Juan Genovés

JUAN GENOVÉS (Valencia, 1930 – Madrid, 2020).
“Eclipse,” 2003.
Silkscreen print on Montval paper. Edition 41/75.
Signed and dated by hand.
Measurements: 70.5 x 96 cm.
The work is distinguished by the artist’s unmistakable visual language, marked by a distinctly cinematic and realistic style. Against a monochromatic background, a multitude of small figures in constant motion unfolds like a collective choreography, while an intense yellow sun bursts into the composition, providing a powerful beam of light and a striking chromatic contrast.
One of the leading exponents of critical-social realism in the 1950s, Juan Genovés trained at the School of Fine Arts in Valencia and made his first trip to Paris in 1955. Over time, his art would evolve along the lines of existentialism. A founding member of several groups, such as Los Siete, Parpalló, and Hondo, his so-called “political realism”—which emerged following his 1965 exhibition at the National Library—made him a committed defender of freedom. His vision makes him truly unique; the human figure is always the protagonist—whether present or absent, and even in its shadows, where the full dreamlike weight of existential anguish resides. Genovés begins with a photographic approach, seeking the constant transformation of the subject’s perspective and point of view. Through this shift in perspective, the artist brings us closer to or distances us from the scene, capturing the movement of the masses guided by the collective, working-class intelligence that gives meaning to the meaninglessness of individual experience and highlights the loneliness, manipulation, and injustice to which human beings are exposed. The artist critiques mass culture, which fosters competitiveness, consumerism, individualism, and the loss of social values. Expressive in his use of pictorial formats and materials—which are hallmarks of his approach—Genovés employs a symbolist approach to composition and rhythm. In his work, he constantly questions human freedom in today’s society, as well as his own freedom within his artistic practice. Better known abroad than in his home country, he has participated in numerous biennials, such as the Hispano-American Biennials in Havana and Barcelona, the Paris Biennale, and the New York World’s Fair. In 1994, the IVAM dedicated a major retrospective exhibition to him. He has held solo exhibitions throughout Spain, as well as in Puerto Rico, Rio de Janeiro, Lisbon, Rome, New York, Tokyo, Turin, Berlin, Montreal, Zurich, Bogotá, and Paris.
Juan Genovés’s work is represented in the IVAM in Valencia, the Reina Sofía National Art Museum, the Juan March Foundation, the National Center for Contemporary Art in Paris, the MoMA in New York, and the La Caixa, Argentaria, and Thyssen-Bornemisza collections.