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Artists of Ibiza

Artists on Ibiza

Julio Bauzá

by José P Ribas


 


Artists

We have another fascinating artist for you this week, Julio Bauzá who was born in 1936 in Montevideo, Uruguay, and whose ancestors were from Mallorca.

He studied architecture in Montevideo, whilst working in the family's building company and also studied art, geology and archaeology.

He left the River Plate estuary at the start of the 1970s and came to Europe to continue his studies with his wife and his son and daughter (Alfredo and Virginia). Their third son (Pablo) was born in Barcelona, where Julio was working in archaeological projects, after travelling and working in different European countries.

In 1975 they arrived on the Island where Julio was employed in a new project with the new "Archaeology Museum of Ibiza" in the Punic Necropolis of "Puig des Molins," one of the most important sites of the Phoenician-Carthaginian-Punic world.

Since he stepped on the Island he says it was in a way like coming back home. He was completely captivated by it and its style of living and where he was going to establish and start a complete new life. Even though it was quite hard at the beginning, he never left Eivissa apart from very short periods of time.

Julio continues working in archaeology, especially with the Punic ceramics and terracotta and for the museum of Eivissa. He started reproducing - at full size - the original Punic (Carthaginian) terracotta, made of local clays, that he himself had to look for and prepare, using the local and ancestral techniques, producing figures and symbols of the local Punic God "Bess" and Goddess, Queen and Mother "Tanit".

They came hot out of the oven to be sold in the museum's shops. (There are two: the Archaeology Museum in Eivissa, at the top of the Old Town, inside the big walls, by the cathedral, and the "new" one in "Puig des Molins", by the Punic Necropolis).

The terracotta artwork was a big success and still is, but not as much as another of Julio's most commercial creations, another decorated model of a standard "Don Quijote" windmill. It has been a big success at the "Hippie Markets" and in the ceramic shops.

Julio Bauzá soon opened his own ceramic shop, "Es Mulí", where he also has his workshop, to sell exclusively his own productions, in the little village and artisans' centre of Sant Rafél.

His knowledge of geology most probably helped him to produce his own personal ceramics, incorporating new materials and different techniques of enamel in them His models were also almost revolutionary at the time, at least on this Island, with an abstract concept in his compositions, very much appreciated by ceramic lovers and collectors.

There is an old, solid tradition of very good local ceramists on the Islands ("Gabrialet" and "Toniet" from Formentera, "Daifa" "Kinoto" "Can Negre" and others in Eivissa). Julio Bauzá has no doubt increased the number of local ceramist masters. His personal techniques and style can be distinguished from them all, because of its strong personality, artistic feeling and very well elaborated technique.

As business was going fine, he bought a plot of land, on which he designed and built his own house, a mixture of a traditional Ibicenco "casa payesa" and a functional modern house, with a very good final result. It is indeed a pretty house, where he lives with his new family, Estrella and Julia, their charming seven-year-old daughter, a real gift from God into their life.

He also built a new and much larger workshop by the side of the house, almost a little factory, with three new ovens for the ceramics and industrial machinery to work on his new projects. Here, I must say that Julio is an extraordinary worker, his life is his workshop, his art and his family. He doesn't have much time for social life, only visiting some of his friends' exhibitions and now and then, a private dinner with close friends.

As soon as he had the time for it, Julio started with his sculpture and paintings, rather collage, that the experts have described as "Dadaismo" style, using simple natural elements for it, such as seaside rolling stones, iron and metals, and all types of wood and rubbish that appears by the beaches after storms. In his hands, all this "rubbish" transforms itself into beautiful, balanced sculptures in colourful and geometric collages demonstrating mixed techniques of painting skill that reminds me of his architectural past.

But his working potential and his large artistic talent have allowed Julio to participate in quite a few different artistic and public events, such as the creation of the Santa Antonio "Big Egg" (the Columbus Egg) and the project for two monuments in Eivissa Town, together with Toni Hormigo and Luis Ojeda.

He has also been proudly responsible for several murals, such as the one he did in the school of Buscastell with the local children, or in the building of the popular "Fallas Valencianas," the artistic works for San José's night which the Valencian community of the Island have celebrated in Sant Antoni de Portmany for the past two years.

One of the reasons that Julio can be involved with so many projects is that he has teamed up with a young and very talented local artist, Pedro Juan Hormigo, who started almost eight years ago as a pupil in his ceramic workshop. Since then, Pedro has been by his side, helping him in most of the big artistic projects, like the "Fallas", part of the museum ceramics, or the Christmas decoration that you can see this year, in "Vara de Rey" the main square of Eivissa City, created and installed by Julio and Pedro.

According to Pedro, another of Julio's talents is his great quality as a teacher, as a master in most of the Arts, basically because of his knowledge of the materials and all the techniques to work with them, as well as his calm and educated character. In fact, Julio is one of the Balearic jury that gives the title as "Master Artisan" to the local new craftsman. So, as we can see, we have in Julio's person a complete artist, always learning, always ready to teach.

Private and Collective Exhibitions

1980

Galería 1748, Barcelona

1981

Sala del Museo Arqueologico, Eivissa

Escuelas Nacionales de Sant Rafél

1982

VIII Semana cultural de Eivissa i Formentera

1984

V Salón de Primavera del M.A.C. Eivissa

Sala La Caixa, Eivissa

1985

VI Salón de Primavera del M.A.C. Eivissa

1986

Galería Skyros, Eivissa

I Premio Universidad del Mediterráneo. (Sculpture)

1987

Galería s'Hort, Sant Miquel, Eivissa

Escultura para la escuela de Sant Rafél

1988

Galería Maloney, Eivissa

Aniv. Carlos III Fundación Dudek. Eivissa

Aniv. Carlos III, Ayuntamiento de Eivissa

1989

Seleccionado en "Premio Valladolid de Escultura"

Galería C'an d'Aifa, Santa Gertrudis, Eivissa

Mural en hierro "Residencia Friese" Es Cubells. Eivissa

Finalist "VIII Premio Vázquez Díaz de Escultura" Huelva, (Spain)

1990

Finalist "IV Certamen de Escultura Ciudad de Burriana", Castellón

Proyecto Monumento a Colón, Sant Antoni, Eivissa. Colaboración, Bauzá- Hormigo-Ojeda

1992

Proyecto de dos monumentos para la ciudad de Eivissa. Colaboración. Bauzá-Hormigo-Ojeda

Inaguración del monumento a Colón, Sant Antoni, Eivissa

Galería Es Llimoner, Sant Antoni, Eivissa

1993

Sala Ayuntamiento Sant Josép, Eivissa

Galería Berri, Sant Agustí, Eivissa

Bistro Art, Sant Josép, Eivissa

1994

Galería Berri, Sant Agustí, Eivissa

Indiana Café, Sant Rafél, Eivissa. (escultura aire libre)

Galería Alhadros (collective) Eivissa

1995

Ayuntamiento de Sant Josép, Eivissa, (collective)

Galería Alhadros, Supermercado del Arte. Eivissa.

1996

Ayuntamiento de Sant Josép, Eivissa, (collective)

Galería Alhadros, "Homenaje a Goya" Eivissa

Ayuntamiento de Zaragoza,"Homenaje a Goya" (collective). Spain

"Artes y Oficios" "Mon Punic" Eivissa

Galería Alhadros, Supermercado del Arte. Eivissa

1997

Feria Internacional Arte Sur, Granada. Spain

Galería Alhadros, (collective) Eivissa

Galería Van der Voort, Eivissa. Supermercado del Arte

1999

Galería Can Tixedo, Sant Antoni, Eivissa

"Art Ibiza 1999"

2000 - l

"Falla Comunidad Valenciana de Eivissa"

Galería Can Tixedo, Sant Antoni, Eivissa. (Colectiva)

2001 - II

"Falla Comunidad Valenciana de Eivissa

"Art Ibiza 2001"

Galería Can Tixedo, (collective)
 
   
   
     
All pictures courtesy of Julio Bauzá

José P Ribas

josepribas@ibizahistoryculture.com