Luis Germán Cajiga
Quebradillas, PR, 1934
Biography Details
Painter and printmaker. In 1952, with the help of Inés Mendoza de Muñoz Marín, wife of the governor of Puerto Rico, Cajiga moved to San Juan where he studied with Lorenzo Homar, Rafael Tufiño, José Meléndez Contreras, and Félix Bonilla Norat at the Graphic Arts Workshop of División de Educación a la Comunidad (DivEdCo). He studied perspective under painter Fran Cervoni. From 1960 to 1962, he worked as assistant to Homar at the Graphic Arts Workshop of Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña.. In 1975 he earned a master’s degree in education at Interamerican University of Puerto Rico and since 1979 has had his own gallery in Old San Juan. He has become known for his local-color painting, in which he depicts scenes and landscapes of urban life, principally in Old San Juan.
Artist Statement
As an artist, I’ve always felt the desire to draw attention to my people, as well as my country; the scenery and my countryside, which most of the time go unnoticed. There is a message of love for my country in each work of art.
Luis Germán Cajiga, 1981
Source: Paintings from the Collection of the Museum of History, Anthropology and Art Catalogue, University of Puerto Rico, September 29 to November 4, 1994.
Formation
Education
1975
- Master’s in Education. Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico, San Germán, Puerto Rico
1969
- Bachelor’s in Arts. Antillean College, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
1960-1962
- Printmaking Workshop. Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1952-1958
- Printmaking Workshop. División de Educación de la Comunidad, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Exhibitions
Solo Shows
1975
- Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Lehigh County Community College, Pennsylvania, United States
1973
- Museo de Arte de Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico
1972
- Universidad de Puerto Rico, Humacao Campus, Humacao, Puerto Rico
- Universidad de Puerto Rico, Arecibo Campus, Arecibo, Puerto Rico
- Universidad de Puerto Rico, Bayamón Campus, Bayamón, Puerto Rico
- Universidad de Puerto Rico, Ponce Campus, Ponce, Puerto Rico
- Museo del Grabado Latinoamericano, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1971
- Galería La Casa del Arte, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Colegio de Ingenieros de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1968
- Centro Cultural de Mayagüez, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
1967
- Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Colegio de Agricultura, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
1966
- Ateneo Puertorriqueño, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1963
- Centro de Estudiantes, Universidad de Puerto Rico
1962
- Centro Cultural de Humacao, Humacao, Puerto Rico
- Centro Cultural de Quebradillas, Quebradillas, Puerto Rico
- Centro Cultural de Santa Isabel, Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico
1961
- Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1955-1966
- Ateneo Puertorriqueño, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Group Shows
2012
- Interconexiones: Lecturas Curatoriales de la Colección MAPR, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2007
- Contexto puertorriqueño: del rococó colonial al arte global, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1992
- 45 años de de expresión gráfica puertorriqueña, Pabellón de Puerto Rico en Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain
1987
- La estampa serigráfica en Puerto Rico, Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1987
- Puerto Rican Painting: Between Past and Present, The Squibb Gallery, Princeton, New Jersey, United States
1970, 1981, 1983, 1987
- Bienal de San Juan del grabado latinoamericano y el Caribe, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1973
- La herencia artística de Puerto Rico: época precolombina al presente, Museo del Barrio; New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States
1963
- Gráfica Puertorriqueña, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1958
- I Bienal Interamericana de pintura y grabado, Mexico City, México
1957
- Puerto Rican Artists, River Side Museum, New York, United States
Awards, Distinctions and Achievements
1971
- Sterling House Award. San Juan, Puerto Rico
1969
- Second Prize. Christmas Competition, Mayor’s Office (Mayoralty) of San Juan, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1966
- First Prize. IBEC Competition, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1964
- First Prize. Christmas Festival, Ateneo Puertorriqueño, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1954
- Second Prize. Fire Prevention Week Competition, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Collections
- Ateneo Puertorriqueño, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- La Fortaleza, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Museo de Arte de Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico
- Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Bibliography
Catalogues
Babín, Maria Teresa. Programa de la Cultura Puertorriqueña.
Fuego Divino, Libro de Poemas Ilustrados.
Pintores Puertorriqueños Contemporáneos.
Pintores Puertorriqueños, Portafolio Museo de Arte de Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Portafolio Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, 1958.
Newspapers
El Mundo, Suplemento Dominical (San Juan, PR), 11 de julio de 1971.
El Nuevo Día (San Juan, PR), 28 de agosto de 1976.
El Mundo (San Juan, PR), 27 de marzo de 1974.
El Mundo (San Juan, PR), 26 de septiembre de 1976.
El Mundo (San Juan, PR), 18 de enero de 1976.
La Hora (San Juan, PR), 27 de septiembre de 1973.
The San Juan Star (San Juan, PR), 19 de enero de 1975.
El Mundo (San Juan, PR), 4 de octubre de 1973.
El Mundo (San Juan, PR), 14 de enero de 1975.
Magazines
Boletín Academia de Artes y Ciencia, Tomo IV, núm. 2, 1969.