José Manuel Alberdi

JOSE MANUEL ALBERDI ELORZA (Azkoitia, Gipuzkoa, 1922-Denia, Alicante, 2008).
Untitled,
Bronze sculpture with marble base. Exemplary 15/75.
Signed and numbered at the bottom.
Measurements: 64 cm (74 cm. total with base).

Outstanding sculptor from Guipuzcoa, José Manuel Alberdi, known as Joe, began his training at the age of thirteen, when he entered the School of Arts and Crafts of San Sebastian under the guidance of Ignacio Zuloaga. However, with the outbreak of the civil war he was transferred to England, along with thousands of other children. There he was able to continue his artistic training, which he would later combine with his engineering studies. He began his career as a commercial painter, and later taught art at St. Martin's School of Art in London. He held his first exhibition in 1950, and in the following two decades he achieved great success, collaborating with prominent English artists of the time. In 1975, he presented his work in Spain, at the Juana Mordó Gallery in Madrid, and around the same time he took up residence in the province of Alicante. Since then he has held exhibitions in different European countries and participated in fairs such as the FIAC in Paris and Art 11/80 in Basel. He is currently represented in the Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, the Museo de Escultura al Aire Libre de Alcalá de Henares and other collections.