Miguel Macaya

MIGUEL MACAYA (Santander, 1964).
Untitled.
Mixed media on paper.
Signed on the lower part.
Bears a label from Sala Parés, Barcelona, on the reverse, with a registration date of March 11, 2005.
Measurements: 45 x 46 cm; 72 x 73 x 2 cm (frame).

The bestiary is one of the most recognizable themes in Miguel Macaya’s body of work, alongside his still lifes and human figures. In this work, the isolated presence of the animal against a black background encapsulates some of the essential features of his artistic language: figuration reduced to the bare essentials, strong chiaroscuro, and a painterly texture that partially blurs the contours. The figure seems to emerge from the darkness through touches of brown, white, and grayish tones—a technique that connects his painting to a tenebrist tradition that critics have linked to Rembrandt, Velázquez, Goya, and Manet.

Mixed media on paper also occupies a well-established place within his body of work; the retrospective held at the Casa de Vacas in Madrid in 2008 brought together, alongside his large oil paintings, a specific group of works created using this technique. The “Sala Parés” label is particularly relevant in this context, as Macaya exhibited regularly at the historic Barcelona gallery during the early years of the 21st century, including shows in 2000, 2002, and 2005.

Miguel Macaya began his solo exhibition career in Santander in 1986 and subsequently developed a national and international career with exhibitions in Barcelona, Madrid, Paris, Amsterdam, and other European cities. His work is included, among other collections, in the Can Framis Museum–Vila Casas Foundation, the Panorama Museum in Bad Frankenhausen, and various Spanish and international institutions.