27 June, 2017 - 27 September, 2017
Fundación Martín Chirino, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Curated: Juan Manuel Bonet

An Island Perspective

Based on the Guanche Cave, the emblematic painting by Óscar Domínguez and one of the prized pieces in the collection of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, this exhibition proposes, as its title indicates, an island perspective of how modern Canarian art has explored the archipelago’s pre-Hispanic roots, something common among Domínguez himself, Manolo Millares, and Martín Chirino. The three of them share, together with fellow artists, a perspective of the landscape and especially the sea, but what sets them apart is a sense of awareness that the Canary Islands possesses an unavoidable primitive under layer. From early adolescence Domínguez, who was highly admired by the other two, would regularly visit the Museo Canario, which has provided some of the pieces for this current exhibition that, in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, impacted heavily on these two young artists. They would both soon find the support of a leading figure from the pre-war island avant-garde in the shape of Eduardo Westerdahl. The exhibition presents outstanding examples of the work of these two pioneers of Spanish abstract art, the highlight being Pictografías canarias, by Millares, and Reinas negras, and Vientos, by Chirino.

LINKS
Fundación Martín Chirino, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria