19 Facts About Gonzalo Fonseca

Gonzalo Fonseca was a Uruguayan artist known for his stone sculpting.

Gonzalo Fonseca originally studied to be an architect at the University of Montevideo, but discovered modern art in 1942 after working in the Taller Torres-Garcia workshop.

Gonzalo Fonseca studied painting in the workshop until 1949, and became interested in pre-Columbian art during that time.

Gonzalo Fonseca traveled to Europe in the 1930s, and was exposed to archaeology, anthropology, and history.

However, in 1942 Gonzalo Fonseca left the University to work with Joaquin Torres-Garcia.

Gonzalo Fonseca worked in excavations run by Flinders Petrie in Egypt, Sudan, Syria, and traveled through Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, and Greece.

Gonzalo Fonseca met and married Elizabeth Kaplan, from New York City, in the mid-1950s and moved to Manhattan in 1958 after being awarded a Simon Guggenheim Fellowship.

Gonzalo Fonseca had four children, Quina, Bruno, Caio, and Isabel with Elizabeth Kaplan, two of whom became renowned artists.

In 1962 Gonzalo Fonseca had his first exhibition in the United States, at the Portland Art Museum in Oregon.

Gonzalo Fonseca created wooden reliefs for this exhibition, which laid a foundation for his three-dimensional art.

Gonzalo Fonseca began working in New York and in Italy, near Carrara.

Gonzalo Fonseca started working on large scale pieces mostly of marble, and recycled limestone from New York's demolished buildings.

Gonzalo Fonseca had few solo shows throughout his career, but several group exhibitions in which he became known for his stone sculptures of modern influenced architectural forms.

Gonzalo Fonseca died in Italy at the age of 74 in Seravezza, Italy, in his studio.

Gonzalo Fonseca's pieces offer a sense of mystery, and yet a deeper meaning.

Gonzalo Fonseca's sculptures take architectural reference as well as that of ancient ruins and what he studied while taking part in excavations.

Gonzalo Fonseca was very interested in the nature and history of the stones used in his sculpture.

Gonzalo Fonseca's tribute had four sides, each side with Latin inscriptions indicating the four different kinds of winds in Greek mythology.

Gonzalo Fonseca designed and created a 12-meter high concrete tower as his contribution to the Route of Friendship of the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.