Albert Ràfols-Casamada (1923-2009) was a Catalan artist and poet belonging to the avant-garde movement. Ràfols-Casamada is considered one of the most significant and multifaceted Catalan artists of his time. His artistry took off in the post-expressionist and figurative school, but later came to develop into a more abstract style that was founded in a poetic representation of everyday life.
The work 7 Planetes from 1997 is the result of a vision that Ràfols-Casamada and the poet Pere Gimferrer had, which was later executed by an engraver and an editor. With the knowledge of hermetic teachings, they succeeded in evoking the symbolic character that for centuries has hidden behind the seven planets, which then reached its pinnacle with the book Cantar de los Planetas. Now a copy of El Sol, one of seven illustrations of 7 Planetes, is being sold at Durán Arte y Subastas.
Spanish neo-figurativist artist Federico Montañana (1928-2005) was one of the first avant-garde artists in post-war art and was also one of the founders of the art movement 'Grupo Z'. Montañana often painted still life, portraits and landscapes where the surroundings of Valencia and Alicante were reproduced. In the watercolour painting above, there is no discernible motif, but rather is an abstract and very colourful work.
The sculptor and artist Pedro Coronel (1922-1985) was part of the 'Generación de la Ruptura': a generation of Mexican artists who opposed the traditional mural, which they considered to be national and dogmatic. Instead, they gained inspiration from international styles, and in particular abstract expressionism. Coronel painted colourful and abstract works that became very popular. Tableaux et Sculptures from 1961 is one of many such abstract paintings. Red and yellow were two colours that dominated in the artist's work.
Wolf Vostell (1932-1998) was a German painter and sculptor and was considered to be an early supporter of video and installation art, but also of Décollage, where elements are removed from the work, rather than added. Vostell's works Composition of 1981 is made with mixed media on paper. The medium that the artist used the most, however, was concrete, with which he covered televisions and cars.
Celedonio Perellon Cardona (1926-2005) was a Spanish post-war and contemporary artist. His work Nu de femme was sold at auction last year. Now his lithograph, Carne. Demonio. Mundo, is being sold at Durán Arte y Subastas. Like many of his other works, the theme is eroticism in Carne. Demonio. Mundo.
In 1965, the Spanish art group Equipo Crónica was founded by Rafael Solbes, Manuel Valdés and Juan Antonio Toledo. Toledo left the group shortly after their first show. In 1965, Solbes and Valdès wrote a manifesto that established the group's goal of adopting a style that would depict everyday life. The group used media images and an innovative artistic language. They blended different styles and created colourful, collage-like works. One of the group's most famous works is Guernica '69 (1969), which refers to Pablo Picasso's iconic work of Guernica, in which they blended Picasso's elements with a cartoon character and paraphrased the work from 1937. Ma Jolie from 1981 is another new interpretation of Picasso's cubist works.
Durán Arte y Subastas' auction will be held on 25 June in Madrid and will consist of more than 900 items.
Discover the entire catalogue on Barnebys
Cover image: Federico Montañana, photo: Durán Arte y Subastas
