I don't know how I had not seen the work of Esteban Vicente before, but when I did, it immediately resonated with me. I think it is his combination of colors. They have a certain softness about them.
Esteban Vicente was born in 1903 in a small Spanish town named Turegano. His father was an army officer whose passion was art. He took his children (who dreaded those trips) every Sunday afternoon to the Museo del Prado, where they were exposed to some of the finest European works of art. Vicente began to draw when he was sixteen, entered the army as expected, but only lasted three months there. After studying sculpture at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando for three years, he went out on his own. For the next twelve years, he practiced his craft in Madrid, Paris and Barcelona before moving to New York in 1936.
Photo by Laurie Lambrecht in Esteban Vicente by Elizabeth Frank
He lived in New York for the rest of his long life. He was included in the New York School of Abstract Expressionism, along with De Kooning, Pollock, Rothko and Newman, and was chosen to participate in the significant exhibitions of their works. Vicente also spent a good deal of time teaching at prestigious art institutions in the U.S..
His works can be found in important collections of museums all over the world. He also has a museum devoted to his own works of art, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Esteban Vicente, located in Segovia, Spain.
Who is your favorite contemporary artist?
Posts
Hello Annie:
ReplyDeleteEsteben Vicente is an artist about whom we know very little. As you say here, his work does appear to have a softness, a dreamlike quality even, which is largely achieved through the colours he chooses for his palette.
Modern and Contemporary Art, if they are to be appreciated by the lay person, do require something in the way of background to the artist, his life and times to facilitate understanding.
There are several contemporary artists I like, don't know where to start...
ReplyDeleteLovis Corinth, Matisse, and.....and...
But certainly two German artists who are still alive:
Neo Rauch and Anselm Kiefer.
k
I'd never heard of him either. He's fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThanks.
check also jose guerrero
ReplyDelete