Manuel Viola

MANUEL VIOLA, (Zaragoza, 1916 - San Lorenzo de El Escorial, 1987).
"Cathedral".
Oil on canvas.
Presents a detachment of pictorial layer in the lower right corner. It has patches on the back.
It has slight damage in the lateral areas.
With label Isabel de Farnesio Cultural Center of Aranjuez.
Certificate of authenticity, issued by Jacobo Viola (son of the artist), can be issued at the buyer's expense.
Measurements: 92 x 73 cm, 106 x 87 cm (frame).
He returns to Spain in 1949 after his exile. Self-taught, Viola had been in contact with many artistic and cultural groups during his youth, in fact his signature is included in the logicofobista manifesto or in the writing, "From the Surrealist Revolution to Surrealism in the Service of the Revolution". However, it was not until 1958 when he began to develop a truly personal style, while he joined the avant-garde pictorial group El Paso, to which belonged, among others, Antonio Saura, Rafael Canogar, Luis Feito and Manolo Millares. He began to express himself through an abstract painting of great expressionist character and great care of color. Leaving behind definitively the figuration that prevailed until then in his work. Throughout his life he was awarded numerous prizes, such as the Condado de San Jorge Prize, the Lissones Prize (Milan), or the Gold Medal of the City of Zaragoza. He exhibited in the most important galleries in Spain and also abroad, in cities such as Oslo, New York, Venice, Sao Paulo and Houston. While he was still alive, important retrospective exhibitions of his work were held: in 1965 at the Dirección de Bellas Artes de Madrid, in 1971 at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Madrid, in 1972 at the Lonja de Zaragoza, in 1983 at the Armas Gallery in Miami, and in 1986 in Houston. After his death, anthological exhibitions of his work continued to be held in international galleries and museums. Manuel Viola's work can be seen in the Reina Sofia Museum, the Museum of Modern Art in Cologne, the Museum of Fine Arts in Bilbao, the Guggenheim in New York and Bilbao, and the Museum of Spanish Abstract Art in Cuenca, among many others.