Arnaldo Roche Rabell (December 5, 1955 – November 17, 2018) was a Puerto Rican painter, described as "one of the most important artists of the neo-expressionist movement". Born in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

. He was educated at the Luchetti School of Art in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, later studying

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

at the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

before graduating with an MFA at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

in 1984. Roche Rabell became known for his textured, sensual neo-expressionist paintings which often dealt with themes of memory, political turbulence, and consciousness, as well as the medium of painting itself. He developed a technique of rubbing or scratching away the layers of paint to create his images. Roche Rabell's work can be found in the permanent collections of the

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Museum of Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Juan and the

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. Roche Rabell died on November 17, 2018, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, after suffering from lung cancer. He was buried at

Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery __NOTOC__ The Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery () is a colonial-era Catholic cemetery located in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is the final resting place of many of Puerto Rico's most prominent natives and residents. Construction began in ...

. Following the passing of Arnaldo Roche Rabell, his estate officially appointed Galería Botello as the exclusive representative of his work. This includes legal authority over matters related to certificates of authenticity and the verification of his artworks.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roche Rabell, Arnaldo 1955 births 2018 deaths Burials at Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery Puerto Rican painters Artists from San Juan, Puerto Rico School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni Neo-expressionist artists University of Puerto Rico alumni Deaths from lung cancer