The Art of Writing about Art, Venezuelan Artists under the Gaze of Bélgica Rodríguez

The Fundación BBVA pays tribute to the professional trajectory of art historian and critic Bélgica Rodríguez with an exhibition of works by artists that illustrate a selection of books authored by her. Opening on October 15 at the spaces of the Foundation, the exhibition will remain open to the public until the end of November. Bélgica Rodríguez is known for her passionate and important work in the Venezuelan and Latin American art world, where she has served as curator, teacher, lecturer and cultural manager. She earned a BA in Literature from the Universidad Central de Venezuela, an MA in Art from the Courtauld Institute of Art of the University of London, and a PhD in Art History from the Sorbonne in Paris where she also completed degrees in Museology and Museography. Rodríguez collaborates with several international art magazines. From 1992 to 1994 she was responsible for the 19th and 20th centuries sections of the Handbook of Latin American Studies of the Library of Congress in Washington DC. She cofounded the Arte Plural magazine in Venezuela and has authored more than 40 books including: Breve historia de la escultura en Venezuela (Brief History of Sculpture in Venezuela); La pintura abstracta en Venezuela, 1945-1965 (Abstract Painting in Venezuela, 1945-1965); Ramón Vásquez Brito, el hombre, el artista (Ramón Vásquez-Brito, the Man, the Artist); Arte Centroamericano, una aproximación (Central American Art, an Approximation); Rafa Fernández, Pintor Costarricense (Rafa Fernández, Costa Rican Painter; Benjamín Cañas, pintor de El Salvador (Benjamín Cañas, Painter from El Salvador); Luis Alfredo López Méndez; Homenaje a Enrique Grau; Figuración Fabulación en Venezuela (Figuration and Storytelling in Venezuela); and has published monographs on Jesús Rafael Soto and Ramón Chirino, among others. In recognition of her trajectory as an academic and educator of new generations in the visual arts field, Rodríguez was granted the Orden Única Universidad Central de Venezuela. Likewise, for her contribution to the Venezuelan cultural sector, Rodríguez received the Orden Andrés Bello; for her contributions to the research and dissemination of Central American and Salvadoran art, she was awarded the Orden del Libertador de los Esclavos José Simeón Cañas in the grade of Commander. 2007, and the Orden of Luisa Cáceres de Arismendi from the Legislative Assembly of the state of Nueva Esparta, which is only granted to outstanding women in Venezuela.