$40 A R RA N Z- B RAVO : M AG N ET I C
NEW YORK
765 Beach Street San Francisco CA 94109
431 West Broadway New York NY 10012 212.226.1616 / 800.926.9537
349 Geary Street San Francisco CA 94102 415.441.8008 / 800.926.9535
FBG-2016 Bravo Cat Cov-re.indd 1
www.franklinbowlesgallery.com
FRANKLIN BOWLES GALLERIES
SAN FRANCISCO
MAGNETIC Arranz-Bravo
15. 12. 29. 오전 11:21
MAGNETIC
Arranz-Bravo FRANKLIN BOWLES GALLERIES San Francisco • New York
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ARRANZ-BRAVO: MAGNETIC The paintings of great artists seem to take spontaneous, magical, happy flight during the more advanced stages of the creative process. Let us take, by way of example, the case of Joan Miró. The traditional forms in his work became atomized, liberated, during the last period of his career. It is as if they were all shaken and mixed up, though the overall quality of the work does not suffer for this. On the contrary, by deconstructing his triumphant forms from the past and giving himself over to the playful side of art, in his last works Miró both nourishes and humanizes his universal destiny.
“These new paintings illustrate an advancement, a new direction in the painterly work that Arranz-Bravo has pursued over the last ten years, perhaps the most important and mature period in the trajectory of his career as a Barcelonan artist.” This seems to me the time and space occupied by Eduardo Arranz-Bravo’s current work. This is truly great work, in both spirit and dimension. It is magnetic in intensity and transgression. This exhibition includes several monumental paintings first shown in 2015 at successive exhibitions at the Terrassa Cultural Centre and the Tecla Sala Art Centre. These new paintings illustrate an advancement, a new direction in the painterly work that Arranz-Bravo has pursued over the last ten years, perhaps the most important and mature period in the trajectory of his career as a Barcelonan artist. These exhibitions were unique because his paintings typically travel straight from his studio in Vallvidrera to foreign climes (the United States, China, Russia…) without first pausing at venues in Spain.
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“Like an aboriginal drum beat resounding on the walls of a great cathedral, these works reveal a lesson from the master that transcendence can and is being achieved.” I was lucky enough to discover the artist and his work in 2004, precisely at the beginning of the aforementioned period, at his last major show in Catalonia — and no doubt his greatest ever, at the Tecla Sala Cultural Centre in L’Hospitalet. At that time, I identified two core principles in his contemporary oeuvre. First, a clear orientation towards communication in his painterly work: the feverish, centrifugal forms of the 1970s and 1980s now occupied the centre of the picture, generating forceful formal symbols — hands, heads, horses, vital organs. Secondly, a new language emerged — electric, light-filled, enriched by artificial conduits and incandescent colors. Most importantly, the work revolved insistently around man — tragic man, man in love, man gone mad. This repertoire is reformulated once more in his present work. A sense of liberation is embodied in the natural incorporation of new themes and pictorial resources little seen in his previous work. For instance, since 2005 Arranz-Bravo has used primitive languages and brushstrokes that are at once ritualistic and festive, renewing the communicative force of line and symbol: Chanson d’amour Martinica (2014), This Sea (2014), and Coral Reality (2014), for example. Also new is the technical precision that from time to time he employs in his works — the great detail in such paintings as Alexander II (2014) and Time for Love (2014) which, far from making the work old-fashioned, imbue them with hitherto unknown sensual vibrancy. As a counterpoint to
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this subtle precision, we also find dithyrambic or wildly enthusiastic painting. Not since the mid-1980s have we seen work as thematically and formally free as El Valent (2014) and Tartatà (2014). These pictorial delights form the perfect complement to the powerful paintings on human themes: Sunset Moment (2014), The Winner (2014) and Independent (2014). Like an aboriginal drum beat resounding on the walls of a great cathedral, these works reveal a lesson from the master that transcendence can and is being achieved. But it is us — the viewers — who will affirm that the paintings are both magna (great) and magnetic. Yes, such affirmation is necessary, and all else should be silent. Albert Mercadé Artistic Director Arranz-Bravo Foundation Albert Mercadé is an art critic and an independent curator based in Barcelona, Spain. He holds a degree in Art History from the University of Barcelona and la Sorbonne in Paris and a PhD in Humanities and Modern Art from Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. He has been the director of the Arranz-Bravo Foundation in L’Hospitalet, Barcelona since 2010 where he has curated more than 15 contemporary art exhibitions. Mercadé is the author of more than 10 books dedicated to Catalan artists and since 2006 he has also been the director of Films d’Art, a production company specializing in contemporary art.
El Valent (top) Sunset Moment (far left) 2015 exhibition catalogs from the Terrassa Cultural Centre and the Tecla Sala Art Centre in Barcelona, Spain (left)
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II
I
Jack, I oil on canvas 43 x 23 cm 17 x 9 inches 2015
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Jack, II oil on canvas 32 x 22 cm 12 x 9 inches 2015
Jack, III oil on canvas 53 x 23 cm 21 x 9 inches 2015
(facing page)
This Sea oil on canvas 200 x 200 cm 78 x 78 inches 2014
III
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Nortnou oil on canvas 162 x 65 cm 63 x 25 inches 2015
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El Valent oil on canvas 195 x 228 cm 76 x 89 inches 2014
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Trace oil on canvas 130 x 130 cm 51 x 51 inches 2015
(FACING PAGE)
Chansond Amour a Martinica oil on canvas 195 x 200 cm 76 x 78 inches 2014
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Yellow Paradise oil on canvas 230 x 200 cm 90 x 78 inches 2015
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Time for Love oil on canvas 200 x 150 cm 78 x 58.5 inches 2014
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I
III
II
Lion in Winter, I-III painting on paper 56 x 76 cm 22 x 30 inches 2014
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Mira-Alta (poliptych) painting on paper Top: 24 x 84 cm 9.5 x 33 inches Middle left: 24 x 41 cm 9.5 x 16 inches Middle right: 24 x 27 cm 9.5 x 10.5 inches Bottom: 24 x 82.5 cm 9.5 x 32.5 inches 2014
(facing page)
Phone - Bianco oil on canvas 195 x 260 cm 76 x 101 inches 2015
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(facing page)
Tartatรก oil on canvas 195 x 228 cm 76 x 89 inches 2014
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May, I oil on canvas 22.5 x 34 cm 9 x 13 inches 2015
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May, II oil on canvas 41 x 33 cm 16 x 13 inches 2015
Alexander, II oil on canvas 200 x 160 cm 78 x 62 inches 2014
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Podem, si oil on canvas 146 x 114 cm 57 x 45 inches 2014
(facing page)
The Green Center oil on canvas 200 x 200 cm 78 x 78 inches 2015
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What I oil on canvas 48 x 82 cm 19 x 32 inches 2015
What IV oil on canvas 50 x 73 cm 20 x 28 inches 2015
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Voices IV oil on canvas 146 x 114 cm 57 x 44 inches 2015
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Madame SĂŠvres oil on canvas 46 x 46 cm 18 x 18 inches 2014
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What II oil on canvas 46 x 46 cm 18 x 18 inches 2015
Today-day oil on canvas 73 x 200 cm 28 x 78 inches 2015
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What III oil on canvas 41 x 57cm 16 x 22 inches 2015
What V oil on canvas 24 x 35 cm 9.5 x 15 inches 2015
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Voices III oil on canvas 116 x 89 cm 45 x 35 inches 2015
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I VI
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IV VII
Caro Bull oil on canvas 200 x 150 cm 78 x 58.5 inches 2015
(facing page)
Love and Colors, I-VII watercolor 38 x 56 cm 15 x 22 inches 2015
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Sunset Moment oil on canvas 200 x 180 cm 78 x 70.2 inches 2014
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True Amore I oil on canvas 146 x 114 cm 57 x 44 inches 2015
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Holland oil on canvas 200 x 150 cm 78 x 58.5 inches 2014
(facing page)
Center oil on canvas 200 x 200 cm 78 x 78 inches 2015
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I (facing page)
Coral Reality oil on canvas 200 x 200 cm 78 x 78 inches 2014
V
Light Dreams, I-VII watercolor 38 x 56 cm 15 x 22 inches 2015
VII
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Bund Woman oil on canvas 130 x 130 cm 51 x 51 inches 2014
(facing page)
Independent oil on canvas 150 x 200 cm 58.5 x 78 inches 2014
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True Amore II oil on canvas 146 x 114 cm 57 x 44 inches 2015
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True Amore V oil on canvas 146 x 97 cm 57 x 38 inches 2015
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Morning painting on paper 56 x 76 cm 22 x 30 inches 2015
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Noon painting on paper 56 x 76 cm 22 x 30 inches 2015
Night painting on paper 56 x 76 cm 22 x 30 inches 2015
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Pili oil on canvas 187 x 61cm 73 x 24 inches 2014
(facing page)
The Winner oil on canvas 146 x 260 cm 57 x 101 inches 2014
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Berathe oil on canvas 195 x 97 cm 76 x 38 inches 2015
(facing page)
Limone oil on canvas 130 x 228 cm 51 x 89 inches 2014
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Voices I oil on canvas 146 x 114 cm 57 x 44 inches 2015
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I
III
II
John and Sebastian, I-III painting on paper 32 x 42 cm 12 x 16 inches 2015
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Music Kiss V oil on canvas 40 x 40 cm 16 x 16 inches 2015
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Afrodita bronze 67 x 38 x 30 cm 26 x 15 x 12 inches 2015
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Music Kiss II oil on wood 60 x 70 cm 23 x 27 inches 2015
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Music Kiss III oil on canvas 55 x 46 cm 21 x 18 inches 2015
Music Kiss IV oil on canvas 41 x 33 cm 16 x 13 inches 2015
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Sorra Viva oil on canvas 97 x 195 cm 38 x 76 inches 2015
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Vent, II painting on paper 38 x 57 cm 15 x 22 inches 2014
Vent, III painting on paper 38 x 57 cm 15 x 22 inches 2014
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Nou de Nou, V oil on canvas 100 x 81 cm 39 x 32 inches 2013
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My Land, I oil on canvas 146 x 114 cm 57 x 45 inches 2014
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Tim贸n oil on canvas 116 x 89 cm 45 x 35 inches 2014
(facing page)
A Woman, Nineteen Dancers and Me oil on canvas 195 x 200 cm 76 x 78 inches 2015
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M贸n Petit, I oil on canvas 40 x 40 cm 16 x 16 inches 2015
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M贸n Petit, IV oil on canvas 24 x 35 cm 9 x 14 inches 2015
Voices V oil on canvas 164 x 65 cm 63 x 25 inches 2015
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(above)
(right)
Chair and Planets watercolor 76 x 111 cm 30 x 43 inches 2015
My Land, IV oil on canvas 73 x 50 cm 28 x 19.5 inches 2014
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Ocell Blanc oil on canvas 195 x 54 cm 76 x 21 inches 2015
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Voices II oil on canvas 81 x 100 cm 31.5 x 39 inches 2015
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Jack, V oil on canvas 21 x 25 cm 8 x 10 inches 2015
Jack, VII oil on canvas 32 x 27 cm 12 x 10.5 inches 2015
Jack, VI oil on canvas 49 x 23 cm 20 x 9 inches 2015
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V
X
XII
XXI
(facing page)
(above)
CadaquĂŠs Paper, V-XXI watercolor 21 x 28.5 cm 8 x 11 inches 2015
May, III oil on canvas 26.5 x 77 cm 10 x 30 inches 2015
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INDEX BRONZE
51 Afrodita OIL ON CANVAS
59 A Woman, Nineteen Dancers and Me 21 Alexander, II 47 Berathe 39 Bund Woman 31 Caro Bull 35 Center 11 Chansond Amour a Martinica 36 Coral Reality 9 El Valent 34 Holland 38 Independent 6 Jack, I 6 Jack, II 6 Jack, III 65 Jack, V 65 Jack, VI 65 Jack, VII 46 Limone 26 Madame Sévres 20 May, I 20 May, II 67 May, III 60 Món Petit, I 60 Món Petit, IV 53 Music Kiss III 53 Music Kiss IV 50 Music Kiss V 57 My Land, I 62 My Land, IV
8 56 63 17 44 23 54 32 18 22 45 7 14 58 27 10 33 40 41 48 64 29 25 61 24 26 28 24 28 13
Nortnou Nou de Nou, V Ocell Blanc Phone - Bianco Pili Podem, si Sorra Viva Sunset Moment Tartatá The Green Center The Winner This Sea Time for Love Timón Today-day Trace True Amore I True Amore II True Amore V Voices I Voices II Voices III Voices IV Voices V What I What II What III What IV What V Yellow Paradise
PAINTING ON PAPER
SPRING 2016
16 15 15 15 42 43 43 55 55 49 49 49
PROJECT MANAGERS:
Mira-Alta (poliptych) Lion in Winter, I Lion in Winter, II Lion in Winter, III Morning Noon Night Vent, II Vent, III John and Sebastian, I John and Sebastian, II John and Sebastian, III
Stacey Bellis Ken Amorino PHOTOGRAPHY:
Miguel Gelabert CATALOG DESIGN:
Susan Tsuchiya Cover: Limone (detail) Inside front cover: Love and Colors, VII (detail) Inside back cover: Món Petit, IV (detail) Envelope: Nortnou
WATERCOLOR
66 66 66 66 62 37 37 37 30 30 30 30
Cadaqués Paper, V Cadaqués Paper, X Cadaqués Paper, XII Cadaqués Paper, XXI Chair and Planets Light Dreams, I Light Dreams, V Light Dreams, VII Love and Colors, I Love and Colors, IV Love and Colors, VI Love and Colors, VII
OIL ON WOOD
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$40 A R RA N Z- B RAVO : M AG N ET I C
NEW YORK
765 Beach Street San Francisco CA 94109
431 West Broadway New York NY 10012 212.226.1616 / 800.926.9537
349 Geary Street San Francisco CA 94102 415.441.8008 / 800.926.9535
FBG-2016 Bravo Cat Cov-re.indd 1
www.franklinbowlesgallery.com
FRANKLIN BOWLES GALLERIES
SAN FRANCISCO
MAGNETIC Arranz-Bravo
15. 12. 29. 오전 11:21