Ada Balcácer (born 16 June 1930) is a Dominican multimedia visual artist whose artistic production ranges from painted works, textile designs, murals, and printmaking. Known for her compositional themes of Caribbean mysticism and naturalism, Balcácer has won several national and international awards.

Life

Balcácer was born in

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

, on June 16, 1930, and grew up during the dictatorship of

Rafael Trujillo Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina ( , ; 24 October 189130 May 1961), nicknamed ''El Jefe'' (, "The Chief" or "The Boss"), was a Dominican dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from February 1930 until his assassination in May 1961. He ser ...

. Her early childhood years were spent between Santo Domingo and San Juan de la Maguana, where she developed a love for botany, science, and folklore. When Balcácer was 16, during a parade in San Juan de la Maguana, an accident while riding a horse led to a fractured wrist that later developed

gangrene Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the ga ...

and obliged the doctors to amputate her left arm. She has said of the incident: "I am one of two one-armed painters in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

n art history. The other one was

José Clemente Orozco José Clemente Orozco (November 23, 1883 – September 7, 1949) was a Mexican caricaturist and painter, who specialized in political murals that established the Mexican Mural Renaissance together with murals by Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Sique ...

, the

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

muralist. I've never felt different and have been painting for the past 64 years ever since my goals changed." In 1951, she graduated from the National School of Fine Arts in Santo Domingo. There, she studied under teachers who had emigrated from the war in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, such as Josep Gausachs, George Hausdorf, and Manolo Pascual, as well as native Dominican artists, like

Celeste Woss y Gil Celeste Agustina Woss y Gil (5 May 1891 – 1985) was a Dominican Republic painter, educator, and feminist activist, remembered as one of the most influential Dominican artists from the 20th century. Born in Santo Domingo and daughter to former ...

Oscar de la Renta Óscar Arístides Renta Fiallo (22 July 1932 – 20 October 2014), known professionally as Oscar de la Renta, was a Dominican fashion designer. Born in Santo Domingo, he was trained by Cristóbal Balenciaga and Antonio del Castillo. De la Renta ...

was her classmate. Motivated to leave the environment of Trujillo dictatorship, Balcácer moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, shortly after graduating, working as a textile designer. She returned home shortly after the 1961 assassination of Trujillo. A few years later, after returning for a visit to the

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

workshop of printmaker

Mauricio Lasansky Mauricio Leib Lasansky (October 12, 1914 – April 2, 2012) was an Argentine artist and educator known both for his advanced techniques in intaglio printmaking and for a series of 33 pencil drawings from the 1960s titled "The Nazi Drawings." ...

, Balcácer started her exploration in printmaking. She joined the group Nueva Imagen (New Image) in 1972 and became interested in the aesthetic possibilities of light and color while exploring tropical Dominican and Caribbean themes. She also began creating increasingly abstract compositions. When she turned 70, Balcácer relocated to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, Florida. In November 2008, the then-78-year-old Balcácer opened the ABRO Gallery by Ada Balcácer, in Miami's Wynwood Art District. The ARBO closed in 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balcácer, Ada 1930 births Child amputees Living people Artists from Santo Domingo 21st-century Dominican Republic artists 20th-century Dominican Republic artists Dominican Republic women painters Dominican Republic amputees