The poet and visual artist Juan Calzadilla has died.

This Sunday, the arts world in Venezuela mourned the passing of poet, visual artist, and literary critic Juan Calzadilla in Caracas, reported Freddy Ñáñez, Vice President of the Communication and Culture Sector, on social media.

“It is with great sadness that we bid farewell to the great Juan Calzadilla, poet, visual artist, and literary critic. On Father's Day, a great Venezuelan leaves us with a body of work that will remain with us forever. Juan is now his living word. See you later, maestro!” Ñáñez wrote.

Juan Calzadilla was a prominent Venezuelan intellectual, born in Altagracia de Orituco in 1930. During his lifetime, he was recognized for his multifaceted career as a poet, having published more than twenty poetry titles, and is therefore considered one of the fundamental voices of modern Venezuelan poetry.

As a painter and draftsman, his visual work, often linked to his writing, has been exhibited in various solo and group exhibitions. He received the Venezuelan National Prize for Visual Arts in 1996.

As an art critic and historian, he began his career in journalism and art criticism in 1955. He wrote essential works for understanding the development of the visual arts in Venezuela.

As a cultural promoter, he is known as a co-founder of the group "El Techo de la Ballena" (1961) and the magazine Imagen (1984). He was also a literary workshop leader, known as "the spirit of workshops" for his work with young Venezuelans.

He studied literature and philosophy at the National Pedagogical Institute and the Central University of Venezuela and throughout his career, he received important distinctions such as the National Prize for Plastic Arts (1996), the León de Greiff Prize (2016) and the National Prize for Literature (2017).