(Open Studios 8 on map)
Born in La Línea de la Concepcion, Cádiz, Juan Soler is a Bachelor of Fine Arts in the fields of sculpture and painting from the University of Granada.
During this formative stage he directed his interest in academic subjects that he considers complementary and inseparable: painting, sculpture, drawing, engraving, photography, scenography and restoration. He has taken part in multiple exhibitions and obtained a variety of grants and awards. In this period he collaborated with university and provincial; he also worked as an illustrator and poster designer, and began to develop his first commissions.
In 1991 Soler won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Fine arts in Naples, expanding his education in sculpture, photography, printmaking and scenography, at the hands of artists like Mimmo Iodice, Bruno Starita, Carmine Di Ruggiero or Giovanni Girosi, all of recognized international prestige. In Naples he developed some design of scenography.
Back in Spain, he established his first studio in Granada, where he developed works in sculpture, scenography and art restoration.
In 1993, Juan Soler won a grant to collaborate with Dutch sculptor Ruud Dijkers for the International Salon of universities and schools of art and design in Granada. He was commissioned for a sculpture for the campus at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Granada and another of Saint Francis of Assisi for the municipality of Loja, Granada.
In 1994 he travelled to Peru with a grant from the International Cooperation Agency in order to expand his PhD studies. While there, he was commissioned to create a sculpture for the campus of the Pontifical University of Peru.
Two years later, he designed the scenery for "The Siege of Numantia" and "Don Juan In Front of the Mirror", both dramas directed by Francisco Ortuño. The latter, premiered at the V Don Quijote Festival of Hispanic Theatre in Paris and went on to the Madrid Sur Theatre Festival, later touring in Europe, Africa and the USA.
In 1997 he moved to Paris, where he attended courses in Art, Aesthetics and Literature at the Sorbonne and where he took part in several exhibitions and obtained a number of private and public commissions. He also worked with fashion designer Marie Meunier with Haute Couture fabrics, and designed jewellery with strong sculptural influences.
In 1998/99 Soler created the background scenery for "Entremeses", by Miguel de Cervantes, making an extension for the theater, as well as expanding on designs by Federico García Lorca, Hermenegildo Lanz and Ramón Gaya, originally created for "Títeres de cachiporra", for Lorca's famous "La Barraca" theatre company, which premiered in 1932 at the Alhambra Theater, Granada.
Juan Soler went on to design scenery and background curtaining for Flamenco shows in Seville and elswhere in Spain.
In 2011, he directed and created the scenery and costumes for "La Casa de Bernarda Alba", by Federico García Lorca, which premiered in Jimena de La Frontera, at El Corral de la Paca.
Throughout this period, Soler continued to hold and organize exhibitions, taking commissions for sculpture, painting and design, as well as holding conferences, forums, curating art exhibitions and cultural events in Europe and South America.
Contact:
(+34) 637 239 103
