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Biography (español)
He curated exhibitions commemorating Hispanic Heritage Month at the Manhattan Borough President's gallery for four years and co-curated an "AIDS Awareness" show at the Broadway Mall, New York. He was a finalist at the "Wildlife & Environmental Art Show" at the Los Angeles Audubon Society and "Art Achievement Awards" nominee at the Artists' Society International in San Francisco. His first solo show "Landscapes" was in Toronto, Canada. Twenty percent of the proceeds helped the victims of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano disaster in Armero, Colombia. The "en América: A Visual Narrative of the Immigrant Experience" solo exhibition at the Edward Williams Gallery, Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey, highlighted the contributions of immigrants to the United States. At two major events in New York, some of his artworks were auctioned to help raise funds for the Verizon's New York Hispanic Support Organization Scholarship Fund and for the non-profit Long Island for Colombia's "Proyecto Buenaventura 2006". As President of the West Side Arts Coalition (WSAC) in New York, Manzano co-organized the first international exhibition at the Khan Museum in the City of Ashkelon, Israel. The Mayor of Ashkelon, Benny Vaknin, awarded Manzano the medal of the city for his services to the arts. He organized an exhibition celebrating the parks and monuments of the City of New York at the Arsenal Gallery in Central Park, under the auspices of the New York City Parks Department. He also participated in the Prevailing Human Spirit fund-raising exhibition to help September 11 Charities. He received awards from Asociación de Hijos y Amigos de Colombia, Fairleigh Dickinson University, and Empire State College/SUNY for his contribution to the arts and Hispanic culture. He was a special guest at Hunter College’s English as Second Language program where he spoke to the students about the importance of learning this language. As a guest speaker at the New York University’s Academic Achievement Program of the College of Art and Sciences, Manzano discussed with students the importance of arts in society and in the public schools. He was a guest artist at Stony Brook University's 2003-2004 W. Burghardt Turner Fellowship Annual Gala Presentation at Stony Brook, New York. He was a Mentor Assistant at the Empire State College where he administered the visiting artists/critique program of the "Studio Semester Program" and assisted in teaching perceptual drawing. He is the In-Resident Director of the School of Visual Arts' Summer Arts Abroad program "Painting in Barcelona," Barcelona, Spain, and faculty member at the Empire State College where he teaches art history and drawing courses. Mr. Manzano graduated from La Academia de Dibujo in Colombia and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the School of Visual Arts (SVA) and his Master of Arts degree from Empire State College/SUNY, both in New York. His professional studies included coursework at La Llotja Escola d'Art, Barcelona, Spain, and at the Accademia di Belli Arti, Florence, Italy. |
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RAÚL MANZANO’s paintings reflect on socio-economic, cultural, environmental and political issues. His artworks in oils, watercolors, pastels and drawings raise viewers’ awareness and social consciousness. Iconic symbols such as the American flag and Statue of Liberty are his main concepts. He has curated, competed, and conducted solo and group exhibitions in the United States, Canada and Israel.
