Fidelio Ponce
Initiated studies in San Alejandro from 1913 through 1918, year
in which disappeared until 1923. He moved to a suburb
neighborhood where he teaches drawings to poor kids and works on
commercial arts.
His first exhibitions at the Lyceum, becomes a great success for
him. His work "Las Beatas" is awarded with a prize from El
Salon Nacional, as well as prizes from El Salon de Arte Moderno
in Havana, in 1937. At this time his career is in a roll;
traveled to New York and open exhibitions in the Delphis Studio.
Again, received first prize for his work "Los Niños" from the
Salon Nacional, and then disappeared until 1940. The Museum of
Modern Art in New York obtain his work: "Mujeres" as part of its
permanent collection.
Ponce, which had a great personality, was a student of Romañach
and his work was influenced by his academic procedures. Today
his paintings are a disaster. Much of the colors are gone and
the surfaces are cracked. He never took great care with his
work, neither knew how to, since never learned methods for
preparing the oils adequately. He was obsessed with the white
color, which he used to call "pintura nacarada" in order to
project light color from it. He enjoyed Kandinsky's famous
words: "...white is a great silence full of possibilities.."