David Lechuga

(Madrid, 1950)

Diálogo erótico

1987-1988

iron and wood

156 x 50 x 49 cm

Inv. no. 4121

BBVA Collection Spain


At the very early age of fourteen, Lechuga began to work at Manuel de la Colina’s sculpture studio and at the age of twenty he had his first solo exhibition. Trained within the confines of
, he eventually broke away from that sculpture tradition and incorporated avant-garde elements to create some strange beings with a certain totemic air.

In the beginning he was interested in the world of embryos and of spiders. That interest in biology soon evolved towards anthropomorphism. His depiction of the double figure, very classic in its conception, is closer to Giacometti’s antithetical representation and to the stylised sculptures Picasso made with sticks in the early 1930s.

This “sculpture group” of figures with a human appearance though perceived as hybrid beings—half animal, half vegetal—combine welded iron and carved wood to instil the characters with life. The bluish patina and the burnt wood convey a certain painterly effect to the matter.
The group consists of two figures: a man and a woman. They seem to be engaged in some kind of communication, facing each other in a silent dialogue.