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Juan Genovés
(Valencia, 1930 - Madrid, 2020)
Maternidad
1959
oil on canvas
100 x 73.2 cm
Inv. no. 899
BBVA Collection Spain
This painting is a very representative example of the achievements of those artistic movements that fluctuate between the figurative and the abstract. In a formal idiom inspired by gestural
matter-based painting
“matteric” or matter-based painting is a tendency within
informel art
or
art autre
and
art informel
are terms coined by the French art critic Michael Tapié to describe the non-
Geometric Abstraction
A term introduced in the 1920s to name a kind of abstract art based on scientific and mathematical principles. The main goal was to eliminate all subjectivity in favour of art based on the essence of geometric forms. Its main champions were Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944), Kazimir Malevich (1879-1935) and Piet Mondrian (1872-1944).
that emerged in France in the 1950s, running parallel to US
Abstract Expressionism
This contemporary painting movement emerged within the field of abstraction in the 1940s in the United States, from where it spread worldwide. Rooted in similar premises and postulates as Surrealism, the Abstract Expressionist artists regarded the act of painting as a spontaneous and unconscious activity, a dynamic bodily action divested of any kind of prior planning. The works belonging to this movement are defined by the use of pure, vibrant primary colours that convey a profound sense of freedom. The movement’s main pioneers were, among others, Arshile Gorky (1904-1948) and Hans Hoffman (1880-1966). Leading Spanish exponents of the movement are Esteban Vicente (1903-2001) and José Guerrero (1914-1991), who lived for some time in New York City, where they were in first-hand contact with the many artistic innovations taking place there around that time.
. It was predicated on the spontaneous gesture, the use of matter, automatism and the lack of preconceived ideas.
, in which artists focused primarily on texture, obtained by using all kinds of materials, not necessarily coming from conventional art methods.
, the artist comes close in this work to a conventional
Madonna and child
.
Genovés is a Spanish painter and graphic artist who started out working within the ambit of Informalismo and matter painting. His firm conviction of the need for his art to be transformative and committed to its milieu led him to join groups such as Los Siete (1949),
Parpalló Group
a
collective promoted by Vicente Aguilera Cerni which included artists, architects and critics from Valencia with the goal of renewing the art made in the city and connecting it with international movements. Its members included Andreu Alfaro, Eusebio Sempere, Joaquin Michavila and Salvador Soria. In 1959, the group was renewed and started publishing the magazine
Arte Vivo
, which released a total of four issues which tell an interesting history of the art of the time. The group disbanded in 1961.
(1956) and
Hondo Group
founded in Madrid in 1961. Its principles were based on figurative painting, with a social and political engagement and a distinctly expressionist approach. It opposed abstraction and often used allegorical elements culled from reality. It founders—Genovés, Orellana, Paredes Jardiel and Mignoni—exhibited their works collectively at Galería Neblí in Madrid. José Vento and Carlos Sansegundo joined the group for the second presentation of their paintings at Sociedad de Amigos de Arte in 1963. The Hondo Group disbanded one year later.
(1960), and it was in the last of these that he became open to a figurative approach as opposed to the prevailing trend of
Informalism
Term coined by the French art critic Michel Tapié (under the name of art informel) to define the art movement that covers a whole range of abstract and gestural trends that emerged in Europe in the 1940s in parallel with the development of
Abstract Expressionism
This contemporary painting movement emerged within the field of abstraction in the 1940s in the United States, from where it spread worldwide. Rooted in similar premises and postulates as Surrealism, the Abstract Expressionist artists regarded the act of painting as a spontaneous and unconscious activity, a dynamic bodily action divested of any kind of prior planning. The works belonging to this movement are defined by the use of pure, vibrant primary colours that convey a profound sense of freedom. The movement’s main pioneers were, among others, Arshile Gorky (1904-1948) and Hans Hoffman (1880-1966). Leading Spanish exponents of the movement are Esteban Vicente (1903-2001) and José Guerrero (1914-1991), who lived for some time in New York City, where they were in first-hand contact with the many artistic innovations taking place there around that time.
in America. The movement is defined by a non-figurative language that lends a very significant role to the use of materials. The defining moment for Informalismo in Spain was in the 1950s, with a generation of artists whose languages embraced both European Art Informel and American
Abstract Expressionism
This contemporary painting movement emerged within the field of abstraction in the 1940s in the United States, from where it spread worldwide. Rooted in similar premises and postulates as Surrealism, the Abstract Expressionist artists regarded the act of painting as a spontaneous and unconscious activity, a dynamic bodily action divested of any kind of prior planning. The works belonging to this movement are defined by the use of pure, vibrant primary colours that convey a profound sense of freedom. The movement’s main pioneers were, among others, Arshile Gorky (1904-1948) and Hans Hoffman (1880-1966). Leading Spanish exponents of the movement are Esteban Vicente (1903-2001) and José Guerrero (1914-1991), who lived for some time in New York City, where they were in first-hand contact with the many artistic innovations taking place there around that time.
. These included, among others, Antoni Tàpies (1923-2012), Josep Guinovart (1927-2007), August Puig (1929-1999), Antonio Saura (1930-1998), Manolo Millares (1926-1972) and Rafael Canogar (1935).
.
This work, which is indebted to
Abstract Expressionism
This contemporary painting movement emerged within the field of abstraction in the 1940s in the United States, from where it spread worldwide. Rooted in similar premises and postulates as Surrealism, the Abstract Expressionist artists regarded the act of painting as a spontaneous and unconscious activity, a dynamic bodily action divested of any kind of prior planning. The works belonging to this movement are defined by the use of pure, vibrant primary colours that convey a profound sense of freedom. The movement’s main pioneers were, among others, Arshile Gorky (1904-1948) and Hans Hoffman (1880-1966). Leading Spanish exponents of the movement are Esteban Vicente (1903-2001) and José Guerrero (1914-1991), who lived for some time in New York City, where they were in first-hand contact with the many artistic innovations taking place there around that time.
, presents an image of motherhood as a religious icon and reflects the artist’s interest in trying to show the mystery underlying the representation of reality. From beneath the paint covering the surface of the canvas there emerges an image, a mere trace, of a sacred archetype.
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