Miguel Betancourt

Miguel Betancourt (born 5 January 1958) is an Ecuadorian contemporary artist living in Quito, Ecuador. He was formed as an artist in Ecuador, the United States, and the United Kingdom. His paintings are a fusion of local cultural motives and colors, and Western artistic influence.

Miguel Betancourt
Miguel Betancourt
Born (1958-01-05) 5 January 1958
Quito, Ecuador
NationalityEcuadorian
EducationMilwaukee Art Center,[1]
Slade School of Fine Art University College London,[2]
Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador
Known forContemporary Art
Websitewww.miguelbetancourt.com

Life

Born in Quito, Ecuador in 1958, Betancourt grew up in the outskirts of the city (Cumbayá). In 1974, he initiated art classes with Ecuadorian artist, Oswaldo Moreno. In 1976-1977, he went to study at the Milwaukee Art Center, United States, for a year. Upon his return to Ecuador, he enrolled in the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador to study Pedagogy and Literature until 1982, while continuing to develop his artistic career. In 1988, he was invited by the Department of State of the US to a Cultural Tour. In the same year, the British Council awarded him a scholarship to study a postgraduate art degree at the Slade School of Fine Art at the University College London. During his time in London, Betancourt befriended British artist John Hoyland. In 1992, he held a traveling exhibition through Europe.

Artistic career

In 1993, he was selected to represent his country at the XLV. Venice Biennale, Italy - one of his major career highlights. In the last decade, he was part of various individual and collective exhibitions around the world. In 2000, he exhibited a show at the Canberra Museum and Gallery. Between 2001 and 2003, his paintings went on itinerant shows through Central America. Highlights in the recent past include participation in Visual Trends in Ecuador´s Contemporary Art organized by the Corporación Andina de Fomento in Caracas, Venezuela (2004); participation as Invitee of Honor to the V. International Art Biennial SIART in La Paz, Bolivia (2007), and in The Night of the Museums in Buenos Aires, Argentina (2009).[3] At the beginning of 2011, Betancourt participated in the "Exhibition of Latin American and Caribbean Artists" in the Tokyo City Hall, organized by the embassies of the Americas. In July 2012, he participated in a collective exhibition "Ecuador Beyond Concepts" at the gallery of the Cervantes Institute in Rome.[4] Then, in September 2013, the Gallery Bandi-Trazos invited him to be part of the Latin-American Pavilion in the International Art Fair, in the Beijing Exhibition Center. In 2014 he was part of a collective exhibition "Ecuador in Focus" (along 2 other Ecuadorian artists), at the OPEC Fund for International Development headquarters in Vienna. In 2016 he participated in ARTE15 as part of the artistic events to celebrate the conference Habitat III which took place in Quito. Since 2017 his itinerant one-man show has been presented in various cities in Asia: Beijing, Nanjing, Seoul and Tokyo. Finally, since 2018 his artwork has been part of a traveling group show, Imago Mundi, sponsored by the Benetton Foundation and shown in several countries around the world.

Betancourt has received recognition, including the Pollock-Krasner Award in 1993, conferred by the Pollock-Krasner Foundation in New York City, United States.

Betancourt continues to be involved in various projects and exhibitions in Ecuador and internationally. He is a founding member of movement Art Résilience created in Paris in 2014, with headquarters in the Bateau-Lavoir, Paris.

Collections

His art has exhibited in museums and exhibitions, and found part in private collections in Europe and Latin America, including the art collections of the United Nations offices in Vienna and in Geneva (specifically in UNAIDS). Additionally, his artwork can be found in other private collections like: Inter-American Development Bank (Tokio), Diners Club del Ecuador, Istituto Italo-Latino Americano (Rome), Art Museum of the Americas, OEA (Washington D.C.), OFID (the OPEC Fund for International Development), Vienna, or Slade School of Fine Art (London).

Publications
  • Michelena, X. and Querejeta, A. (1996) "Betancourt", Paradiso Editores, Quito (Ecuador).
  • Flores, I. et al. (2001) "Nuevos Cien Artistas", Revista Mundo Diners, Quito (Ecuador).
  • The curators (2006) "Oil Paintings-London in Public Ownership: The Slade and UCL", Public Catalogue Foundation, London (United Kingdom).
  • Rodríguez, M.A. (2011) "Betancourt: Colores y Texturas",[5] Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana, Quito (Ecuador).
  • Rodríguez, M.A. (2011) "Palabra de Pintores - Artistas del Ecuador", Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana, Quito (Ecuador).
  • Betancourt, M. (2014), "Betancourt - Imágenes a trasluz",[6] Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana, Quito (Ecuador).
  • Lastra, P. (2016), "El transcurrir del sueño: pinturas de Miguel Betancourt", Editorial del Trauco, Quito (Ecuador).
  • Benetton, L. et al. (2017) "Ecuador: light of time - Contemporary artists from Ecuador", Antiga Edizioni, Treviso (Italy).

Recently, articles about Betancourt's work have appeared in magazines such as Americas (OAS, Washington DC), Gatopardo (Mexico), Infinite Ecuador (Quito) and Dolce Vita (Quito), among others.

Main exhibitions

Individual exhibitions
  • 1982 Goríbar Gallery, Quito
  • 1983 Ecuadorian House of Culture, Cuenca
  • 1985 Doors, Walls and Threads, Sosa-Nesle Gallery, Quito
  • 1989 Slade School of Fine Art, University College London
  • 1989 Rituals, Contemporary Art Gallery, Quito
  • 1991 Museum of Modern Art, Cuenca
  • 1992 Jungle Ogive, Art-Forvm Gallery, Quito
  • 1992 Jungle Ogive, Alte Schmiede Gallery, Vienna
  • 1993 October Gallery, London
  • 1993 Jungle Ogive, Italian-Latin American Institute, Rome
  • 1994 Arborescences, La Manzana Verde Gallery, Guayaquil
  • 1995 Memoria Vegetal, La Galería, Quito
  • 1996 Van den Broek Gallery, Oosterbeeck
  • 1996 The British Council, Quito
  • 1996 Matter and Transparency, Women's Cultural Center, Guayaquil
  • 1996 Köenig Museum, Bonn
  • 1997 Red Stone on Blue Stone, MS Gallery, Quito
  • 1998 Edifications, Central Bank of Ecuador, Cuenca
  • 1998 Red Stone on Blue Stone, Alte Schmiede Gallery, Vienna
  • 1999 Itsván Rozsics Gallery, Budapest
  • 1999 Plant Architecture, National Museum, Lima
  • 2000 Palace of the Nations, United Nations, Geneva
  • 2000 Magma Legacy, Multicultural Festival 2000, Canberra Museum, Canberra
  • 2000 Magma Legacy, La Galería, Quito
  • 2000 Magma Legacy, Municipal Museum of Modern Art, Cuenca
  • 2001 Ecuadorian Culture Month, Ixchel Museum, Guatemala
  • 2001 Encounter with the Middle of the World, 1-2-3 Gallery, San Salvador
  • 2002 Museum of the Honduran Man, Tegucigalpa
  • 2002 Time and Space of Color, Todo Arte Gallery, Guayaquil
  • 2002 Time and Space of Color, Gallery of the National Bank, Lima
  • 2002 Time and Space of Color, French Alliance, Quito
  • 2002 Caramba Latin American Gallery, Sydney
  • 2003 Bodies and Cities, French Alliance, Cuenca
  • 2003 Sampedrano Cultural Center, San Pedro Sula
  • 2003 Evidencias, PUCE Cultural Center, Quito
  • 2004 Silky and Rough Figure, Galería Igor Muñoz, Quito
  • 2005 Recompositions, Galería Matthei, Santiago de Chile
  • 2005 Pictorial Art, Centro Cultural Metropolitano, Quito
  • 2006 Pictorial Art, Multifunctional Room, MAAC, Central Bank of Ecuador, Guayaquil.
  • 2006 Pictorial Art, Museo Municipal de Arte Contemporáneo (MMAM), Cuenca
  • 2007 Recompositions, French Alliance, Quito
  • 2009 Eternal Forest, French Alliance, Quito
  • 2010 The visions of Miguel Betancourt, City Hall Gallery, Cuenca
  • 2011 Betancourt: Colors and Textures (retrospective exhibition), Ecuadorian House of Culture, Quito
  • 2014 Images against the Light, Watercolors, French Alliance, Quito
  • 2015 Illuminated Walls, Multimedia exhibition, Xerrajeros Gallery, Cumbayá
  • 2017 Lines and Transparencies, pintura sobre papel, The Capital Library Gallery, Beijing
  • 2017 Ecuador Through My Dreams, painting on paper, Superior Gallery, Seoul[8]
  • 2018 Ecuador Through My Dreams, painting on paper, Takanawa Gallery, Tokio
  • 2018 Ninfas, Meninas y la Mirada del Pintor, French Alliance, Quito[9]
  • 2018 Ninfas, Meninas y la Mirada del Pintor, Ecuadorian House of Culture, Cuenca

Collective exhibitions
  • 1985 Ecuadorian Contemporary Art, Miraflores Municipality, Lima
  • 1991-92 12 Ecuadorian Artists itinerant show, International Carnival and Mask Museum, Belgium
  • 1992 International Exposition of Seville, Pabellón Ecuatoriano, Seville
  • 1994 Latin American Contemporary Art Show, Het Provinciehuis, The Hague
  • 1994 Ibero American Art Fair, Caracas
  • 1996 Contemporary Latin American Painting, Nuevas Tendencias Exhibit Room, Santiago, Chile
  • 1997 Contemporary Ecuadorian Painting, Museum of Contemporary Art, Santiago, Chile
  • 1997 Painting with Children, joint event between Chile and Ecuador, Guayasamin Foundation, Quito
  • 1997 Contemporary Ecuador, House of America, Linares Palace, Madrid
  • 1997 Archangels in the Latin American Tradition, Museum of Latin American Art (MoLAA), California
  • 1998 Israel, Past and Present itinerant show, Central Bank of Ecuador: Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca
  • 1998 Eros in Ecuadorian Art, National Fine Arts Museum, Santiago, Chile
  • 1998 Eros in Ecuadorian Art, Anthropological Museum, Lima
  • 1998 Tribute to Ecuadorian Art, Brazilian-Ecuadorian Cultural Institute, Quito
  • 1999 Art 100, Diners Collection for the 20th Century, Ecuadorian House of Culture, Quito
  • 2000 Ecuadorian Culture Week, House of America, Madrid
  • 2000 Quito Contemporary Art's Living Testimony, Metropolitan Cultural Center, Quito
  • 2000 Corruption, Ecuadorian House of Culture, Quito
  • 2001 Latin American Artists: A Contemporary Journey, Museum of Latin American Art (MoLAA), California
  • 2001 Small Anthology of Modern Ecuadorian Watercolors, Benjamín Carrión Center, Quito.
  • 2002 Miami Art 2002, Florida
  • 2002 Latin-American Art, Pirámide Gallery, Guatemala de la Asunción
  • 2002 Expression and Form in Twentieth-Century Ecuadorian Art, Central Bank Museum, Quito
  • 2003 Anniversary Show: 10 Years, Galería Todo Arte, Guayaquil
  • 2004 Visual Trends of Contemporary Ecuador, Galería CAF (Corporación Andina de Fomento), Caracas, Venezuela
  • 2004 Opening Show, Centro Cultural Elmar Rojas, Guatemala
  • 2004 Four Contemporary Ecuadorian Artists, AFS World Congress, Tokyo
  • 2005 Andean Watercolor Exposition, Museo de Arte Moderno, Cuenca
  • 2005 Art with two hands, Fundación Operación Sonrisa, Quito
  • 2006 Anthology of Pichincha's Bank Collection, Centro Cultural Metropolitano, Quito
  • 2006 Utopía 2006, Exhibition and Art Auction, Alianza Francesa, Quito
  • 2007 IV Latin American contemporary Art Fair, Royal Archives of Belgium, Brussels
  • 2008 Bulls in Colors, Open-air Exhibition of Urban Art 2008, Quito
  • 2009 Ispirato Corpo, Art and design fusion, parallel exhibit to the X Art Biennial of Cuenca, Casa del Coco, Cuenca
  • 2010 Trazoseis, Painting and Sculpture Exhibit, Centro de Exposiciones El Cubo, Cumbayá
  • 2011 Latin-American and Caribbean Artists Exhibition, Mirador del Tokio City Hall, Japan
  • 2011 Latin Eye, Looking Eastward Russia, Benetton Foundation Research Studies, Treviso
  • 2012 Ecuador, Beyond Concepts, Cervantes Institute Gallery, Rome
  • 2012 Latin Eye, Looking Eastward, made in China, Casabella Laboratory, Milan
  • 2013 Latin Eye, Looking Eastward, made in China, Unexplored Territory, Benetton Foundation, Treviso
  • 2013 Latin-American Pavilion, International Art Fair, Beijing Exhibition Center, China
  • 2014 Discussion and Action, Group exhibition: Marcelo Aguirre, Luigi Stornaiolo and Miguel Betancourt, Xerrajeros Gallery, Cumbaya
  • 2014 Mutable Nature (3 artists), AFESE Art and Culture, Quito
  • 2014 Ecuador in Focus, OFID Gallery, Vienna
  • 2015 Art Resilience International Show, Art Museum of Saint-Frajou, France
  • 2015 Special Exhibition of Contemporary Ecuadorian Art, VI Beijing International Art Biennial, China[10]
  • 2016 Arte15, exhibition within the program HABITAT III, Quito
  • 2017 Strokes and Colors, Ecuadorian Art, Betancourt-Bazante, Jiangsu Art Museum, Nanjing
  • 2017 The Ecuadorian Art Pavilion, Cultural Center, PUCE, Quito
  • Gallo de la Catedral, watercolor / paper, 76x56cm, 1987
  • Ojivas de la Selva, acrylic / paper, 76x56cm, 1992
  • Árbol de letras, mixed / hemp canvas, 256x186cm, 2001
  • Naipe, mixed / canvas & cardboard, 320x200cm, 2006
  • Flora y Fauna en Cabeza Femenina, oil / canvas, 110x45cm, 2009
  • Poliptico Intercambiable, mixed / hemp canvas, 120x30cm each, 2014
  • Exhibition Translucent Imagery, 2014

See also

References
  1. Art in Embassies, from the website of the U.S. Department of States.
  2. UCL Alunmi Newsletter Archived 15 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine, alumni newsletter of the University College London: March 2009.
  3. Article in the Américas Magazine, Blanco, A. (2010). "Expressions of Experience", Américas Magazine published by the Organization of American States, Vol. 62, Nr. 3, May/June 2010, Washington, D.C. (USA).
  4. Catalogue: Betancourt – Aequatoria, Plus Ultra Conceptus, personal website of the artist.
  5. Catalogue: Betancourt – Colores y Textures, personal website of the artist.
  6. Catalogue: Betancourt - Imágenes a trasluz, personal website of the artist.
  7. Casa de la Cultura Archived 26 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine, Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana "Benjamín Carrión", Quito (Ecuador).
  8. Lee, Joel (15 August 2017). "Ecuadorian artist distills mystic beauty of homeland". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  9. Video: Las caras mestizas de "Las meninas", Youtube.
  10. Article: Art China, Art China website.
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