Antón Lamazares

(Maceira, Pontevedra, 1954)

Gracias vagabundas

1987-1993

oil and varnish on cardboard stuck to wood

251.5 x 127.3 cm

Inv. no. 4112

BBVA Collection Spain


The creative work of this precocious artist straddles poetry and painting, though he concentrates primarily on the latter, and in both one can perceive an ironic and critical intent with strongly Galician roots. He belonged to the Atlánticagroup, and one of his early models was Laxeiro (1908-1996).

His work in the eighties contains echoes ofJean Dubuffet (1901-1985), Gaston Chaissac (1910-1964) and
, but what he is really seeking is humble, everyday beauty: “I work with humble materials because I think I am closer to life like that…” He collects working materials, waste items, which he uses as supports for his work, as if he were trying through the materials to recover his connection with things, with everyday reality. He works on wood, cardboard and sacks, which he covers with thick layers of varnish, glue or industrial products.

In the late eighties he began the series Gracias vagabundas, which he developed in the nineties and presented at the Galerie Philippe Gravier in Paris in 1994. His earlier minimalist period was following by an outpouring of emotion. Figures have disappeared, being replaced by patches of colour. It is a dreamlike Informalismo in which his works make us think of leaves, flowers, cosmic explosions, atoms… The colours overflow. The large format pictures are filled with patches evoking the starry sky, spaces full of flowers… This work has an imposing presence, because of its size and because of its expressive power.