Original Oil ‘Composition 175’ by Antonio Lorenzo, (1922-2009), Spain 1958

Description

Original Oil ‘Composition 175’ by Antonio Lorenzo, (1922-2009), Spain 1958. Beautiful original painting by Spanish Artist Antonio Lorenzo, acquired from the original owner’s estate in Southern California. Purchased at the Silvan Simone Gallery in Los Angeles in 1960, this original piece is signed on upper right, 1958. Thick heavy oil on canvas and a gorgeous abstract figurative subject matter titled ‘Composition 175’. Provenance attached. Antonio Lorenzo (Madrid, 1922 – 2009) A central figure in the avant-garde scene in Spain since his time at the School of Fine Arts of Madrid, he was also a member of the Cuenca Group , together with Antonio Saura (1930-1998), Gustavo Torner (1925), Fernando Zóbel (1924-1984), Gerardo Rueda (1926-1996) and Eusebio Sempere (1923-1985). He was called an “abstract landscapist” by Juan Manuel Bonet, because of his use of wide expanses of colour and his low horizon lines, where he concentrated the material and, as a result, the spectator’s attention. His otherwise abstract practice was sometimes dotted with symbolic references to human progress and worlds in which machines take over the space. Among his many influences are the painting of his teacher Vázquez Díaz (1882─1969), from whom he inherited his tendency towards abstraction, and his contact with Gerardo Rueda (1926─1996) and American painting. In fact, it was during a visit to Bernard Childs (1990─1985), in the 1960s, when he became fascinated with etching. He was to go on to become a virtuoso in etching techniques, in which he demonstrated enormous creativity and formal qualities, and this was the prime reason why he was appointed the artistic director of Grupo 15’s workshop in 1972. His work was shown in many individual and group exhibitions, both in Spain and abroad, with a particular mention for his participation at the Venice Biennale in 1964, 1966 and 1972, and at the World Fair in New York, in the Spanish and French pavilion. His works can be seen in major contemporary art museums, like the Reina Sofía in Madrid, the Museo de Arte Abstracto in Cuenca, the British Museum in London and the MoMA in New York.