| address: email: born: married: children: | 30 Aldred Road, Remuera, Auckland 1050, New Zealand alga@xtra.co.nz 1928, Barcelona 1958, Marian McEntire (deceased 2003) 1959, Jordi; 1961, Pablo |
| education: | 1944-46, Escola d’Art i Procediments Artistics de Llotja (School of Arts and Crafts) Barcelona. |
| 1946-51, Escola Superior de Belles Arts de Sant Jordi, Universitat de Barcelona (University of Barcelona) | |
| qualification: | 1951, Profesor de Dibujo – equivalent to MFA |
| scholarships: | 1951-54, two scholarships ‘Amigó Cuyas’, the first in 1951 to travel around Spain over a six month period and the second in 1953-54 to travel around Italy for one year. |
in Catalonia: | |
| activities: | 1947, Barcelona. Formation of the Flamma Group. With artists and colleagues: Romá Vallés, Joan Lleó, Doménec Fita and Francesc Carulla. |
| Exhibitions: | 1950-58, numerous personal exhibitions. The last of them at Galeries Jaume, Barcelona. In later years, 1975, lithographies in the Girona City Council Gallery. In addition, occasional contributions to collective exhibitions. |
| murals (selected): | 1953, church of Belén, Barcelona. Chapel of the sacraments, fresco of the Last Supper. 1955, church of Santiago (ST James), capilla Románica del Pla del Bon Aira, Terrassa. Fresco of the life of St James. 1956, Cathedral of Tossa de Mar. Fresco of the Bubonic Plague (“the Black Death”) of the 14th Century 1960, Central Térmica d’Alcúdia, Mallorca, church of Nostra Sra de la Llum. A 99m2 fresco on the life of the virgen Mary. |
in California: | |
| academic appointments: | 1961-72, fine arts lecturer at various universities in California, the last by invitation at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB). |
| 1969, invited by the ‘Seattle Co. Arts’,Seattle, Washington, to give a month long seminar on practical art. | |
most notable commissions: | Most notable commissions: 1963, St. Louis Bertrand Church, Oakland: 14 frescos for the Stations of the Cross. Each station approximately 1.5 m high and 4 m. wide. “The Creation” 16 abstrac stained and leaded glass windows of various heights encompassing a total of 60 m2. 1 large stained and leaded glass window of 280 m2 1964, The Redemptorist Seminary, Oakland. Frescos of various dimensions for 11 chapels. 1967-68, W.H. Sadlier Inc., New York. Illustrations for the series: ‘On Our Way’. |
| exhibitions: | 1960-73, The more important: 1961, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Paintings and collages on paper. 1963, San José Art Center, San José. Paintings, acrylic on canvas. 1968, Gallery of Environmental Design, University of California, Berkeley. Paintings and collages on paper. 1970, Michael Walls Gallery, San Francisco, “Uses of Structure in Recent American Painting” Collective exhibition. Painting, acrylic on canvas. |
| study travel: | 1964, New York, París, south of France and Spain. 1964-65, Italy for the making of a mosaic in Pietrasanta, Carrara, for the church of St Joaquim in Madera, California, 1969, London, Dublin and Barcelona. 1972, New York and Barcelona, |
in New Zealand: | |
| positions: | 1973-1995, The University of Auckland, New Zealand. Director of Printing Department; Director of the Masters Programme; Senior Lecturer in Painting. 1978-80, Member of the University Senate, The University of Auckland. 1980, Research grant from the university to investigate aluminium as stone substitute for fine art lithography. The results of the study are held in the Fine Arts School’s library under the heading “Aluminography” 1995, Retired from the The University of Auckland. |
| study travel: | 1973, from California to Mexico, Barcelona and Fiji. Relocated with the family to Auckland, New Zealand, invited by the University of Auckland as Guest lecturer for one year, extended to a permanent posititon. From New Zealand: 1975 Singapore, Malasia and Barcelona. 1977, Sydney. 1978, Calcuta, Delhi, Agra, Istambul and Barcelona. 1979, Hong Kong. 1982, Mexico, New York, Spain, Egypt, Israel, and India. 1983, Singapore, Bangkok and Barcelona. 1987, HongKong, Macao, London and Barelona. 1989, Spain – Madrid, Toledo, Cuenca, Valencia, Barcelona. 1991, San Francisco, Madrid and Barcelona. 1992, Tahiti, Barcelona and Valencia. 1993, 1994, París, Amsterdam and Barcelona. |
| commissions: | 1980, The University of Auckland, Physics and Maths building. Ceramic mural of 4m x 11m. |
| Select exhibitions: | 1973, Osborne Galleries, Auckland, paintings. 1977 and 1978, Bosshard Galleries, Dunedin, paintings. 1981, Bosshard Galleries; wooden sculptures, and in 1984, colour litographies. 1977 and 1983, Petar-James Galleries, Auckland, paintings. 1981, Govett-Brewster City Art Gallery, New Plymouth, paintings. 1984, Auckland City Art Gallery, “Artist in Focus”, colour litographies. 1986, 1987 and 1988, Artis Galleries, Auckland, paintings. 1986 and 1989, Centre for Contemporary Art, Hamilton, paintings. 1990 and 1992, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland, paintings. 1994, Gow Langsford Galleries, Wellington; paintings. 2010, AUT St. Paul Stret Gallery, Auckland; paintings, sculptures and lithographies. 2013, 2014, 2016, TimMelville Gallery, Auckland; paintings. 2017, Fundació Vila Casas, Barcelona, paintings and sculptures. 2017 and 2018 Tim Melville Gallery, Auckland, paintings. 2018, “Noranta” Tim Melville Gallery, Paintings. 2019, “Labyrinth”, TimMelville Gallery, crossings and painting. |
| Group exhibitions. The more outstanding: | 1977, Auckland City Art Gallery “Prints NZ”; 1978, Auckland City Art Gallery, “Auckland Artists”; 1979, Denis Cohn Gallery, Auckland, “Hot Off The Press”; 1980, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, “Directions in NZ Printmaking”; 1983, Auckland City Art Gallery, “Elam 1950-1983 Centennial Exhibition”; 1992, Auckland City Art Gallery “Artist in Focus” lithography; 1986, National Art Gallery, Wellington, “Content-Context”; 1990, Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland, “new space”… |
| events: | 1973 “yum – yums” culinary. Conceived and run by me at Elam School of Fine Arts, The University of Auckland. The entire school was converted into an immense kitchen with all of the teachers and students as cooks and chefs. Media article published in “Craccum”, the university student magazine: september 20, Pg. 19. |
| unpublished work: | 1949 “The City” proposed urban structure. 2000 “Qué” 10 booklets of poems and illustrated text. 2000, Other booklets: “Rhymes”; “About Symmetry”; “Notes”; “Ambiguous situations”; “Ezekiel”; “Soliloquios”; “Drons”; “Madera mosaics”. |
| published books: | 2000 Translation (and illustrations) from Catalonian to English of Ramón Llull’s “Llibre dels animals” (Book of the Beasts), one of the twelve books embraced in the “Llibre de Meravelles. Written by R. Llull in1289. 2015 “The Creation” Comments and photographic information of a stained glass windows’s commission. 2015 “Conjeturas” Poems and illustrations. 2015 “Bits from the Bible” Comments and color drawings. 2015 “Should we Question” Drawings and text on death and resurrection. 2015 “Time” Color wheels. 2016 “Qué” quadern 4 2016 “Brief history of Aotearoa” 2016 “Sillas” Chair drawings. 2017 “Visions i desconcerts” Text and images exhibition Fundació Vila Casas, Barcelona. 2018 “Via Crucis” Fresco paintings at St Louis Bertrand Church, California. 2019 “Labyrinth”, Text and 3/d images of ‘crossings’. Exhibition at TimMelville gallery. |