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ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: ANTONIO LOPEZ GARCIA
John Kosta • Aug 01, 2020
ANTONIO LOPEZ GARCIA
Spanish Painter & Sculptor
1936-Present
Antonio Lopez Garcia's art, and in particular such sculptures as Hombre y Mujeur, bedazzle the senses in his ability to capture life-like realism from wood and stone.
Antonio López García is a Spanish painter and sculptor known for his hyperrealistic style. Although he is not a prolific artist, his works have been recognized and revered by such important art critics as Robert Hughes who considered García a master realist.
García’s hyperrealism is especially apparent in works such as Hombre y Mujer
(Man and Woman)
where the sculptures’ eyes seem to be looking toward us as much as we are towards them. Their bodies are stripped bare and lifelike making us feel like we are witnessing something private and deeply human. All artifice has been removed, will we do the same?
Hombre y Mujer
(1968)
Although García is an important artist within the
Hyperrealist Movement
the early part of his artistic journey was more strongly informed by Magic Realism as can be seen in La Aparición
(The Apparition). Although the same attention to detail is evident, García’s earlier work often focuses more on an 'interpretation of reality' rather than an exacting reflection.
La Aparición
(1963)
During the mid-1960s he began to focus on realism noting that the physical world had gained more importance to him. Garcia’s hyperrealist work is often devoted to the mundane every-day life, depicting humble people, nature, buildings, and interiors. His artistic eye and attention to detail to these seemingly simple subjects encourage us to re-examine and re-consider the ‘ordinary’ in subtle and profound ways.
Given that García is not prolific there have been few solo exhibits of his work, including his first at the Ateneo de Madrid (1957) and three subsequent shows in New York, two during the 1960s and one in 1986. In 2008, he was featured at a solo exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and not long thereafter Madrid desde Torres Blancas (View of Madrid from Torres Blancas) sold at a Christie's auction in London for 1,918,000 Euros, the highest amount paid up to that time for a work by a living Spanish artist.
Madrid desde Torres Blancas
(1974)
In 2019, García's work was part of the Painting and Sculpture Exhibit in NYC and his art is currently exhibited in several US museum collections. He is represented by The Marlborough Gallery.
If I learn of any upcoming exhibits or events that include Garcia's work, I will be sure to update ARTalk with the details.
If I learn of any upcoming exhibits or events that include Garcia's work, I will be sure to update ARTalk with the details.
More on Antonio López García ...
Antonio López García Paintings, Sculptures and Drawings 1965-1986
(1986)
Antonio López García
(2008)
Antonio López García: Paintings and Sculpture (2011)
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