Andreu Alfaro

ANDREU ALFARO HERNÁNDEZ (La Huerta, Valencia, 1929 - 2012).
"Sis escuadres", 1973.
Sculpture in wood, with steel base.
Work referenced in the artist's catalog raisonné. Vol. I 1957-89, p. 195, editorial Generalitat Valenciana.
Measurements: 40 x 90 x 40 cm; 70 x 50 cm (base).

The piece is articulated from the conjunction of six squares that, in a game of geometric rigor and dynamic balance, intertwine in groups of three to form an abstract structure of great formal clarity. As a whole, it displays a dialogue of tensions and supports that multiplies the possibilities of spatial reading, generating a framework that oscillates between transparency and volumetric density.

Faithful to the spirit of investigation that characterized Alfaro's work in the seventies, Seis escuadras manifests the artist's aspiration to transcend the materiality of the support (in this case, the warmth of wood) to reach a universal language, based on the mathematics of form and the poetics of proportion. The work evidences the rationalist vocation of the Valencian sculptor, and at the same time his capacity to convert the constructive into an aesthetic experience: a geometry that offers itself as a living organism open to contemplation.

Sculptor related to the Parpalló Group (1957), and influenced by Jorge Oteiza and the constructivists, such as Brancusi or Pevsner, from his first important works Andreu Alfaro manifested his concern for integrating sculpture into a defined architectural space. In 1961, with "La Rella", he began a second stage in which he concretized the link between artistic activity and the social community, followed by "La veu d'un poble" (1964-65) and "Monument a l'amor" (1965-66). During these years he acquired international renown through his participation in the 1966 Venice Biennale, where he showed "My black brother". During the last years of the sixties Alfaro entered a new stage, in which he experimented with metallic elements, creating works of kinetic character or spatial research. From this period are well known samples "Bon dia llibertat" (1975) and "Catalan power" (1976). Also during these years he began to show a special interest in large sculptures, which he exhibited in the Cervantes Park in Barcelona (1977). He also designed several monuments such as the "Monument als Països Catalans" in Tárrega (1981). This period also marks the beginning of his international projection and, undoubtedly, the moment of maturity of one of the most important Catalan sculptors. However, around 1980 he sought to recover an almost calligraphic stylization in his works, which led him to experiment with wire. At the same time, he begins to incorporate marble into his production, which can be defined as a fair combination of lucid elements and constructive purism. The geometric structure of his works, always changing according to the observer's point of view, is always endowed with a great plastic force. In 1983 Alfaro made a sculpture in homage to the painter E. Sempere in Madrid. During this period he also created other outdoor sculptures in Frankfurt (1986), Madrid (1990) and Barcelona (1991). In 1996 he installed in Tarrasa a sculpture dedicated to the working woman, in 1999 he erected the "Columnes de l'Autònoma" in the university of Barcelona, and in 2001 he made a monument in memory of the victims of Nazism in Vilanova i la Geltrú. On the occasion of the Verdaguer year, in 2002 a monumental commemorative sculpture of the Catalan poet was inaugurated in the city of Vic, and in 2003 he created the sculpture "Ones" at the entrance to Barcelona. Throughout his career, Alfaro has held solo exhibitions in Spain as well as in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, and has taken part in important group exhibitions around the world. He has also received numerous awards, including the Jaume I Honor Award (1980), the National Plastic Arts Award (1981) and the Alfons Roig Plastic Arts Award from the Diputación de Valencia (1991). He is currently represented at the Reina Sofía Museum and the Conde Duque Center in Madrid, the IVAM and the Patio Herreriano in Valladolid, among others.