Alejandro Anreus is a curator, art historian and critic who has focused his research on
Latin American Art
Latin American art is the combined artistic expression of South America, Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico, as well as Latin Americans living in other regions.
The art has roots in the many different indigenous cultures that inhabited the ...
. Though he began his career as an artist, Anreus is now an art historian and poet, and is professor of art history and Latin American/Latino Studies at
William Paterson University
William Paterson University, officially William Paterson University of New Jersey (WPUNJ), is a public university in Wayne, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education.
Founded in 1855 and was named after American ju ...
. Among his many accomplishments, Anreus is a two-time recipient of the Oscar B. Cintas Foundation and has worked as a curator with public collections such as the Montclair Art Museum and the Jersey City Museum during his career.
Early life and education
Alejandro Anreus was born in
Havana, Cuba
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.
on 11 September 1960. He later migrated to the United States as a result of the
Cuban Exile
A Cuban exile is a person who emigrated from Cuba in the Cuban exodus. Exiles have various differing experiences as emigrants depending on when they migrated during the exodus.
Demographics Social class
Cuban exiles would come from various ec ...
of 1950s-1970s and settled down with his mother, two aunts and grandmother in
Elizabeth, New Jersey
Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...
. Anreus earned his
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
in art history at Kean College, where he was influenced and mentored by Marxist art historian Alan Wallach, and then his
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. ...
and
Doctor of Philosophy
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
From 1981 through 1987 Anreus was represented by Schweyer-Galdo Galleries, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he had a one-person exhibition of his drawings every two years. After a hiatus, he participated in American Voices in 2004, his last exhibition, a two-person linoleum prints and photography exhibition with photographe Julio Nazario Edge Art, Rahway, New Jersey.
Curatorial practice
Alejandro Anreus has worked as Curator at the
Jersey City Museum
The Jersey City Museum was a municipal art museum in Jersey City, New Jersey. The establishment opened in 1901 and was housed in the main branch of the Jersey City Public Library. It relocated to a new building in 2001, but due to financial dif ...
(1993-2001) and the
MontClair Art Museum
The Montclair Art Museum (MAM) is located in Montclair, New Jersey, United States, a few miles west of New York City. Since it opened in 1914 as the first museum in New Jersey that granted access to the public and the first dedicated solely to a ...
. He also regularly participates in panels and seminars on Latin American art and art and politics of the 1930s. Exhibitions such as
Ben Shahn
Ben Shahn (September 12, 1898 – March 14, 1969) was an American artist. He is best known for his works of social realism, his left-wing political views, and his series of lectures published as ''The Shape of Content''.
Biography
Shahn was born ...
and
The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti
''The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti'' is a 1932 painting series by Ben Shahn consisting of 32 gouache paintings of Sacco and Vanzetti .
Creation
Artist Ben Shahn had always wanted to be alive during a time of greatness, such as the crucif ...
at the Jersey City Museum, Juan Sánchez: Printed Convictions, Subversions/Affirmations: Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, A Survey and Bending the Grid: Luis Cruz Azaceta at the
Aljira Center for Contemporary Art
Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art was an artist-centered space in Newark, New Jersey, United States founded in 1983, designated a Major Arts Organization by New Jersey's State Council on the Arts.
Aljira displayed the work of both establishe ...
in
Newark, NJ
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area. In 2015, he guest curated the exhibition Gloria Rodriguez Calero: Urban Martyrs And Later Days Santos, Museo Del Barrio, New York.
Works and publications
Alejandro Anreus has focused critically on the role of politics within the modernity of Latin American and Latino Art. Covered in his research are topics such as muralism, political art of the 1930s and the life and work of Latino artists. His articles have appeared in Art Journal, Third Text, Art Nexus and Encuentro de la Cultura Cubana. His most recent publications are Ben Shahn and The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti (Jersey City Museum and
Rutgers University Press
Rutgers University Press (RUP) is a nonprofit academic publishing house, operating in New Brunswick, New Jersey under the auspices of Rutgers University.
History
Rutgers University Press, a nonprofit academic publishing house operating in New ...
University of New Mexico Press
The University of New Mexico Press (UNMP) is a university press at the University of New Mexico. It was founded in 1929 and published pamphlets for the university in its early years before expanding into quarterlies and books. Its administrative ...
Penn State Press
The Penn State University Press, also known as The Pennsylvania State University Press, was established in 1956 and is a non-profit publisher of scholarly books and journals. It is the independent publishing branch of the Pennsylvania State Uni ...
, 2006), which he co-edited with Diana L. Linden and
Jonathan Weinberg
Jonathan Weinberg (born 1957) is an American artist and art historian. He is a critic at the Yale School of Art.
Early life
Weinberg grew up in New York City and attended the Fieldston School. He studied as an undergraduate at Yale University w ...
. Since 2003, Professor Anreus has been part of the national advisory board of the "A Ver" series of monographs. This is the first series of monographs focused on living Latino artists. This multi-volume project was funded by the Getty and Rockefeller Foundations and is based at the
Chicano Studies Chicana/o studies, also known as Chican@ studies, originates from the Chicano Movement of the late 1960s and 1970s, and is the study of the Chicana/o and Latina/o experience. Chican@ studies draws upon a variety of fields, including history, soc ...
Department at
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...
. He has lectured on notable topics such as Latin American Visualities a Lehigh University Art Galleries in 2006, and Revising Orozco at the
Pomona College Museum of Art
The Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College, known colloquially as the Benton, is an art museum at Pomona College in Claremont, California. It was completed in 2020, replacing the Montgomery Art Gallery which had been home to the Pomona College M ...
in 2014. Professor Anreus completed Mexican Muralism, A Critical History (in collaboration with Leonard Folgarait of Vanderbilt and Robin Adèle Greeley of UConn), which was published by
University of California Press
The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by facult ...
at the end of 2012. In 2014 he published a monograph on Cuban-American painter
Luis Cruz Azaceta
Luis Cruz Azaceta (born April 5, 1942) is a Cuban American painter.
Azateca has been active in painting and drawing since the late 1970s. In usually large-format works executed with highly expressive colors, Cruz Azaceta has dealt with themes o ...
*1979: Oscar B. Cintas Foundation
*1986: Oscar B. Cintas Foundation
*1990: New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Individual Artist Grant (Drawing)
Selected exhibitions
*2004: American Voices (two person with photographe Julio Nazario , Edge Art, Rahway, New Jersey
*From 1981 through 1987 Anreus was represented by Schweyer-Galdo Galleries, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he had a one-person exhibition every two years
*2015: Urban Martyrs And Later Days Santos, Museo Del Barrio, New York
Public collections
*
Art Museum of the Americas
Art Museum of the Americas (AMA), located in Washington, D.C., is the first art museum in the United States primarily devoted to exhibiting works of modern and contemporary art from Latin America and the Caribbean. The museum was formally establis ...
, Washington, DC
*
The Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and list of largest art museums, largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visit ...
*The Detroit Institute of Art
*Museo del Papel Omar Rayo, Roldanillo, Colombia
*Museo José Luis Cuevas, Mexico City
*Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
*
The Montclair Art Museum
The Montclair Art Museum (MAM) is located in Montclair, New Jersey, United States, a few miles west of New York City. Since it opened in 1914 as the first museum in New Jersey that granted access to the public and the first dedicated solely to ...