Gonzalo Ruiz-Navarro - Artist
Glen Echo Park Arts Center
Gonzalo Ruiz Navarro is a native of Spain. His interest in painting began at an early age inspired by the rich heritage left in his country by great masters such as Diego Velázquez or Joaquín Sorolla. He started his formal education pursuing a Master's in Fine Arts from the University of Valencia. This was followed by studies on Drawing and Painting at the University of Toledo, the University of Alcalá de Henares, the College of Doctors and Graduates in Madrid and the Taller del Prado Academy in Madrid. Later, Gonzalo had the privilege of working under the personal instruction of noted Spanish portraitist Carlos Moreu Spa and also studied figure painting at the Academy of Art and Contemporaneous Artists in Madrid, under the direction of the world-renown Chilean artist Guillermo Muñoz Vera.
Currently based in Washington, DC, Gonzalo works as a landscape painter and portrait artist commissioned by clients in both the USA and Europe. He gives art instruction at The Yellow Barn Studio (Glen Echo, MD), Washington Artworks (Rockville, MD) and The Griffin Art Center (Frederick, MD).
Gonzalo has shown his works in numerous exhibitions and won several awards. During his time in Spain, he exhibited in galleries throughout the country. Recently he had several solo exhibitions in Washington, DC and Maryland. He has participated in collective exhibitions in DC , Virginia, Maryland and Massachusetts. He has been selected in juried exhibitions and has been awarded in Spain with the First Prize in the 23 APACC TYRIUS Art Competition 2007, the First Prize in the Painting Competition of Aranjuez 2001, and the Second Prize in the Painting Competition of Aranjuez 2000. Alongside his career as a painter, Gonzalo has extensive teaching experience and has held management positions at several educational institutions. He is Art Committee Chair at the International Monetary Fund and a member of the Portrait Society of America.