Antonio Lopez

ANTONIO LÓPEZ (Tomelloso, Ciudad Real, 1936).
"Gran Vía, January 1st", 2023.
Lithography and etching on Canson paper. Copy 6/100.
Attached certificate of authenticity issued by La Galería Taller del Prado.
Signed and justified by the artist.
Measurements: 77,5 x 70,5 cm.
In Gran Vía, January 1, Antonio López returns to one of his most persistent themes: the city of Madrid observed from a slow, rigorous and deeply human look. The scene represents the Gran Vía on an exceptionally silent day, the dawn of the New Year, when the most bustling artery of the city appears almost deserted, suspended in a stopped time.
The work stands out for its extreme realism, the result of the patient observation that characterizes the artist. However, it is not a simple photographic reproduction: López transforms reality into an almost meditative experience. The absence of human figures reinforces a sense of stillness and solitude, turning the urban space into an introspective scenario, charged with a strange poetry.
Painter and sculptor, Antonio López studied in Madrid, at the San Fernando Academy, and Italy, where he traveled thanks to a scholarship. During his student period he formed, together with other artists such as Enrique Gran, Amalia Avia or Lucio Muñoz, what has come to be called the Madrid School. After finishing his studies, in 1957, he made his individual debut in Madrid. Since then he reiterated his presence in galleries in Europe, the United States, China and Korea, and in 1993 the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid dedicated an anthological exhibition to him. He is a member of the San Fernando Academy, and his awards include the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts and the Velázquez Award for Plastic Arts. In 2008 the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston dedicated a monographic exhibition to him, and in 2011 the Thyssen-Bornemisza and the Museum of Fine Arts in Bilbao will do the same. He is represented at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the ARTIUM in Vitoria, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, the Fundación Juan March and the Museo de Bellas Artes in Bilbao, among others.