Jazzamoart

Jazzamoart was born with the name of Francisco Javier Vázques Estupiñán on May 28, 1951, in Irapuato, Guanajuato. He is one of seven children born to Rasaura Estupiñán and Javier Vázquez Farfán. He comes from a family of artists, having contact with art from a young age. He says his childhood home as a gathering place for artists and writers. His father is a painter and was his first teacher. His father recognized his talent and created a studio for him when he was only six. At age twelve, he created landscapes of the Bajío region and began to sell his work when he was still a minor. As a teen he exhibited his work at the Museo Nacional de Antropología and at an exhibition at Chapultepec Castle, Agustín Yañez, the Secretary of Public Education, saw his work and offered a scholarship. In the early 1960s, he once helped musician Freddy Marichal carrying his drums at a club called Fra Diavolo. He heard the music and was fascinated and began to draw musicians. He first began to call himself Jazzamoart at age 20, when he first began collecting jazz records and painting to them. The name is a fusion of the words “jazz,” “amo” (I love) and “art.” He is a serious collector of records, buying at least one every week for the last quarter century. The jazz collection is wide-ranging and current but his favorites are classics such as Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk. He is not a fan of New Orleans jazz saying that it is too mellow and lacks intensity. His obsession with jazz music is such that musicians often appear in his dreams, especially Charlie Parker. In 1973, he married Nora Smith, who has since managed the business end of the art as well as the driving as Jazzamoart chooses not to learn. The couple have three children, Jazzamoart, Viart (“via”(life) and “art”) and Poettier (“poet” and “tier”(earth)). They also have one grandson, who is also named Jazzamoart. He lives in Mexico City, with his studio, father's apartment and brother's music studio across the street. His oldest son plays saxophone and has toured with bands in Latin America, the US and Europe. ==Career==

Jazzamoart began his career selling paintings of generic scenes of Mexican life on the streets of Mexico City. He has had over 350 individual and collective exhibitions of his work on various continents. His first professional exhibition was in 1971 at the Centro Cultural Isidro Fabela in Mexico City. His first individual exhibition was in 1972 at the Centro Cultural San Ángel in Mexico City. During the rest of the 1970s he presented his first sculptures at ARCON Gallery in Mexico City (1976) and exhibited his work at the Tercer Espacio Gallery in Tampico, Juglar Gallery, El Agora Gallery in Mexico City (1976), Casa de la Paz in Mexico City (1977), Teatro Principal in Guanajuato and the Concurso de Pintura Dante Alighieri in Mexico City (1979). In the 1980s, he exhibited at the Concurso National de Arte de INBA (1981, 1982, 1985), I Bienal Tamayo (1982), the Metropolitan Gallery of the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, José María Velasco Gallery and Chapultepec Gallery (1983), Palacio de Bellas Artes (1984, 1986), Museo del Chopo and Ollin Yolliztli in Mexico City, Casa de Artes de Oaxaca(1984), Phoenix Art Museum, L’space Cardin Gallery in Paris, the Joan Miró Internactional Drawing Competition in Barcelona, and the Rufino Tamayo Museum (1985), I Biennal in Cuenca, Ecuador, III Tamayo Biennial and I Biennial in Miami (1986), Bronx Museum of the Arts, Carrillo Gil Art Museum and San Carlos Museum in Mexico City (1987) and the Scott Alan Gallery (1988). These include the International Drawing Prize Joan Miró in Barcelona (1985), grand prize at the I Biennial of Miami (1986), Salón Nacional de Pintura prize (1987), grand prize of the VI Festival del Centro Histórico in Mexico City (1990), San Juan Bautista Medal from the Universidad de La Salle in Mexico City (1999), Cangrejo de Oro from the city of Tampico (2002), Key to the City and the Silver Gardina from the state of Nayarit (2004), first prize for painting at the International Art Contest in Australia (2005) and first prize at the Artelista Contest in Barcelona, Spain (2006). Other recognitions include membership in the Sistema Nacional de Creadores de Arte from 1993 to 2000, as well as membership in the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana. In 1991, José Alfredo Botaya filmed a documentary about the artist and in 2000, musician Francisco Téllez composed a series based on Jazzamoart's work. In 2009, the city of Irapuato opened the Jazzamoart Gallery and La Rana Editorial publishes a book of his art called “Jazzamaoart” with texts by Carlos Montemayor and Jorge Juanes. His work can be found as part of the collection of the Museum of Latin American Art in Los Angeles. ==Artistry==

Jazzamoart has created oils, graphic art, ink, acrylics, watercolors, pastels, pencil and carbon drawings, sculptures in wood, metal and ceramics, toys, Judas figures, rug designs, masks, stage scenery, piñatas, Day of the Dead altars, and designs for boxes, suitcases, ties, dresses and furniture. He has said that while other artists have used the music as inspiration, he does not think there is anyone who dedicates as much to it as he does. He is a member of the generation of Mexican artists born in the 1950s. ==References==