Praxis

In 1963, after almost a decade of work and study in the United States, Italy, and France, Aróstegui returned home. While in Europe, he had met Amaru Barahona, a writer from Costa Rica, and discovered that they shared many concerns about the suffering of the working class in their countries. Back home in Central America, they reached out to César Izquierdo (1937-2015), a like-minded artist from Guatemala, and the three established a meeting place where artists, poets, and intellectuals could discuss their radical political ideas without fear.

They called themselves “Praxis” (practice, as distinguished from theory), and put together a manifesto that laid out their goals and principles. Their motto: Action, dynamism, and a permanent state of restlessness. And on August 23, 1963, they opened their headquarters – the Galería Praxis – in Managua.

The fledgling movement was composed chiefly of artists who had studied with Rodrigo Peñalba. It included Leoncio Sáenz, Genaro Lugo (1933-2010), Leonel Vanegas (1942-1989), Luis Urbina (1937-2005), Noel Flores (b.1940), Arnoldo Guillén (b.1941), Orlando Sobalvarro (1943-2008), and Dino Aranda (b.1945).

There came a moment when [Nicaraguan] painting seemed to be at a standstill,” said Aróstegui. “Students from the school would go to the shores of Lake Managua where there were miserable people in cardboard houses, and from that they would paint something beautiful. Those of us in Praxis said no, paintings can’t always continue being pretty, touristy. Instead, we have to show the reality of the country we are living in.”

The Praxis artists depicted a poor country that was plagued by serious problems and ruled by a wealthy dictatorship. They incorporated discarded objects and unconventional materials like aluminum cans, bones, and shells in their work, and created strange textures. Their paintings were often dark and brooding, with visual references that challenged the social and political hierarchy. Nicaragua’s volcanoes were frequently present to perhaps suggest the constant threat of danger. Lake Managua was a frequent image, too. It was often painted the color of mud – the color it really was – rather than the traditional but idealized blue. Common themes were man versus nature… pre-Columbian and colonial culture… the desecration of the environment and social injustice.

The Praxis artists had very little money to work with, but they gradually made progress in spreading their ideas. They organized lectures, poetry readings, and art shows. Well-known writers, artists, art historians, and critics took notice, and came from other countries to witness and participate in the excitement of this cultural revolution. These included Selden Rodman (the United States), José Gómez-Sicre (Cuba), Marta Traba (Argentina), Raquel Tibol (Mexico), and John Canaday (a critic for The New York Times).

The influential magazine Visual Arts, published by the Organization of American States (OAS), began publishing the works of Praxis. As a result of this exposure, Praxis artists received many invitations from abroad. Some participated in important international events, including the Concurso de la Xerox in Panama. They exhibited at the Instituto de Cultura Hispánica in Spain and in Mexico’s fine arts museums.

On December 23,1972, in the middle of the night, a 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit Managua. Thousands were killed and a quarter of a million people were left homeless. The city center was in ruins, and Nicaragua’s growing visual arts scene came to an abrupt halt.

The recovery took many years. The country was not only struggling to rebuild after the earthquake, it was being torn apart by a violent civil war, with the revolutionary Sandinistas attempting to oust President Somoza’s dictatorship.

Galería Tagüe, owned by art critic Mercedes Gordillo, emerged from the rubble. The gallery sold paintings that had survived the quake, providing the Praxis artists with much needed funds that made it possible for them to continue to create new work. It also served as a place where the artists could come together. They held lunadas (gatherings by the light of the moon) in the countryside, singing and reading poetry as they worked. At its height, in the 1960s and 70s, Praxis produced what some critics considered to be the best modern paintings in Central America. In 2013, the group celebrated its fifty-year anniversary and was recognized for its impact on the painting and culture of Nicaragua with an impressive exhibit and reception at the Banco Central de Nicaragua.

Praxis

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