Hispanic heritage month honors and celebrates the contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States. This started out as a week-long celebration back in 1968 and expanded to a month long celebration two decades later.
We want to highlight the contributions of someone who embodies what this month is all about, our very own Jaime Fournier. He is CSA’s NY Office Architecture Department Director and also, an exhibited and gallery artist. Jaime works at the edge of his professions, merging both seamlessly.
After moving from Atlanta where he obtained his degree in Architecture, his artistic career started in New York City in the early 80’s during the frenzy of the Neo-Expressionism, the Transvanguardia and Neo-Figurative Art. He moved to Barcelona in 1983, where he earned his living wages as a Madonnero (An artist that paints Madonnas (The Virgin Mary)). Back in San Juan PR a year later, he became part of the ‘Manifiesto Sintesista Actualizado’ (MSA) underground art scene, moving quickly up the ladder to sold-out shows at the Luigi Marrozzini and Botello Galleries, as l’enfant-terrible. In 1987, he joined the CSA office in San Juan, PR.
He won First Prize at the 1988 AVCO Art Competition (a 5-year celebration of the discovery of the Americas). The winning entry, ‘Ignaciana’ is now part of the permanent collection of the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (MAC), while another work ’Los que curvan mi osamenta’ was acquired by the Organization of the American States in DC in 1992. As a result of a consistent praxis, Jaime participated in several solo-exhibits and group shows by invitation, including the Santo Domingo, Cuenca and Monaco Biennials. His paintings have been positively covered by critics and his art has been the subject of numerous articles and amateur short-feature films in Europe.
After two decades of working hermetically and silently without galleries, branding, patrons or dogmas, Jaime is back in the public realm, re-emerging without the crashing noise and without the luxury of time. Now, Jaime Fournier has many stories to share and he does it the only way he knows how to do it – through visceral brushstrokes. He is represented by the Petrus Gallery in San Juan, PR. He shares his time with local non-profit art spaces, always looking for ways to engage the Hispanic community, particularly in Queens, into participating actively in enjoying art, believing that art is a vehicle for socio-economic and political growth.
At CSA, we want to celebrate our diverse workforce that gives back and commits to making the world a better place by developing stronger, more resilient facility and infrastructure solutions. One of our guiding principles is, “We treat people with respect and value their diverse backgrounds, experience and opinions.” As a company, we believe in this, and we hope everyone feels this to be true. Our diversity enriches us and makes us stronger. We are CSA!