Julio Alpuy

Julio Uruguay Alpuy (January 27, 1919 – April 5, 2009) was an Uruguayan painter, sculptor, and muralist.

During his early career, Alpuy was a part of the Taller Torres-García (School of the South) and the constructive art movement.

While his early works were greatly influenced by Torres-García's theories about what he called Constructive Universalism, Alpuy drew from a wide variety of cultures and myths to create works that broke the boundaries of the constructive grid.

Additionally, his studies in Europe and Latin America helped develop an interest in Cubism and myths that influenced later works.

Alpuy had a prolific career and his works are exhibited throughout the world.

Alpuy was born in Tacuarembó, Uruguay, the capital of the Tacuarembó department in northern Uruguay, on January 27, 1919, to Sixto Alpuy and Virginia Bevans.

When Alpuy was 18 months old his mother died, so he was raised by his paternal grandmother and aunts.

Alpuy's childhood was spent in the countryside, where he learned various farming skills, but he also attended school.

At the age of sixteen, Alpuy was sent to Montevideo to continue his education.

However, to pay for school he worked during the day and went to night classes.

While in Montevideo, Alpuy became friends with members the Libertarian Youth (Juventudes Libertarias). Alpuy attributes these years in association with the Juventudes Libertarias to have helped further his understandings of freedom, justice, and respect.

During these early years, Alpuy had little to no interaction with art.

In 1939, Alpuy walked into an exhibition of José Cúneo's watercolors.

Alpuy was amazed at the watercolors, so he bought various supplies and began drawing.

Shortly after, Víctor Bachetta, a member of the Association of Constructive Art, connected Alpuy with Joaquín Torres-Garcia.

Alpuy then joined the Taller Torres-García (TTG) in 1940.

Alpuy's years at the TTG changed the trajectory of his life.

He found a community that taught him how to create, but also challenged him intellectually.

After several years studying under Torres-Garcia, Alpuy began traveling around Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East.

These travels provide new materials and ideas for Alpuy, as well as induced him to many new artist and thinkers.

In December 1945, Torres-García encouraged Alpuy, and several others at the Taller, to travel in Latin America and study pre-Columbian art.

Alpuy traveled primarily in Bolivia and Peru, and visited the "Gate of the Sun" in Tiwanaku.

He additionally visited "Island of the Sun" and "Island of the Moon" at Lake Titicaca and Machu Picchu.

Alpuy credits this experience in helping him understand Torres-García's ideas.

After Torres-García's death, in August 1949, Alpuy began teaching drawing at the Taller.

In between his travels abroad, Alpuy taught drawing at the TTG until 1955.

His students include José Collell, Walter Deliotti, and Mario Lorieto.

He remained there until 1955.

During these years Alpuy continued to develop his understanding of Constructive Universalism, but he began to divert from Torres-García's constructive style.

By 1961, with over twenty years of experience he moved to New York City, NY and in 1965 married Joana Simoes.

Over the next forty-plus years, Alpuy lived and worked in New York.

This remained his permanent residence until his death on April 5, 2009, at the age of 90.

Alpuy's time at the TTG with Torres-Garcia and the other artists was invaluable.

Torres-Garcia led a school where developing an ethical approach to artmaking was as important as the work itself.

He taught his students how to create with various mediums including stone, wood, and clay, as well as the theory of Constructive Universalism.

Torres-García hoped to construct a universally understandable form of art that transcended the bounds of time and culture.

He composed his works through the use of a grid or as he called it "structure" whose proportions were set with the geometry of the Golden Mean, a recurrent number in the history of art that also appears in natural forms.

He then chose archetypal symbols which he believed communicated universal messages and situated them inside the structure that organized the composition.

The theory of Constructive Universalism began to shape Alpuy's work, and by the mid-forties he was painting in a style similar to the artists at the Taller.

While Alpuy and the other artists at the TTG focused on creating a form of art linked to the more general tradition of abstraction, they were also interested in the art of ancient cultures, especially those of South America.