Julián Grau Santos

JULIÁN GRAU SANTOS (Canfranc, Huesca, 1937).
“Vase with Roses in the Rose Garden,” 2004.
Oil on canvas.
Signed and dated in the lower right corner. Signed, dated, and titled on the reverse.
Measurements: 73 x 60 cm; 77 x 67 cm (frame).

The son of Emilio Grau Sala and Ángeles Santos Torroella, he trained in Barcelona. In 1949, he made several trips to Paris, where he had the opportunity to view works by Sisley, Van Gogh, and various Impressionists and Post-Impressionists firsthand. He held his first solo exhibition at the Sala Libros in Zaragoza in 1957. From then on, he held solo exhibitions at the Syra, Rovira, and Vayreda galleries in Barcelona; the Alas, Abril, El Cisne, Collage, and Biosca galleries in Madrid; Justin Lester in Los Angeles; Art Roman in Tokyo; and elsewhere. Since 1966, he has exhibited regularly in solo shows at the Parés Gallery in Barcelona, and in 1968 he participated in the Salon of French Artists at the Grand Palais in Madrid. His work, linked to Expressionism and heavily based on color, is characterized by a highly elaborate technique and a deep mastery of drawing. He also produced numerous drawings, which were published in various newspapers and magazines. Among his awards, the following are particularly noteworthy: the La Rambla Prize (Barcelona, 1961), the Ramón Rogent Medal (May Salon, Barcelona, 1962), a medal from the Fine Arts Exhibition (Madrid, 1961), the Third Sant Jordi Prize and the Van Gogh Prize (Barcelona, 1963), the City of Barcelona Medal (1965), the Huesca Painting Biennial Prize (1976), the Condesa de Barcelona Medal (Madrid, 1983), and the Medal of Honor in the BMW Competition (Madrid, 1987). In recent years, he has participated in the ARCO art fairs in Madrid and ARTEXPO in Valencia, Barcelona, Basel, New York, Chicago, Miami, and Hong Kong. In 1993, the Mapfre Vida Foundation in Madrid dedicated a retrospective exhibition to him.