The Suñol Foundation exhibits Jose Guerrero’s ‘American years’

In commemoration of the centenary of the birth of José Guerrero, the Suñol Foundation is hosting an exhibition entitled The Presence of Black (1950 to 1966), an insight into the primarily American-influenced period of the Granada-born painter, considered by many as one of the most influential Spanish artists of the latter half of the 20th century.

Despite having been born in Granada, José Guerrero spent much of his life in the United States and was eventually granted US citizenship. His fascination with the work of North American painters led to his involvement with the New York school of abstract expressionism, particularly in the area of action painting. Towards the end of his life, however, he returned to live in Spain.

Curated by Yolanda Romero and Francisco Baena, the exhibition reveals Guerrero’s incursions into the world of abstraction, most notably through the series of etchings and “portable frescoes” of the early 1950s in which the painter experiments with the fusion of painting and architecture. The following section includes a series of works in which the use of biomorphic abstraction does not necessarily signify a complete absence of the figurative. The full extent of the American influence is revealed by the painter’s eventual total commitment to abstract expressionism. The exhibition finishes with the painter’s return, in 1965, to his native country, his origins and Spanish artistic memory.

The retrospective focusses on the years which would most influence the painter’s career throughout his lifetime, the title The Presence of Black referring to an exhibition which Guerrero organised in the Betty Parsons Gallery in New York in 1958. According to art critic Juan Manuel Bonet, the title relates to the painter’s emotional state rather than the presence of black in the paintings themselves.
 

The Presence of Black (1950 to 1966)

When: until the 5th of September

Tickets: 4 €

Where: Fundació Suñol

More information here