JOSÉ HERNÁNDEZ MUÑOZ (Tangiers, Morocco, 1944 - Málaga, 2013).
"Diorama", 1990.
Oil on canvas.
Presents a label of the LEVY Gallery (Hamburg).
Signed, dated and titled on the back.
Measurements: 100 x 81 cm.
Known by his fantastic characters, a decade before making this work, José Hernández, began to introduce in his pieces a more synthetic aesthetic language. He tried to reduce the cultural references and focused his compositions on the essential. This work is an example of this artistic evolution, in it we can appreciate the legacy of the tradition of the Spanish ship still life, with that vertical asparagus. In addition, the way of composing the scene in two spaces with a small strip on the right in a lighter shade, which gives depth to the scene, is a totally traditional resource.
José Hernández is one of the great references of Spanish contemporary art. His work is one of the most personal and brilliant contributions to fantastic art in recent decades, both as a painter and draughtsman, illustrating the works of Buñuel, James Joyce, Rimbaud, Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer and Akutagawa, as well as designing sets and costumes for works by García Lorca, Calderón de la Barca, Cervantes, Francisco Nieva and Carlos Saura. His first individual exhibition took place in Tangiers in 1962, and he showed his work again two years later at the Edurne gallery in Madrid. From 1966 onwards he held personal exhibitions and took part in international fairs both in Spain and in Paris, Brussels and Tokyo, among other cities. His intense creative work extends over five decades, making up one of the most outstanding careers, not only in the Spanish art scene, but also in the world, given his significant international projection. Throughout his career he has received awards for his work in painting, drawing, engraving and scenography in Spain, Germany, Poland, Bulgaria, Italy, Norway and Yugoslavia, with special mention for the National Prize for Plastic Arts (Madrid, 1981), the International Biella per L'Incisione (Italy), and the Medals of Honour of the International Exhibition of Modern Ex Libris in Malbork (Poland) and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Santa Isabel de Hungría in Seville. His work is represented in numerous public collections and museums in Spain, Germany, the United States, Finland, Luxembourg, Chile, Poland, Norway, Bulgaria, Mexico, France and Italy.