20th-21st century. Spanish

Daniel Tamayo ranks among the most important contemporary Basque artists. His works recreate energetic and colourful fantasy worlds, combining surrealist scenes with elements from everyday life. The result is a narrative of imaginary stories through which Tamayo brings to the fore his thoughts and concerns about his surrounding world.

His fascination with painting began at the early age of twelve when he visited the Museum of Fine Arts in Bilbao and was dazzled by the compositions of old masters of Spanish painting like José de Ribera (1591-1652) and Francisco de Goya (1746-1828). For the young Tamayo, the decision about what path his life would take had not yet arrived, but the experience was a true revelation for him and, when that moment did finally come, it helped him to decide that he would become a painter and follow in the wake of those great artists.

In 1967 Tamayo finished secondary school and enrolled in Building Engineering, though he would abandon his studies after one year. Nevertheless, his classes in technical drawing would prove instrumental for his future career as a painter, as it helped him to create the architectural scenarios which would frame his dreamlike compositions.

His early steps took place in the field of advertising drawing, which allowed him to experiment and research with techniques close to painting. In 1970 he started studying art at the Massana School in Barcelona, a city whose museums and galleries he frequented, thus becoming familiar with the art of Joan Miró (1893-1983) and Antoni Tàpies (1923-2012). There he also became acquainted with the architecture of Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926), whose organic forms exerted a profound impact on him.

His passion for art took him to London and Paris, where he visited exhibitions to get a first-hand insight into the work of key artists. In 1970 he moved to Bilbao, where he was part of the first year of students at the School of Fine Arts of Bilbao. There he discovered Basque art, and since then would devote himself to painting, an activity that he would combine with his work as a teacher at the school.

A critical moment in his life was his discovery in 1966 of the works by Hieronymus Bosch (ca. 1450-1516) during a visit to the Prado Museum accompanied by his brother. He was awestruck by The Garden of Earthly Delights. The impression this work left on him would be visible in his later practice. Although painted from a totally contemporary perspective, Tamayo’s works use an intense palette reminiscent of the compositions by the Flemish artist, thus bringing to mind the jumbled, energetic and surrealist triptych at the Prado.

Daniel Tamayo undertakes a new approach to Basque iconography and landscape. Strongly influenced by the post-industrial transformation of his native land, in his practice he merges elements from reality and from his own imaginary to create a fantastic universe which, despite its visual chaos, is governed by a refined internal order.