelan Paintings. Homage to Caracas’ Forth Hundred Years. Sala de Exposiciones Fundación Eugenio Mendoza, Caracas.
1967 | Grabados 1967. Sala de Exposiciones Fundación Eugenio Mendoza, Caracas.
1967 | Latinamerican Artists. Museum of Modern Art, New York.
1967 | Art of the Americas. A selection of contemporary painting and sculpture. Panamerican Union, Washington D.C.
1967 | Seis pintores venezolanos en Ciudad Guayana (Six Venezuelan Painters from Ciudad Guayana). Casa de la Cultura, Ciudad Guayana, Bolivar State, Venezuela.
1967 | Grabados: Teresa Casanova, Elisa Elvira Zuloaga, Humberto Jaimes Sánchez, Gego, Luisa Palacios, Alejandro Otero. Galería Cézanne, Valencia, Estado Carabobo, Venezuela.
1967 | Pinturas cubistas y “collages” (Cubist Paintings and Collages). Pedro Vallenilla Echeverría’s Collection, Sala de Exposiciones Fundación Eugenio Mendoza, Caracas.
1967 | Los múltiples en Caracas (Multiples in Caracas), by exclusive agreement with the Gallerie Denise René of Paris. Galería Estudio Actual, Caracas.
1967 | Sobre papel, Instituto Nacional de Cultura y Bellas Artes, INCIBA. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1969 | Muestra de humor. Galería Estudio Actual, Caracas.
1969 | El arte cinético y sus orígenes (Kinetic Art and its Origins). Ateneo de Caracas, Instituto Nacional de Cultura y Bellas Artes, INCIBA, Caracas.
1969 | The Gallagher Memorial Collection. Painting, watercolor, drawing and sculpture. University of Arizona Art Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
1970 | Obras cubistas y collages II (Cubist Works and Collages II). Coments by Juan Calzadilla, Roberto Guevara, and Alejandro Otero. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1970 | El museo y el diseño 1959-1970 (The Museum and Desing 1959-1970), in cellebration of the Museum’s eleven years of activities. c Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1970 | Air. Works and objects from various artists in whose works air is the main theme. Curatorship and Catalogue texts by James Harithas. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1970 | Presencia nacional e internacional del arte moderno (National and International Presence of Modern Art), Buchholz Galllery, Bogotá, Colombia.
1970 | Artistas venezolanos de hoy (Today’s Venezuelan Artists). Universidad Simón Bolívar, Sartenejas, Miranda State, Venezuela.
1972 | Colecciones privadas en Venezuela: 57 obras de la Colección de Carlos Raúl Villanueva (Private Collections in Venezuela: 57 Works by the Carlos Raul Villanueva’s Collection). Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1972 | Desarrollo y técnicas de impresión en el grabado (Development and Techniques of Engraving), Galería Arte Grabado, Caracas.
1972 | Dibujos y grabados venezolanos: colección Francisco Da Antonio (Drawings and Aengravings from the Francisco Da Antonio’s Collection). Sala de Exposiciones de la Gobernación del Distrito Federal. “Plan Cultural Caracas” Programme, Dirección Civil y Política, Gobernación del Distrito Federal, Caracas.
1972 | Escrituras (Writings) . Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1972 | Gráfica 4, Sala de Exposiciones Fundación Eugenio Mendoza, Caracas.
1972 | 21 estampadores de Colombia, México y Venezuela (24 Stampers from Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela). Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1972 | Travelling Exhibition of Artists from the M.I.T. Center for Advanced Visual Arts Studies
1972 | Multiple Interaction Team. Itinerary: Science and Industry Museum, Chicago, Illinois. Between 1972 and 1974, the show was exhibited in the main Scientific and Art Museums of the United States: The Art and Sciences Palace of San Francisco, California; Cincinnati Center for Contemporary Arts, Cincinnati, Ohio; Art Museum of New Orleans, Louisiana; Franklin Institute Science Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; St. Petersburg Fine Arts Museum, Florida; New York Science Pavillion, New York, New York; The California Science and Industry Museum, Los Angeles, California. Catalogue texts by Gyorgy Kepes.
1973 | 8 artistas venezolanos (8 Venezuean Artists). Galería-Librería Monte Ávila, Bogotá, Colombia.
1973 | Homage to Picasso. Organization of American States, Washington, D.C.
1973 | Gráfica internacional (International Graphics). Galería Conkright, Caracas.
1975 | Proposiciones para la arquitectura (Architecture Proposals). Living Art Gallery, Colegio de Arquitectos, Caracas.
1975 | Homage to the Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Aplicadas de Caracas, 1975. Sala de Exposiciones de la Gobernación del Distrito Federal, Caracas.
1976 | Los artistas y Olivetti (Artists and Olivetti). Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Caracas.
1976 | Caracas: 1960/1965. Galería Adler/Castillo, Caracas.
1976 | Los artistas y Olivetti. Museo de Arte Moderno, Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes. Bosque de Chapultepec, México. D.F.
1976 | Creadores latinoamericanos contemporáneos 1950-1976: pinturas y relieves (Latinamerican Contemporary Creators 1950-1976). Museo de Arte Moderno, Bosque de Chapultepec. Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, México D.F.
1977 | Opening exhibition of the Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, in honor of the painter Rafael Monasterios. Puerto La Cruz, Anzoátegui State, Venezuela.
1978 | Arte ágora III/América Latina. Museo de Arte Moderno, São Paulo, Brasil.
1978 |Geometría sensivel. Museo de Arte Moderno de São Paulo, Brasil.
1978 |La escultura contemporánea venezolana. Galería de Arte Nacional, Caracas.
1978 |Todos los artistas al rescate de la Escuela Cristóbal Rojas (All artists to the rescue of the Cristobal Rojas Art School). Centro Humanístico “Arístides Rojas”, Caracas.
1978 |Arte iberoamericano de hoy (Ibearamerican Art Today). Museo de Bellas Artes and Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Caracas. First Meeting of Art Critics and Artists, Caracas.
1978 |Manaure/Otero/Soto. Fundación Galería de Arte Nacional, Fundarte, Caracas.
1978 |La mano, la seda, el color (Hand, Silk, and Color). Original designs created by artists to be printed on silk, stamped by “Cobalto”, a small enterprise dedicated to printings on silk and cotton. Manuel Espinoza, Ángel Hurtado, Gego, Mercedes Pardo, and Alejandro Otero. Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Caracas.
1979 | La mano, la seda, el color. Galería Garcés Velásquez, Bogotá, Colombia.
1979 | Un siglo de paisaje en la pintura venezolana (A Century of Landscaping in Venezuelan Paintings). Center for Interamerican Relations, New York.
1979 | 1959-1979 el arte venezolano rinde homenaje al XX aniversario de la Casa de las Américas (Venezuelan Art pays tribute to the Casa de las Americas XXth Anniversary). Asociación Venezolana de Artistas Plásticos, AVAP. Galería El Muro, Caracas.
1979 | Pinturas y esculturas venezolanas clásicas y contemporáneas (Classical and Contemporary Paintings and Scultures). Galería Estudio Actual, Caracas.
1979 | Arte constructivo venezolano: 1945-1965, génesis y desarrollo (Constructivist Art: génesis and Development). Galería de Arte Nacional, Caracas.
1980 | Intergrafik´80. Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany.
1980 | Once escultores (Eleven Sculptors). Cuartel Mariano Montilla, La Victoria, Aragua State, Venezuela.
1980 | Primera exhibición de miniaturas gráficas (First Exhibition of Miniature Graphics). Taller de Artistas Gráficos Asociados, TAGA. Caracas.
1980 | Travelling exhibition: Venezuelan Art Today. Boston 350 years. Itinerary: Boston, Massachusetts; Washington, D.C., and New York.
1981 | Expo Arte 81: América Latina. Centro Pedagógico y Cultural de Portales, Cochabamba, y Casa de la Cultura “Raúl Otero Reiche”, Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
1981 | Aus dem Depot der Galerie Hildebrand Europäische Kunst 1960-1970, Galerie Hildebrand, Austria.
1981 | Los premios nacionales (The National Prizes). Galería de Arte Nacional, Caracas.
1981 | Bolívar rinde homenaje a sus artistas plásticos (Bolivar State Pays tribute to its Artists). Casa del Congreso de Angostura, Ciudad Bolívar, Venezuela.
1984 | Museo de Bellas Artes: adquisiciones y donaciones, 1982-1983 (Museum of Fine Arts: Acquisitions and Donations 1982-1983). Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1984 | Cubismo y tendencias afines en la colección del MBA: donación Pedro Vallenilla Echeverría y otras adquisiciones (Cubism and Alike Tendencies in the Museum’s Collection: Pedro Vllenilla’s Donations and other Acquisitions), Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1984 | Nuevas adquisiciones 1981-1984 (New Acquisitions 1981-1984). Museo de Arte Moderno Fundación Jesús Soto, Ciudad Bolívar, Venezuela.
1984 | Cien obras de la colección (A Hundred Works from the Collection). Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Xth Anniversary, Caracas.
1984 | Exposición Internacional, in representation of Venezuela. 50Th Anniversary of the Palacio de Bellas Artes, Ciudad de México.
1985 | “Escultura 85”. National Meeting of Sculptors organized by FUNDARTE in tribute to late sculptor Francisco Narvaez. Concejo Municipal and Gobernación del Distrito Federal, Caracas.
1985 | Obras actuales de premios nacionales. Galería Universitaria de Arte, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas.
1985 | 16 de la A a la Z. Galería Miguel & Fuenmayor, Caracas.
1985 | 22 artists from Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Panamá, Puerto Rico, República Dominicana, Uruguay, and Venezuela, Agpa 85. Sponsored by Cartón de Venezuela, Caracas.
1985 | Alejandro Otero-Alexander Calder. Galería Miguel & Fuenmayor, Caracas.
1986 | Segunda Bienal de la Habana ´86. La Habana, Cuba.
1987 | 10 artists: Otero, Cruz-Diez, Debourg, Liberman, Narváez, Poleo, Salazar, Soto, Tapies, and Tinguely. Galería Oscar Ascanio, Caracas.
1987 | Primer festival de arte venezolano, organized by the Venezuelan-American Friendship Association. Galería Oscar Ascanio, Caracas.
1988 | Arte de América: selección de obras de la colección Museo de Bellas Artes (Art From America: a Selection of Works from the Museum Collection). Fifitieth Anniversary of the Museum. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1988 | Latinamerican Spirits: Art and Artists in the U.S. 1920-1970. Bronx Art Museum, New York
1988 | Gráfica del TAGA. Galería Siete/Siete, Caracas.
1988 | Celebración de una amistad (A cellebration of a Friendship), tribute to María Teresa Castillo. Los Espacios Cálidos, Ateneo de Caracas.
1988 | La imaginación de la transparencia (The Imagination of Transparency). Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
1989 | Art in Latin America. The Modern era. The Hayward Gallery, London, United Kingdom.
1989 |Jord och Frihet. Latinamerikansk konst,1830-1970. National Museum, and Modern art Museum, Stockholm, Sweeden.
1989 | The Art of Sculpture:: Alejandro Otero, Agustín Cárdenas, Edgar Negret, Pedro Barreto, and Víctor Valera. Galería Durbán, Caracas.
1989 |Los derechos del arte (The RIghts of Art). Alejandro Otero, Jesús Soto, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Rolando Peña, Asdrúbal Colmenares, Narciso Debourg, and Víctor Lucena, a tribute to the Bicentennial of the French Revolution (1789-1989). Chapelle Saint-Louis, Hôpital de la Salpétrière, Paris, France.
1989 |Arte en Iberoamérica. Palacio de Velásquez, Madrid, España.
1989 |Laberintos de la identidad: autorretratos 1820-1989 (Identity Labyrinths: Selfportraits 1820-1989). Galería de Arte Nacional, Caracas.
1990 | El arte del ensamblaje (The Art of Assemblage). Galería Propuesta Tres, Parque Central, Caracas.
1990 | A tribute to the late artist Luisa Palacios, founder of TAGA. 32 works from the most representative artists who worked with Palacios at the Taller de Artistas Graficos Asociados (TAGA), organized by the Culture Department of the State of Merida’s Government. Juan Vizcarret Art Gallery, Merida State, Venezuela.
1991 | From Torres Garcia to Soto. Organization of American States, Washington D.C.
1991 | Lenguajes esenciales de la época (Essential Langages of the Epoch). Galería Durbán-César Segnini, Caracas.
1992 | From Venezuela. Thirty Years of Contemporary Art (1960-1990). Pabellón de las Artes, Exposición Universal Sevilla 92, España.
1992 | Artistas Latinoamericanos del siglo XX (Latinamerican Artists from the XXth Century). Estación Plaza de Armas, Sevilla, España.
1993 | Lateinamerikanische Kunst im 20 Jahrundert. Kunshalle, Colonne, Germany.
1993 | XXth Century Latinamerican Artists. Museum of Modern Art, New York.
1993 | Art d´Amerique Latine. 1911-1968. Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France.
1993 |Venezuela es así (Venezuela is like this). Casa de las Américas, Madrid.
1994 | Otero, Soto, Cruz-Diez: tres maestros del abstraccionismo en Venezuela y su proyección internacional (Otero, Soto, Cruz-Diez: Three Maestros of Abstractionism in Venezuela and their International Projection). Galería de Arte Nacional, Caracas.
1995 | Una visión del arte contemporáneo venezolano. Colección Ignacio y Valentina Oberto. (A Vision of Venezuelan Contemporary Art. Ignacio and Valentina Oberto’s Collection). Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Caracas “Sofía Imber”, Caracas.
1995 | Una visión el arte venezolano, 1940-1980 /A Vision of Venezuelan Art). Clara Diament de Sujo’s Collection, Galería de Arte Nacional, Caracas.
1996 | 20 años por el arte venezolano. Adquisiciones 1976-1996. Obras escogidas. (20 Years for Venezuelan Art. Acquisitions 1976-1996. Selected Works). Galería de Arte Nacional, Caracas.
1997 | Represents Venezuela in the I Bienal de Artes Visuales del Mercosur. Porto Alegre, Brazil.
1998 | Ensamblaje, arte y parte(Art and Part Assemblies) 36 exponents of the genre:
1998 | Alejandro Otero, Mario Abreu, Elsa Gramcko, Gego, Carlos Raúl Villanueva, Luis Villamizar, Miguel von Dangel, among others. Sala Cultural de PDVSA, Puerto La Cruz, Anzoátegui State, Venezuela.
1999 | Lo mejor de la gráfica (The Best of Graphics). Galería D´Museo, Taller de Artistas Gráficos Asociados “Luisa Palacios”, TAGA, Caracas.
1999 | Del siglo que se va. Doce artistas del XX (From the Leaving Century: Twelve XXth Century Artists). Espacio Unión, Caracas.
1999 | Dynamic Oppositions. Venezuelan Constructive Art from the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Collection. Tha Jack S. Blanton Museum, Austin, Texas.
2000 | Heterotopias. Medio siglo sin lugar, 1918-1968 (Heterotopias. A Half a Century with no Place, 1918-1968). Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, España.
2000 | Arte y destreza del grabado en la colección Galería de Arte Nacional (Art and Skill in Engravings from the Venezuelan National Art Collection). Galería de Arte Nacional, Caracas.
2000 | Abstracción geométrica en Venezuela: la primera década. Colección Galería de Arte Nacional. (Geometric Abstraction in Venezuela: the First Decade. Venezuelan National Art Gallery Collection). Galería de Arte Nacional, Caracas.
2001| Reacción y polémica en el arte venezolano (Reactions and Polemics in Venezuelan Art). Galería de Arte Nacional, Caracas.
2001 | Abstracción geométrica: Arte latinoamericano en la Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros (Geometric Abstraction: Latinamerican Art from the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Collection). Fundación Cisneros. Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University Museum of Art, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
2002 | Paralelos. Arte Brasileiro da segunda metade do seculo XX em contexto. Colección Cisneros. Museo de Arte Moderno de São Paulo y Museo de Arte Moderno de Río de Janeiro, Brasil.
2002 | Sala Mendoza 1956-2001. 45 años de historia del arte contemporáneo en Venezuela (45 Years of Contemporary Art in Venezuela). Sala Mendoza, Caracas.
2002 | A la altura del tiempo: Cafeteras de Alejandro Otero (Up to the time: Alejandro Otero’s Cafeteras). Fundación Banco Mercantil, Caracas.
2002 | Geometría como vanguardia, Colección Banco Mercantil (Geometrics as Avant Garde). Museo Alejandro Otero/Fundación Banco Mercantil. Caracas.
2003 | Geometrías. Abstracción Geométrica Latinoamericana en la Colección Cisneros. Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA), Bueno Aires, Argentina.
2004 | The Heroic century: The Museum of Modern Art Masterpieces, 200 paintings and Sculptures. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas.
2004 | Arte contemporáneo venezolano 1990-2004 en la Colección Cisneros (Contemporary Art in the Cisneros Collection). Fundación Cisneros y Fundación Museo de Arte Moderno “Jesús Soto”. Ciudad Bolívar, Bolívar State, Venezuela.
2004 | Das MoMA in Berlin. Mesiterwerke aus dem Museum of Modern Art, New York. New Gallery of National Art, Berlin, Germany.
2004 | Inverted Utopias. Avant-garde Art in Latin American. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas.
2004 | La megaexposición. Arte venezolano del siglo XX. Museo de Bellas Artes. Caracas, y Museo de arte Moderno “Jesus Soto”. Ciudad Bolívar, Venezuela.
2004 | Diálogos. Arte Latinoamericano desde la Colección Cisneros. Museo de Bellas Artes, Santiago de Chile y Museo de Arte de Lima (MALI), Lima, Perú.
2004 | Alejandro Otero, Venezuela, and Roberto Matta, Chile, in the MoMA’s Show of Latin American Art , Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlín, Germany.
2005 | Diálogos. Arte Latinoamericano desde la Colección Cisneros (Dialogues. Latinamerican Art from the Cisneros Collection). Museo de Arte Moderno, Bogotá, Colombia.
2006 | The Rhythm of Color: Alejandro Otero and Willys de Castro: Two Modern Masters in the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros collection. Fundación Cisneros. The Aspen Institute, Colorado.
2006 | Cruce de miradas: visiones de América Latina (Exchange of glances: Visions on Latin America). Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros. Fundación Cisneros, Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Ciudad de México, México.
2011| Embracing Modernity: Venezuelan Geometric Abstraction. Grand Galleries, Patricia and Philip Frost Museum, Florida International University, Miami.
2011 | The Universidad Central de Venezuela’s Council for Preservation and Development, COPRED-UCV, presents Synthesis of the Arts: “Carlos Raul Villanueva”, an exhibition of unpublished images made by the “Epson” Company on the gestation process and execution of the Villanueva’s Project “Integration of the Arts” that took place in the UCV’s Campus. Galería Universitaria UCV, Caracas.
2013 | La invención concreta. Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros. Reflexiones en torno a la abstracción geométrica latinoamericana y sus legados. (Concrete Inventions. Patricia Phelp de Cisneros Collection. Reflections on Latinamerican Abstract Geometry and its Legacy) Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid.
Civic Scale Art, Arts Integration Works and Domestic-Scale Sculptures
1943
The Three Graces, stained glass window commission, for the residence of Arturo Uslar Pietri in La Florida, Caracas. 246 x 113 cm.
1952
Having returned from Paris, Otero began a series of investigations around the integration of the arts, in collaboration with architect Carlos Raúl Villanueva and other young architects in Caracas.
1953
Five panel mural in mosaic and aluminum for the José Ángel Lamas amphitheater, known as the Bello Monte Acoustic Shell. In panels IV and V, Otero already presents the initial schemas for the Colorithm works. With this work, Otero begins to immerse himseld in investigations related to the new architectural approaches that were being developed in Venezuela, and that culminated with the development and construction of the University City of Caracas.
Panel, relief for the house of Carlos Raúl Villanueva, Caracas.
1954
Mosaic and Aluminum Panel, Banco Mercantil y Agrícola, Caracas.
Twin Mural, Faculty of Engineering, Central University of Venezuela, Caracas.
Stained-Glass Window, Library, Faculty of Engineering, UCV, Caracas
Reflecting Mast, Shell Service Station, Las Mercedes. Today PDV, Caracas.
Fence Structure for the facade of the Perceven Furniture factory.
1956
Polychrome Mosaic, Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, UCV, Caracas.
Stained-Glass Window of Los Guayabitos (for the Barutaima residence of Alfredo Boulton), Caracas.
Polychromy, Hospital Clínico, Maracaibo.
Ceiling, Teatro del Este Theater, Caracas.
1959
Polychrome Sculpture, Easo building, Caracas.
Monochrome Relief Panel, Aquarium Colinas de Carrizal, Miranda State.
Polychrome Mosaic, Faculty of the School of Pharmacy, UCV, Caracas.
1966
A Quarter of a Century of the Beautiful Art of Alejandro Otero 1940-1965 (January 20-March 19). Signals Gallery, London. The exhibition mentions his civic work.
1967
Within the framework of the festivities planned for the celebration of the 400-Year Annniversary of the City of Caracas, the Zona Férica of El Conde is developed. Its creators include Mercedes Pardo, Ligia Olivieri, Armando Córdova, Pedro Sosa and Alejandro Otero.
1968
Within the spaces of the recently inaugurated El Conde Férica Zone, Alejandro Otero creates several structures: Rotor, Vertical Vibrant Gold and Silver, Ferris Wheel, Sono-Vibrate Structure, Integral Vibrant and Aquatic Tower.
Vibrant Vertical, Maracay
Rotor sculpture installed in the city of Carora in tribute to the City’s Cuatricentennial celebration.
1970
Air (November). Museum of Fine Arts, Caracas. Exhibition that compiles works and objects where the air is not only the material, but the fundamental language. Otero participates with Vibrant Integral.
Otero creates works titled Orbital Sculptures.
1971
Otero is awarded a Guggenheim Foundation Scholarship to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.), Cambridge, Massachusetts. For two years he developed his research on civic-scale sculpture while at the Center for Advanced Visual Studies, exploring the behavior of sculptures against the natural elements including wind, light and other climatic variables. Among the projects created during this time are the “nautical” sculptures Fuego Lunar (Lunar Fire), Colmena Lunar (Moon Hive) and Senderos de Tempestad (Storm Trails) for the Charles River in Boston.
1972
Multiple Interaction Team (M.I.T.). Itinerant exhibition. Museum of Sciences and Industries, Chicago, Illinois.
1973
The work Otero developed during his tenure at M.I.T. was exhibited at the Conkright Gallery, Caracas. The exhibition included models for civic and domestic scale sculpture.
1974
Espejo Solar I (Solar Mirror I.) Simón Bolívar University, Caracas.
Espejo Solar (Solar Mirror II). CADAFE building, Caracas.
Color Zenital (Zenith Color ), Chapel of a Home for Elders, sponsored by the Armando and Anala Planchart Foundation, Tanaguarena, Vargas state.
Alejandro Otero (December). Conkright Gallery, Caracas. The selection includes models of his civic work.
1975
Alejandro Otero. A Retrospective Exhibition (September 28-November 2). Michener Galleries, Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas. The selection included models of his civic work.
Ala Solar (Solar Wing), sculpture donated by the Government of Venezuela to the Republic of Colombia, was installed in Av. Jorge Eliecer Gaitán, in front of the District Administration Center, Bogotá. The sculpture was later dismantled.
1976
Alejandro Otero. Retrospective Exhibition (January-March). Museum of Modern Art / Chapultepec Forest, Mexico, D.F. The exhibition included models of his civic-scale sculptural work.
With the temporary installation of the Solar Structure at the Castello Zforzesco in Milan, the project carried out by the Olivetti Corporation of Venezuela is completed, culminating with the final location of the sculpture in the gardens of the Olivetti Palace in Ivrea next to a Monograph on the artist, authored by José Balza and published by Ernesto Armitano, Editor.
Audiovisual Presentation and Scale Models of Sculptures by Alejandro Otero. Venezuelan Government Tourist and Information Center, New York.
Tribute to the Future. Domestic-scale sculpture, originally projected as a large dimension work to be installed on Park Avenue, New York.
1977
Delta Solar is located in the West garden of the National Air and Space Museum, Washington D.C. The work was donated by the Venezuelan government to the United States on the occasion of the U.S. Bicentennial celebration.
Solar Structure. Grounds of the Olivetti Palace, Ivrea, Italy.
1979
Venalum Tower Sculpture. Domestic scale sculpture, originally projected as a large dimension sculpture to be installed in Venalum, Ciudad Guayana.
1982
XL Biennale di Venezia (June 13-September 12). Abra Solar, courtesy of the Caracas Metro Public Limited Company, is located on the access dock before the Santa Helena Gardens at the entrance to the Biennial. La Aguja Solar courtesy of Interamericana de Alúmina C.A. (Interalumin), is placed in the Lido. Sculptures, drawings, sketches and photographs of the civic work were exhibited in the Venezuelan Pavilion.
Delta Solar Reflection of the Four Seasons, film by Ángel Hurtado.
1983
Abra Solar is erected in Plaza Venezuela, Caracas.
Aguja Solar (Solar Needle) is erected at Interalumina, Ciudad Guayana.
1985
Alejandro Otero (February). Museum of Contemporary Art of Caracas, Caracas. The exhibition included a series of drawings for sculptures.
The Solar Tower is erected at the Raúl Leoni Hydroelectric Power Plant in Guri.
A Flower for the Desert. Museum of Contemporary Art of Caracas.
1988
The Art in Guri by Alfredo Boulton is published. Printing S.p.A. Antonio Cordani, Milan, Italy.
IBM de Venezuela S.A. published Greetings to the 21st Century. Alejandro Otero. Tribute to León Battista Alberti, Gráficas Armitano C.A., Caracas.
1990
The 80’s: Panorama of the Visual Arts in Venezuela. National Art Gallery, Caracas. The exhibition includes images in duratrans of a selection of his sculptures.
1994
Otero, Soto, Cruz-Diez. Three Masters of Abstractionism in Venezuela and Their International Projection (October 1994-January 1995). National Art Gallery, Caracas. The exhibition included models of his civic work.
1995
Solar Structure. Sculpture Garden, Museum of Fine Arts, Caracas.
2002
Sculpture in Venezuela 1960-2002. Juan Carlos Palenzuela, The Galaxy, Caracas. The publication reviews the three-dimensional development in Otero’s work.
2006
Ternium Sidor, in collaboration with GrupoArtesano Editores, publish Alejandro Otero Before the Critics: Voices on the Path of Visual Arts, edited by Douglas Monroy. Editorial Arte, S.A. Caracas.
In Search of the Sublime. Villanueva and the Ciudad Universitaria of Caracas. Silvia Hernández de Lasala. Rector of the Central University of Venezuela and the Council of Preservation and Development, Caracas. Otero’s work for the University was widely mentioned and illustrated.
2008
Critical Compendium: Alejandro Otero. Compilation of texts by Douglas Monroy and Luisa Pérez Gil. GrupoArtesano Editores, Editorial Arte, Caracas.
2014
Triptych of Venezuela 1970-2014. Beyond the Drawing. Magdalena Fernández, Andrés Michelena, Alejandro Otero (July 11-September 21). Historic Headquarters of the Cabrera Pinto Canary Islands Institute, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The selection includes drawings and sketches of Otero’s civic-scale work.
2016
The Global South: Visions and Revisions. From the Brillembourg Capriles Collection (November 30-December 4). SaludArte Foundation, Miami. Within the framework of Pinta Miami, Florida. The selection includes drawings and sketches of his civic work.
2017
I have Lived Through My Eyes. Alejandro Otero’s work in the Mercantile Collection (September). Commercial Space, Caracas. The selection included sculpture on a domestic scale, In Transparency. The publication contains a chronology of the work integrated into the Architecture, and another of the civic-scale work.
2018
Géométries Sud du Mexique à la Terre du Feu (October 14, 2018-February 24, 2019). Fondation Cartier, Paris. In the visitor’s guide the relevance of Otero’s Colorithms work is mentioned as a path to urban sculpture.
2019
Alejandro Otero: Rhythm in Line and Space (October 25, 2019-January 7, 2020). Sicardi Ayers Bacino Gallery, Houston. The selection includes drawings of his civic-scale work, but they are not included in the list of works.
Sur Moderno: Journeys of Abstraction: The Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Gift (2019). Museum of Modern Art MOMA, New York. The publication mentions and includes images of several sculptures by Otero.
Alejandro Otero. Drawings for Sculptures: the Dimension of Flight. Essay by María Elena Ramos. Otero-Pardo Foundation and GrupoArtesano Foundation. Asia Pacific Offset Ltd., China, 1,500 copies.
2020
To mark the 100-Year Anniversary of the birth of Alejandro Otero, the Otero-Pardo Foundation is offering an extensive program, in collaboration with multiple institutions, that includes exhibitions, presentations of the latest publications, recreational activities, conferences, and more.
Alejandro Otero (El Manteco, March 7, 1921 — Caracas, August 13, 1990) was a Venezuelan artist, writer and educator. He was a founding member of the Los Disidentes group (The Dissidents), an avant-garde collective created in Paris, in 1950, by a group of young Venezuelan expatriate artists and intellectuals who became interested in geometric abstraction. The group published a magazine of the same name that asserted the artists’ identification with international artistic movements, and called for change in the traditional arts education and practice in the Venezuela of their time.
Alejandro Otero was one of the early leading proponents of Geometric Abstraction in Venezuela. In 1945 he was awarded a scholarship to live in Paris, off and on, until 1964. During this time, he produced the “Cafeteras” (Coffee Pots) series, which he would later exhibit in Venezuela, at the Museo de Bellas Artes in 1949. This exhibition was considered controversial at the time, and contributed to the development of Modernism in Venezuela.
Alejandro Otero (Venezuela 1921-1990) was one of the most original artists in modern Latin American art. Studious, restless, incessant in his work, sensitive and disciplined, curious and inventive, and above all a tireless observer of the world and of the times in which he lived (much like Leonardo da Vinci, I would say), Otero migrated between several areas of artistic work and thought, always managing to be up with the times, one of the leitmotifs of his work. A very complete artist and intellectual, he was also a writer and educator. Part of the opus that Otero bequeathed us are his abundant, analytical writings in which he reflected on his art, on the work of creators of the past and on the world in which he lived. As he put it, the artist’s “…main responsibility is to be aware of current events, of the changes within his vision and of the transformations that occur around him.”(1) Otero remained faithful to this principle. ⠀ Source: (1) Alejandro Otero. Memoria crítica, Douglas Monroy and Luis Perez Gil, compilers. Caracas, Monte Avila Editores, 1992, pg. 337. The exhibition was made possible thanks to a collaboration between the Odalys Group, the Fundación Artesano Group and the Otero Pardo Foundation. The exhibition closes on April 25, 2020.
