Juan Manuel De la Rosa (1945 – 2021) was a painter, engraver, and ceramicist who was known for his works on handmade paper. He studied lesser-known techniques for painting and papermaking from Japan, Egypt, Fiji, and France; his handmade paper is typically made of linen, cotton, or hemp. With these traditional approaches, he creates layers and adds new dimensions to his artworks.[1][2]
Born in Sierra Hermosa, Zacatecas, Mexico, de la Rosa studied at the Autonomous University of Nuevo León and La Esmeralda in Mexico City. The Nuevo León government gave him a grant to study and work at Atelier Clot and the National School of Fine Arts in Paris and the Dimitri Papageorgiou workshop in Spain. De la Rosa has taught courses in institutions in Argentina, Colombia, Japan, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela. His works have been exhibited at the Manuel Felguérez Museum of Abstract Art, Zacatecas, Mexico; the Amalgama Gallery, Brussels; and the Mexican Cultural Institute, Paris.[3]
He died on 15 July 2021.[2] He is survived by his three daughters Alejandra, Natalia, and Valentina, and his son Pablo Emiliano.[citation needed]
Juan Manuel De la Rosa was born in Sierra Hermosa, a small village in the municipality of Villa de Cos, Zacatecas, in 1945. At the age of 17, he studied at the Arts Workshop at the University of Nuevo Leon. In the years 1962 to 1963, he moved to Mexico City to continue his studies at the National School of Painting, Sculpture, and Engraving The Esmeralda, the National Institute of Fine Arts (INBA), founded in 1927 under President Plutarco Elias Calles. In the late sixties (1969), he moved to the shoal area to study at the University of Guanajuato. He won a scholarship to study at the Atelier Clot, the Bramsen, the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and Dimitri Papaguerguiu's workshop in Madrid.[4][5]
He is a noted painter, engraver, and maker of paper and ceramics. Juan Manuel De la Rosa has throughout his career specialized studies on various techniques of making handmade paper in countries like Egypt, the USA, and Japan. He has also taught courses in this specialty at different institutions in various countries.[6]
The painter presented the exhibition The Desert of Salt, on July 3 at the Headquarters of Art, located in the former Convent of San Francisco, Zacatecas. His work has been noted for being humble and smart. He has visited countries such as Venezuela, the United States, Switzerland, Belgium, Colombia, Argentina, Spain, and several states in Mexico, with solo exhibitions since 1966 with its first exhibition in the Monterrey State Gallery. Since then has had more than 30 solo exhibitions in cities such as Aguascalientes, Puebla, Zacatecas Mexico City, Guanajuato, Morelia, Buenos Aires, Zurich, Madrid, Brussels, Caracas, San Francisco, and Bogota.