Josignacio

Josignacio
Jose Ignacio Sanchez Rius
Born	(1963-10-24) 24 October 1963 (age 53) Havana, Cuba
Nationality	Cuban
Known for	Abstract Expressionism, Abstract art, Painting
Notable work	The 3 O'clock, Red Fish, The Virtual Key, Rhapsody Blue, Plastic Paint Medium
Movement	Contemporary art "Cuban Generation of the 80's"
Awards	Hortt38 Best In Show, 1st Place in EVMCC '79 and '80

Jose Ignacio Sanchez Rius, better known as Josignacio, is a contemporary Cuban artist who is associated with neo-figurative and abstract painting.

Born in Havana, Cuba, on October 24, 1963, he has resided in the USA since 1989. Josignacio is one of the artists of the controversial "La Generacion de los 80" (The 80's Generation), which includes José Bedia Valdés, Humberto Castro, Rubén Torres Llorca, and Tomás Sánchez, among others. Some of his artwork is available on display at the Laura Brunetti Art Gallery located in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida and online at artnet.

In 1984, he created the Plastic Paint Medium, a technique consisting of the use of epoxy resins as an "agglutinating medium" and "pigments" as colorants, obtaining a real plastic finish with a new visual effect.

Josignacio resides in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida.

Josignacio came from a family of intellectuals and was surrounded by a vast collection of paintings. During his youth his home looked more like a museum than a place to dwell. There had been many family friends who visited regularly. Among them were painters such as Roberto Fabelo, , Amelia Peláez, Felipe López, Mariano Rodriguez "El Gallego Posada" and Gilberto Marino.

During these visits these painters taught Josignacio new methods and painting techniques. Notably, in one of Josignacio's interviews, he had been asked "when did you begin to paint?" His reply was: "I do not recall when; it had been a part of my daily life like everything else." Among his teachers his talent as a future painter was obvious, and in 1983 he went presented himself to the admissions test at the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA). Out of the many who tested, he was one of the few to pass. Overjoyed with the news, Josignacio shaved his head, stating "new life, new hair." When he came to school to attend the Dean banned him from the premises and from attending because they interpreted his head shaving as protest against the government. One of Josignacio's teachers, Consuelo Castaneda, also had been banned from the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) because of having a punk hairstyle.