statue by Byron Galvez

PORTRAIT

Byron Gálvez was born in 1941 in Mixquiahuala, State of Hidalgo, Mexico, and since an early age manifested his artistic restlessness. His father, who was a merchant and farmer, was a passionate about literature, and played violin in a jazz band as well. In this manner the painter grew up naturally linked to expressions of culture.

At 16, he decided to move to Mexico City, with the primary goal of studying art at the San Carlos National College of Visual Arts. There, between 1958 and 1962 he studied and had as teachers, among others, the Spanish painter Antonio Rodriguez Luna, the etching master Francisco Moreno Capdevila, Luis Nushizawa, Santos Balmori and Antonio Ramirez. He was forged, as can be seen, among a generation of first rate teachers, which motivated him to follow his vocation as artist steadily and tenaciously. Between 1962 and 1964 he carried out post graduate studies, specializing in painting. At the same time he was a founding member of the Metal Sculpture Workshop of the National School of Fine Arts of the National         Autonomous University of Mexico.

In 1964 he held his first individual exhibit, and since then has held over 60 in the major forums of Mexico, and various cities through the United States, Europe and Latin America. He has   also participated in copious collective exhibits. A singular occurrence in his career occurred when, being very young, the famous American actor Vincent Price bought every work that made up his first individual exhibit. Showing his astonishing productive capacity, the painter created a brand new, 45-work exhibit. Amazed at Byron Galvez's ability, Price named him "A Mexican Picasso".

Since then he has been honored with over 15 awards and honors recognizing his diverse and vast creation. Throughout his intense career as an artist he has participated in special programs filmed for the Directorate of Radio, TV and Cinematography.

Travel has been fundamental for his artistic upbringing; he has traveled multiple times to the European continent, visiting the most important museums of the old world. He considers this activity an unrivaled experience for the growth of an artist.

His artistic production, which embraces sculpture, etching, sketch and painting, is part of important private collections in Mexico and abroad. Important writers have written about his work, among others, Jorge Juan Crespo de la Serna, Alejandro Aura, Berta Taracena, Santos Balmori, Pablo Fernandez Marquez, Enrique F. Gual and Margarita elken.

Since 2001 he executed the creation of his conceptual and executive project of the David Ben Gurion Cultural Park. This urban mega-project has invaluable social and artistic repercussions for the state of Hidalgo, it is located in the metropolitan zone of the city of Pachuca. In the   park we find constructions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art of Hidalgo (MACOH), the Silver Drop Auditorium, a convention center, a Library, a Sculpture park, jogging circuit,an open-air audiorama inspired in the foundations of Pre-colombian architecture and a first class hoteL TIle geographic core of the park is the central esplanade, measuring nearly 8 acres (1300 x 260 feet), it is titled "Tribute to the World's Women"; designed by Master Byron Galvez as a gigantic pictorial mosaic it is unique in its genre.