Juan Bernal Ponce

Juan Bernal Ponce (17 July 1938 in Valparaíso, Chile – 19 January 2006 in San José, Costa Rica) was a Chilean architect, artist, and university professor who spent half of his life in Costa Rica.

Juan Bernal Ponce
Juan Bernal Ponce in 2004
Born	(1938-07-17)July 17, 1938 Valparaíso, Chile
Died	January 19, 2006(2006-01-19) (aged 67) San José, Costa Rica
Alma mater	University of Chile
Occupation(s)	Architect Painter

Early life

He left in 1974 after a brief stay in Colombia, following the fall of Salvador Allende's government. He then lived in Escazú, west of the city of San José, until his passing.

Career

He started his artistic training under the guidance of such Chilean artists as Hans Soyka and Carlos Hermosilla Alvarez. Subsequently, he entered the School of Fine Arts in Viña del Mar in 1954. In 1957, he entered the School of Architecture at the University of Chile, and in 1960, he began studying architecture at the University of Chile in Santiago, graduating in 1965.

In 1962, he traveled to Paris for a year to study printmaking at Atelier 17 under the English master Stanley William Hayter and at the Académie Ranson in Paris, France. Later, he returned to France in 1967 to perfect his skills as an engraver at the École des Beaux-Arts.

After he left Chile, he received an offer from the then Director of the School of Architecture at the University of Costa Rica (UCR), Felo García, to start teaching at the School of Architecture. Due to the relevance of his career, together with the volume of publications he constantly edited, he held the title of tenured Professor.

Over the years, he taught university courses at the School of Architecture of the University of Costa Rica, such as "Cities and History," "Engraving," and "Fundamentals of Design I and II." He is well remembered for his participation in the university periodical Semana U. He also served as an art critic correspondent for Costa Rica's largest circulation newspaper, La Nación.

Between 1986 and 1987, he studied at The Mission Graphic Center in San Francisco, USA. He was also an invited lecturer in Architecture at the Technical University of Delft and a Fulbright professor at the University of California, Berkeley, in the United States.

At UCR, he was known for his pedagogical methods. Among his most interesting works with his students were two- and three-dimensional studies of the golden ratio, spatial studies and plastic expression based on the painting "Las Meninas" by Velázquez, constructions of utilitarian objects inspired by design trends, and the construction of "Flying Apparatuses" inspired by the studies of Da Vinci, an exercise accompanied by a public flying session, which became an annual activity of the School of Architecture.

Awards

• 1954, First Prize in Printmaking, Annual Student Exhibition, School of Fine Arts, Viña del Mar, Chile.
• 1960, Second Prize in Printmaking, Official Exhibition, Santiago.
• 1963, First Prize in Printmaking, Official Exhibition, Santiago.
• 1966, Mention in Engraving, Official Exhibition, Santiago.
• 1966, José Perotti Honorary Award, Salon of Applied Art in Contemporary Object, Museum of Contemporary Art, University of Chile, Santiago.
• 1967, Wanda Svevo Award to the best black and white engraver in Latin America, 9th Biennial of São Paulo, Brazil.
• 1967 and 1968, French government scholarship to study at the National School of Fine Arts, Paris, France.
• 1968, Second Prize, CRAV Painting Competition, Santiago de Chile.
• 1973, Honor Award, II Biennial of Graphic Arts of Cali, Museum of Modern Art of Cali, Colombia.
• 1991, First Prize for Engraving, Annual Salon of Fine Arts, San José, Costa Rica.