Javier Tapia (born 1957) is a Peruvian artist and painter.

Biography

Javier Tapia was born in 1957 in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, and grew up in a period of upheaval when

guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...

dominated political and social movements across the country. He moved to the United States in the 1980s, witnessing various phases of humanity: good and evil, intellectual and primitive, connected and separate. Tapia takes these studio themes as abstract shapes and broad strokes to serve as a metaphor for chaos and control, or structure and disorder. In the tradition of the Peruvian Textile, he overlaps, subtracts, and reworks the watercolors, flipping the paper out as bold colors emerge like carvings. The active ingredients emit physically; Work becomes energetic, on the verge of chaos, but organized in the constraints of paperwork. He currently lives in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

and works in the

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a Public university, public research university in Richmond, Virginia, United States. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virgin ...

's Faculty of Painting and Print Production, where he has been teaching since 1988.

Education

From 1984 to 1987, Tapia studied at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

, where he earned his

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

and

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

and was a recipient of a Presidential Scholarship. In 2015, Tapia worked as an associate professor in the Faculty of Fine Arts and Typography at Virginia Commonwealth University. In 2019, Tapia joined the staff of Virginia Commonwealth University. The school has also exhibited the department's art to view Javier's work.

Artworks

Exhibitions

Tapia does not have a specific collection because he also collaborates with other artists on numerous exhibitions. He has more exhibited at the Embassy Art Gallery of Peru,

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, DC; Museo de Osma, Barranco, Peru; Bloom Galleries, Milan, Italy; Hunt Galleries at Mary Baldwin College,

Staunton, Virginia Staunton ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,750. In Virginia, independent cities a ...

; 1708 Gallery, and Anderson Gallery, both, Richmond, Virginia. With him he participated in the Strategies in Contemporary Art of the Americas in Vincent Price Art Museum exhibition. along with colleagues whose works are tied to the legacy of colonialism and challenge the dominant, accepted stories.

Books

Bibliography

Tapia, Javier, and Museo Pedro De Osma. "Javier Tapia En El Museo Pedro De Osma : Acuarelas : 6 De Julio-6 De Agosto Del 2000". Lima, Perú: Museo Pedro De Osma, 2000. Last modified August 6, 2000. https://primo.getty.edu/permalink/f/19q6gmb/GETTY_ALMA21133183980001551 Tapia, Javier. "The Schooling of Puerto Ricans: Philadelphia's Most Impoverished Community." Anthropology & Education Quarterly 29, no. 3 (1998): 297-323. Last modified September 1, 1998. https://imf-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1thbp2d/TN_cdi_crossref_primary_10_1525_aeq_1998_29_3_297 Amano-Dolan, Christina. "VCUarts professor accused of racial profiling will not return to teaching this year". The Common Wealth Times. Last Modified August 21, 2019. https://commonwealthtimes.org/2019/08/21/vcuarts-professor-accused-of-racial-profiling-will-not-return-to-teaching-this-year/

References

External links

Exhibitions of Javier Tapia

Javier Tapia by Art in Embassies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tapia, Javier 1957 births Living people Watercolorists Peruvian artists 21st-century Peruvian painters Peruvian male painters Artists from Lima Peruvian emigrants to the United States Artists from Richmond, Virginia University of Texas at Austin alumni Virginia Commonwealth University faculty