Antón Patiño (born 1957) Large Expressionist Composition

Large oil painting with original frame in American box, the work is signed lower left AP (Anton Patino born in 1957) countersigned on the back and bears the proof of the Galerie Marie-Louise WIRTH in ZURICH in Swiss. Large Expressionist composition dated 1985 depicting characters represented schematically, the symmetry, the frontality and the gesture of a vibrant palette reinforce the feeling of primitivism of the subject rich in texture in which the material plays a leading role by contrasting in relief on a bright yellow background. Patiño's preoccupations in the period 80-85 are essentially synthetic forms, exalted colors and the action of gesture, defending the pictorial act with a feeling close to Baselitz or Philip Guston. Good condition, dimensions: 1 m 12 X 82 cm / at sight: 100 cm X 70 cm Anton Patino (Monforte de Lemos, 1957). Visual artist and writer. He had individual exhibitions in galleries and museums in Amsterdam, Stockholm, New York, Paris, Bordeaux, Zürich, Stuttgart. Works in different museums: Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, CGAC, MEIAC, MACBA, Artium Antón Patiño can be defined as one of the greatest representatives of contemporary art in Galicia. During his career he was one of the representative figures of the revival of Spanish art in the 80s as a founding member of Atlántica [1980] and through his inclusion in some of the most important exhibitions of the contemporary Spanish art. Patiño approaches the current world and also the many antagonisms that define the human condition, his work is halfway between abstraction and expressive figuration, he describes himself thus "For me, painting is an exploration around forms, messages that can be established, a dialogue with nature in which the spectator can participate bodily". In the exhibition, we can see a large triptych that occupies the entire back wall, and several diptychs, with labyrinths, textures where it plunges into "tree writing" and schematic faces. The painter intends to activate the viewer's mind and immerse him in this immersive world. Since his adolescence, he has lived in Vigo, where he was seduced very young by the literary and cultural universe; his father was a bookseller and was in contact with the elite of the city: Lugrís, Laxeiro, Celso Emilio or Blanco Amor. His first artistic manifestations developed in the field of graphic design, illustration and visual arts. He began to exhibit in the mid-1970s at the Plaza de la Princesa exhibitions and there he came into contact with young artists; some would later accompany him to Atlántica. At this time, he met the poets of Rompente and the artist Menchu ​​Lamas - who would become his partner. In 1980 he traveled to New York with Lamas, Huete and Monroy, an experience that would catalyze the genesis of Atlántica, a movement born in the 80s with the aim of placing Galician art on the international scene; he is considered one of the experiment's promoters. Thanks to Atlántica and his stay in Madrid - where he graduated from the Fine Arts School of San Fernando in 1979 - he burst onto the Spanish art scene. His work travels throughout Spain and the rest of the world in numerous important exhibitions and avant-garde fairs and is part of renowned collections such as the La Caixa Contemporary Art Collection, MNCARS, CGAC, MEIAC, MACBA or Artium, among others. A cultural activist, alongside his artistic facet, he developed a broad theoretical activity: he gave conferences and published collections of poetry, essays and artists' monographs. His painting, described by the American critic Donald Kuspit as "conceptual expressionism", appeals to the sensory (synesthetic) component of art, and is marked by the simultaneous presence of physical and poetic events, and by the confrontation of opposites ( body-soul, thought-matter, nature-city). The creations of the 70s are characterized by approaches close to abstract expressionism, with a great pre-eminence of gesture, expressive force and intensity of color to evolve in the 80s towards the creation of large format series in strong conceptual basis. In the first half of this decade, his works turned towards nature and the primitive. Thus they are characterized by an intense color and a marked frontality. Shortly after, his painting becomes more mental, cold and contained. In this way, the sign imposes itself on the gesture. Space gains importance as a symbol of infinity and emptiness. This change is due to the discovery of new material and textural possibilities, the material will take shape and density. The notion of repetition is key with Patiño, so much so that he creates successive personal symbols which will gradually populate his compositions.