134- Identity: the
building blocks of
2. Literature
and philosophy
3. Art and
architecture
4. Performing
arts
5. Cinema
and fashion
6. Media and
communications
7. Food and drink 8. Living culture:
the details of
In Madrid, theEl Pasomovement formed in 1957.
LikeTàpies, its artists latched on to the international
trend of Expressive Abstraction, but they also brought
a distinctly Spanish flavour to their work, recalling
the likes of Velázquez and Goya in their taste for
expression. LikeDau al Set,the movement split within a
few years.The leading light was Antonio Saura.
His dark, thickly painted portraits of everyone from
Bridget Bardot to Goya made him an international star.
Manuel Millares, anotherEl Pasopainter, was more
radical but of almost equal popularity. In tune with the
Informalismostyle, he felt the vigour with which a
painting was approached to be as important as the end
result. Millares achieved his portrayals of human
anguish with dramatic slashes of paint and materials
like sackcloth, ripped, then re-sewn and glued onto
the canvas.Back to reality
The backlash againstInfomalismo, roused in the United
States, heralded a return to more traditional forms.
The photo-like clarity of Hyperrealism and clear lines of
Pop Art found Spanish devotees in the 1960s and 70s.
Antonio López Garcia fell in with the former school, his
detailed paintings of empty Madrid streets and grubby
bathrooms fooling the eye with their detailed definition.
He hoped to capture the rich intensity of life, of real
people and places. López Garcia has also produced
Realist sculpture in monochrome wood.“THE ARTIST HAS TO
MAKE THE VIEWER
UNDERSTAND THAT
HIS WORLD IS TOO
NARROW, HE HAS
TO OPEN UP TO NEW
PERSPECTIVES.”
Antoni Tàpies
Rag and bone man
In the 1960s Antoni
Tàpies found international
fame as a pioneer of
Arte Povera, a method
of producing art that
incorporated discarded
materials, from
newspaper to cloth
and bits of furniture.
His painting, thoroughly
modern but often
incorporating aged,
mystical symbols –notably
crosses – frequently took
physical pain as a theme,
depicting flesh and
bandages.