Manuel Marín

MANUEL MARÍN (Cieza, Murcia, 1942 - Málaga, 2007).
Untitled, c. 1959.
Polychrome iron. Unique piece.
Attached certificate of authenticity issued by Mrs. Monika Rabassa, widow of the artist.
It has very slight wear.
Signed on the base.
Measurements: 165 x 172 x 45 cm.
The piece is articulated around a central black structure of organic character, from which emerge two arms in tension that support suspended elements, the chromatic contrast -with red and yellow accents- introduces a dynamic visual game that dialogues with the surrounding space. These elements, light and mobile, generate constant variations in the composition, underlining the changing dimension of the work.In this sculpture one can already perceive affinities with the language of Alexander Calder, especially in the relationship between form, color and movement. However, Marín points here to a sensibility of his own, in which structural tension and formal simplicity anticipate fundamental lines of his later development.
Manuel Marín began his career in bullfighting at the age of ten, participating in his first bullfight at sixteen. However, at the age of twenty he moved to London, where he worked in an art gallery and oriented his career towards sculpture. In that context he met Henry Moore, who incorporated him as an assistant in the elaboration of bronze sculptures. In 1964 he took up residence in New York, working as an art restorer before founding The American Indian Art Gallery, whose clientele included prominent artists such as Warhol, Basquiat, De Kooning and Keith Haring. Beginning in 1969 he began to develop his own sculptural output, especially in the field of movable structures, and in 1970 held his first exhibition at the Alan Brown Gallery in Scarsdale. Since then, his work has been exhibited in numerous countries and is part of international collections. He currently has public monuments in the United States and Spain, consolidating a wide critical and public recognition.