Andreu Alfaro

ANDREU ALFARO (Valencia, 1929–2012).
“Desset angles i una línia recta” (Seventeen Angles and a Straight Line), 1972.
Stainless steel on a methacrylate base.
Signed with a monogram on the base.
One of a series of 6.
Bibliography: Vicente Jarque (ed.), Andreu Alfaro. Catalog Raisonné. Vol. I. Sculpture 1957–1989, IVAM, Generalitat Valenciana, Valencia, 2005. Work cataloged and reproduced.
Measurements: 100 x 30 x 15 cm (according to the catalog raisonné); 17 x 34.7 cm (base).

In the early 1970s, Andreu Alfaro reached one of the most productive periods of his sculptural exploration, focused on geometric serialization, the use of industrial materials, and the perceptual transformation of form. From this context emerged some of his most recognizable works, including the *Generatrices*, in which a rigorously ordered structure acquires visual mobility through the repetition and displacement of metallic elements.

The very formulation of *Desset angles and a straight line* reveals the systematic nature of his conception. Using geometric elements subjected to a rigorous progression, Alfaro transforms a structure of mathematical origin into a dynamic form: the steel visually loses its weight, and the sculpture changes as the viewer’s position shifts. Light, void, and rhythm thus become an active part of the work, within a body of research that led the sculptor to explore, to their fullest extent, the possibilities of repetition and the displacement of metal profiles. A critic of the time specifically highlighted *Seventeen Angles and a Straight Line* as one of the signature works of this geometric phase in Alfaro’s career.

The documented exhibition history for the series is particularly extensive. It includes solo exhibitions held at the Sala Gaspar in Barcelona and the Galería Temps in Valencia in 1973; the Galerie Dreiseitel in Cologne in 1974; the Palacio de Velázquez and the Retiro Park in Madrid in 1979; the Galeria d’Art El Setze in Martorell in 1982; and the Galería Theo-Sala Cellini in Madrid in 1983. He also participated in group exhibitions such as Art 7’76. Die Internationale Kunstmesse Basel, in Basel, and the Alfaro, Graeff, Prasse exhibition in Mülheim an der Ruhr in 1978. These references pertain to the series and not necessarily to this specific piece.

Associated with the Parpalló Group and a key figure in the renewal of postwar Spanish sculpture, Andreu Alfaro developed a language rooted in Constructivism, based on geometry, serialization, and the incorporation of industrial processes and materials. He participated in the Venice Biennale in 1966, 1976, and 1995; in 1979, he was the subject of a major retrospective at the Palacio de Velázquez in Madrid; and in 1981, he received the National Prize for the Visual Arts. The IVAM dedicated an extensive retrospective to him in 1991. His work is represented, among other institutions, at the Reina Sofía National Art Museum, the IVAM, the Alicante Museum of Contemporary Art, and the ENAIRE Collection.