Eusebio Sempere

(Onil, Alicante, 1923 – 1985)

Untitled (Ocre)

1974-1975

Series Serigrafías sobre tela

silk-screen on canvas (3/20)

90 x 90 cm

Inv. no. P00878

BBVA Collection Spain


Eusebio Sempere’s practice evolved from abstraction to geometric simplification, always in search of dynamic movement as well as volume and three-dimensionality.

His style was grounded in
and
, developing from there towards
and Kinetic Art. Sempere was one of the leading members of Grupo Parpalló, a collective of the most significant Valencian artists of the time, including, among many others, Andreu Alfaro (1929-2012), Juan Genovés (1930-2020) and Salvador Soria (1915-2010).

This untitled work, catalogued in a publication from 1999 on Sempere’s graphic work, belongs to the series Serigrafías sobre tela, created by the artist in 1974-75.

The series consists of three silk-screens with three different designs and colours: grey, yellow and ochre. Originally the series was conceived to include a fourth one in blue as well as the above-mentioned three, but he was unable to complete it due to the complexity of blue
in such a large format.

In the printing process Sempere used high quality materials, like linen fabric, which he then mounted on a square wooden structure. For the Gris (grey) and Amarillo (yellow) silk-screens he made thirty copies but just twenty in the case of Ocre (ochre), which is notably larger in size.

In these works the play of lines gives rise to spectacular effects while at the same time creating geometric volumes that seem to levitate in space. With the aid of colour and of lines, usually in parallel, Sempere succeeded in instilling a sense of dynamism and magnitude to his works. The weft of lines sometimes creates what is known as a
effect.